Abstracto
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Authors
Alexander Dario Esquivel López, F. Rivera, Reinhardt Pinzón
Abstract
This paper presents an application of Sodium Pertechnetate (Na99mTc04-) for a better understanding of industry applications of radiotracers technology. An experiment has been carried out at Panama Pacifico Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP) located in the former Howard United States Air Force Base. The plant is located very close by the southern (Pacific) end of the Panama Canal. The radiotracer experiment was made in two aerated tanks due to four reasons. First, suitability of physical dimensions. Second, excellent injection point because the waste water enters in the tank in a spillway and the tracer could be released directly into the flow. Third, due to the availability of two independent systems, results can be used to compare if both tanks are operating in a similar conditions. Finally, the tracer injection procedure can be closely followed by the technical staff. Because of the significant recirculation flow existing in both tanks, the residence time distribution measurement and the mean residence time estimation were not possible. However, analyzing the detection curves, it can be conclude that the apparent mean residence time is certainly greater than the nominal value that is approximately 4 hours Waste water was totally mixed in the tank after 14 minutes of entering in the tank Dead zones were not detected.