A modeling approach for mixing and reaction in wetlands with continuously varying flow

Abstract Prior investigations have examined steady-state flow in surface flow treatment wetlands, with mixing modeled as advection-dominated, and reaction calculated using flow-weighted averages over collections of stream tubes with different velocities. This work extends these concepts to non-steady flow conditions and temporally varying inlet concentrations. The essential construct that makes the approach feasible is definition of a set of reference (steady) state conditions under which the residence time distribution (RTD) and stream-tube specific rate constants are defined. Residence time in any stream tube under non-steady flow is treated as a linear function of its reference-condition residence time, and the overall wetland retention time under both mean and varying flow regimes. Outlet concentration is found by convolution of the reaction term with a varying inlet concentration function. For real-world flow and concentration data collected at discrete points in time, integration for outlet concentration is approximated using linear interpolation to generate inlet concentrations and velocities at intermediate points in time. The approach is examined using data from the literature. Vegetation density and depth distributions are seen as central in determining mixing and treatment performance.