Land availability, limited funds, and strict regulatory standards require water treatment plant designers to minimize process tank size without compromising the effectiveness of the treatment process. In chlorine contact tanks, sufficient contact time for disinfection must be provided. The flow hydraulics and detention time within the contact tanks are critical to the effectiveness of the process. Using Fluent software, the residence time for chlorine contact is computed and the results from the CFD model are compared to the results of a tracer study performed on the existing tank. The CFD model is within 5% of the tracer study results. Upon achieving validation, CFD modeling has been used to aid in the design of a new chlorine contact tanks and other water purification tanks.

FLUENT's prediction of residence time in this chlorine contact tank was within 5% of the field measurements