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5.7 Exercises
5.1 There are three formulas presented in this book for estimating algal productivity
in high-rate algal ponds (HRAPs): the Goldman formula (Equation 5.5), the
Oron and Shelef formula (Equation 5.8) and theoretical estimation (Equation
5.10). Discuss the merits and shortcomings of these formulas.
5.2 You are to obtain the meteorological data (for the past 12 months) which are
important for algal production in high-rate algal ponds from the local weather
bureau. Using these data and those reported in Chapter 2, determine the amount
of algal cells that can be produced if all of your city's wastewater is to be used
as the influent feed. Use the three formulas in section 5.2.2 for the calculation
and discuss which of the three calculated results of algal production is most
applicable to your city.
5.3 You are to survey the algal harvesting equipments currently available in the
market in your country or elsewhere. Based on your inspection and information
obtained from the equipment manufacturers, describe the equipment that
appears most impressive with respect to: the harvesting technique employed,
efficiency of algal harvesting, costs of investment and operation and
maintenance.
5.4 If human beings are to live in space or on the moon for an extended period of
time, discuss the possibility of producing oxygen and algal single-cell protein
from the wastes we produce. Estimate the amount of oxygen and algal protein
that can be produced from a person's wastes using the data given in Chapter 2.
Also sketch the bioreactor(s) to be constructed in a space shuttle and/or the
moon to recycle the human wastes.
5.5 A food-processing factory produces 400 m^3 /day of wastewater with an average
COD concentration of 400 mg/L. The factory wants to construct its own high-
rate algal pond (HRAP) to produce algal single cell protein from this
wastewater. As a consulting engineer, you are asked to estimate the land area