MATH REVIEW For a rectangular tank:
Most math problems a water treatment plant To find the capacity of a rectangular or square
operator solves requires plugging numbers into tank:
formulas and calculating the answer. When
working with formulas, here are some simple Multiply length (L) by width (W) to get area (A).
rules to follow.
• Work from left to right. Multiply area by height (H) to get volume (V).
• Do anything in parenthesis first. Multiply volume by 7.48 gallons per cubic foot to
get capacity (C).
• Do multiplication and division in the
numerator (above the line) and in the A=LxW
denominator (below the line), then do V=AxH
addition and subtraction in the numerator C = V x 7.48
and denominator.
• Divide the numerator by the denominator Find the capacity of a rectangular tank 15 feet (ft)
last. long, 12 ft wide, and 10 ft high:
Volume A = 15 ft x 12 ft = 180 square feet (ft2)
The volume of a tank in cubic feet is equal to V = 180 ft2 x 10 ft = 1,800 cubic feet (ft3)
the tank area multiplied by the tank height. The C = 1,800 ft3 x 7.48 gal/ft3 =13,464 gal
capacity in gallons is equal to the volume in cubic
feet multiplied by 7.48 gallons per cubic foot.
For a circular tank:
Area (A) =
(3.14) x diameter squared (D2) / divided by 4
Volume (V) = A x H
Capacity (C) = V x 7.48 gal/ft3
A = [ x (D2)/4]
V = AxH
C = V x 7.48
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Find the capacity of a circular tank with a For an oval tank:
diameter of 15 ft and a height of 12 ft: To find the gallons in an oval tank:
A = [3.14 x (15 ft2)/4] = 177 ft2 Multiply the height by width by (3.14) divided
by 4 to get the area of the oval.
V = 177 ft2 x 12 ft =2,120 ft3
C = 2,120 ft3 x 7.48 gal/ft3 = 15,900 gal Multiply the area of the oval by tank length to get
the volume in cubic feet.
The capacity in gallons of a circular tank can also
be written as one formula: Multiply the volume by 7.48 gal/ft3 to get the
capacity in gal.
Cgal = ( x D2)/4 x H x 7.48
= (3.14 x 15 ft2)/4 x 12 ft x 7.48 gal/ft3
= 15,900 gal Find the capacity of an oval tank 3-ft high, 5-ft
**Your answer may vary slightly due to rounding wide, and 8-ft long.
A = H x W x /4
= 3 ft x 5 ft x 3.14/4
= 11.8 ft2
V = AxL
= 11.8 ft2 x 8 ft
= 94 ft3
C = V x 7.48 gal/ft3
= 94 ft3 x 7.48 gal/ft3
= 705 gal
Find the capacity in gallons of a horizontal
circular tank that has a diameter of 8 ft and is 12
ft long. The capacity of an oval tank can also be written
A = ( x D2)/4 = (3.14 x 8 ft2)/4 = 50 ft2 as one formula:
V = A x L = 50 ft2 x 12 ft = 603 ft3 C = (H x W x 3.14/4) x L x 7.48 gal/ft3
Cgal = V x 7.48 gal/ft3 = 603 ft3 x 7.48 gal/ft3 = (3 ft x 5 ft x 3.14/4) x 8 ft x 7.48 gal/ft3
= 4,512 gallons = 705 gal
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Capacity, Metric Concentration
The capacity of a tank in cubic meters (m ) is
3 Concentration is usually expressed as milligrams
equal to the tank area multiplied by the tank per liter (mg/L), or parts per million (ppm).
height. The volume in kiloliters (kL) is equal to the Because the weight of 1 cubic centimeter
volume in m3 multiplied by 1 kL/ m3. 1 kL is equal of water is 1 gram, and there are 1 million
to 262.4 gal. milligrams in one liter of water, water treatment
operators can use these terms interchangeably.
To find the volume of a rectangular or square
tank: Feed Rate
Feed rate is the amount of chemical metered
Multiply length by width to get area. into the water. Chemical feed rate needs to be
calculated when selecting a metering pump,
Multiply area by height to get volume.
when a change in concentration is needed, and
1 m3 is equal to 1-kL volume. to ensure that an adequate amount of chemicals
are on hand for uninterrupted operation.
Find the volume of a rectangular tank 3-m long,
2-m wide, and 2-1/2–high. To calculate feed rate the basic formula (pounds
A = area, Square meters (m2) formula) is:
V = volume, cubic meters (m3) Feed rate (pounds per day, lb/day) = flow (million
gallons per day, mgd) times dose (milligrams per
L = length, meters (m)
liter, mg/L) times 8.34 pounds per gallon.
W = width, meters (m)
The pounds formula is also used to determine
H = height, meters (m) how much liquid solution, such as sodium
V = volume, cubic meters (m3) hypochlorite, is needed.
CkL = capacity, kiloliters (kL)
Sodium hypochlorite (chlorine bleach) is available
in strengths from 5 to 15 percent. To determine
A = LxW = 3mx2m = 6 m2
how much you need to disinfect a tank, you must
V = AxH = 6 m2 x 2.5 m = 15 m3 know the strength.
CkL = 15 kL
The pounds formula for liquids is:
These steps can be combined in one formula: Gallons needed = (amount of water to be treated
divided by 1 million) x required dose (mg/L) x
CkL = L x W x H x 1 kL/ m3
100/solution strength (in percent).
= 3 m x 2 m x 2.5 m x 1 kL/ m3
= 15 kL To find the amount of hypochlorite to use, multiply
tank volume in gallons/1,000,000 times the
desired chlorine dose in mg/L divided by solution
strength, percent.
To find the amount of 5 percent hypochlorite to
use in a 13,500-gallon tank to achieve a chlorine
dose of 50 mg/L:
13,500 gallons/1,000,000 x 50 mg/L x 100 /5 =
13.5 gallons hypochlorite
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To find the amount of 5 percent hypochlorite to
use in a 13,500-gallon tank to achieve a dose of
1 mg/L:
13,500 gallons/1,000,000 x 1 mg/L x 100/5
= 0.27 gallons, or about one quart sodium
hypochlorite.
To find how much 5.25 percent hypochlorite is
needed to disinfect 1,000 gallons at a dose of 2
mg/L:
Gallons of hypochlorite needed
= (1,000 gal/1,000,000) x 2 mg/L x (100/5.25)
=0.038 gallons, about 5 ounces
To find how much 5.25 percent hypochlorite is
needed to disinfect a well with a 12-inch casing
and static water level of 50 feet with a 50-mg/L
dose, you must first find the volume (V) of water
to be treated.
V = ( x D2)/4 x H x 7.48
V = (3.14 x 1 ft2)/4 x 50 ft x 7.48
= 294 gal
Amount of hypochlorite needed
= (294 gal/1,000,000) x 50 ppm x (100/5.25)
=0.28 gal, about 1 quart.
Equivalents
There are 4 quarts in a gallon,
so 1 quart = 0.25 gallon.
There are 16 cups in a gallon,
so 1 cup = 0.0625 gallons.
There are 128 fluid ounces in a gallon,
so 1 ounce = 0.0078 gallons.
1 teaspoon = 5 mL
1 fluid ounce = 30 mL
1 quart = 0.95 liters
1 gallon = 3.8 liters
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