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ASRIC Journal on Agricultural Sciences Vol.4(2)(2023) 195-204
Development of A Cascade Aeratror for Small and Medium Fish Farmers in
Nigeria
Olorunwa Eric Omofunmi1*, Oluwabunmi John Esan2
1
Department of Agricultural and Bioresources Engineering, Federal University Oye-Ekiti
Received 19 July 2024; revised 07 August 2024; accepted 05 September 2024
Abstract:
Aeration devices are designed to create a greater amount of contact between air and water to enhance the transfer of
gases and increase oxidation. A cascade aerator is one of gravity aerators and classified as water-into-air aerators and
one of the oldest and most common aerators. It consists of a series of steps that the water flows over (similar to a
flowing stream). The main features of the cascade aerator were electric motor pump used as prime mover which was
of half horse power capacity, and cascade geometry (300 x 100 x 50mm), with eight steps of 1200 mm total lengths
made of stainless material and mounted on collector basin made of mild steel and all were supported by angle iron
made of galvanized material. Water samples were collected and chemical property (dissolved oxygen) was determined
in accordance with American Public Health Association (APHA, 2005). Data were analyzed using descriptive
statistics. The result indicated that overall oxygen transfer coefficient, cascade aerator standard aeration efficiency,
standard oxygen transfer rate were ranged from 5.15 – 8.21hr-1, 0.11 – 0.21KgO2kW-1hr-1 and 0.04 – 0.08KgO2hr-1
respectively. The cascade aerator improved the water quality by addition of oxygen leading to appreciable increase in
the fish stock density which has been a major setback of low-income fish farmer in Nigeria.
Keywords: oxygen dissolved, overall oxygen transfer coefficient, cascade aerator standard aeration efficiency,
standard oxygen transfer rate,
1. Introduction
Aeration brings water and air in close contact in order to remove dissolved gases such as carbon (vi) oxide,
hydrogen sulphide and volatile organic chemicals. It is often the first process at the treatment plant. All
aeration devices (aerators) are designed to create a greater amount of contact between air and water to
enhance the transfer of gases and increase oxidation [1 – 5].
Some parameters are used to evaluate and compare between different aeration techniques and operating
conditions include Oxygen Transfer Rate (OTR), Standard Oxygen Transfer Rate (SOTR), and aeration
efficiency (η) [5]. The OTR is defined as “the quantity of oxygen transferred per unit time to a given volume
of water for equivalent conditions such as temperature and chemical composition of water, depth at which
air is introduced [6 - 8]. [9] Classified aeration of water into falling water and diffused-air aerators. Falling
water aerator depends on dropping water through the process, hence the energy used is the potential energy
stored in the form of water head [9], while the diffused-air aerators depend on forcing compressed air or
pure oxygen through water using submerged orifices or diffuser [8 – 9]. Other aeration systems are
mechanical aerators, in which wastewater is agitated mechanically to boost the solution of air from the
atmosphere [8]. The most common aerators used in water treatment are:
1. Gravity Aerators: In gravity aerators, water is allowed to fall by gravity such that a large area of water is
exposed to atmosphere, sometimes aided by turbulence. Cascade aerators and Multi-tray aerators are two
examples of this type.
2. Fountain Aerators: These are also known as spray aerators with special nozzles to produce a fine spray.
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3. Injection or Diffused Aerators: It consists of a tank with perforated pipes, tubes or diffuser plates, fixed
at the bottom to release fine air bubbles from compressor unit.
4. Mechanical Aerators: Mixing paddles as in flocculation are paddles may be either submerged or at the
surface.
A cascade aerator is one of gravity aerators and classified as water-into-air aerators and one of the oldest
and most common aerators. It consists of a series of steps that water flows over (similar to a flowing stream).
The efficiency of aeration is improved as the fall distance is increased. Cascade aerators are characterized
by the strong turbulent mixing, the large residence time and the substantial air bubble entrainment. Air
bubble entrainment is caused by turbulence fluctuations acting next to the air-water free surface. It
resembles an open channel flow with a series of discrete steps among the invert. In their simplest form
cascade aerators consist of a concrete step structure over which water spreads and flow from one level to
another in thin films. Experiment conducted by [10] using inclined cascade aerator, the standard oxygen
transfer rate (SOTR) value ranged from 0.02 to 0.069 Kg O2h-1 and the standard aerator efficiency (SAE)
value ranged from 0.007 to 0.018 KgO2KW-1h-1. The aeration efficiency in cascade aerators can reach up
to 90% using 14 steps, at a slope of tan 𝜃 = 0.351 and a hydraulic loading rate of 0.009 m2/sec under nappe
flow conditions [11]. [12] highlighted that napple flow as a series of free falling jets with nappe impact on
the downstream step with an air cavity forming upstream of each step. The drawback of the cascade aerator
is the large space and height needed for the installation [8]. Cascade aerator has been categorized as passive
type aerators [9]. It features include thin film aeration and air bubbles entrainment, high exposure time,
large installation are and no energy requirement [9, 11 - 14]. Several researchers such as [11 – 13] reported
that cascade aeration system at Wena Water works, Nagpur and found that the oxygen transfer increases
with; increase in time of exposure at the steps (in other words, with decrease in flow), increase in
temperature, other factors remaining constant and total exposed area of the steps. [8,12,13,16], reported that
systems with higher number of steps contribute to greater aeration efficiency; furthermore, additional
number of steps enhances the aeration as it increases the surface area of fall which results in generation of
more air. [13,17–18] reported that cascade aerator is used in the water Treatment process for various
reasons:
- To remove the unwanted gases from the water by replacing them with oxygen.
- Increase Oxygen concentration in water.
- Remove CO2 there by reducing corrosive property.
- Remove taste and odour that are caused by dissolved gases such as H2S (Hydrogen Sulphide) and
CH4 (Methane) which are removed during aeration.
- Oxidise iron and manganese from their soluble states.
- It is used for denitrification removal of volatile organic components (VOC) such as chlorine and
methane
To be successful with any aquatic environment supporting fish, fish culture must know to achieve and
maintain a suitable aquatic environment. No one should attempt to be a commercial fish farmer without
having aeration devices (aerators) and the knowledge ` if, when and how to use them. DO is probably the
single most important environment factor in aquaculture and wastewater treatment. Unfortunately, many
fish farmers, researchers, extension specialists, equipment manufacturers and others have a poor
understanding of aeration principles. Consequently, they have unrealistic expectations of what benefits
aeration can provide. The primary goal of this study was to develop a low cost prototype cascade aerator
for fish production using locally available suitable materials for small to medium scale fish ponds in
Nigeria.
2. Materials and Methods
2.1 Theoretical Considerations for the design of the cascade aerator Components
The design of this machine was based on design requirements, materials selection and design assumptions
as stated in the following subsections.
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2.1.1 Material selection
The materials selected for each component part of the machine is presented in Table 1. The isometric view
and orthographic projection of the machine are presented in Figures1 and 2, 3, 4, respectively.
The choice of components used for this project is based on the following factors:
- Efficiency of equipment.
- Simplicity of design and cost.
- The major material used for fabricating the essential component parts of the cascade aerator
machine were stainless steel and mild steel
- The stainless steel and mild steel were selected because it is easy to weld, machined light, resists
oxidation and corrosive attack as it is used inside water.
- Aluminium material reduces weight
- All fasteners are made of stainless steel.
Table 1: Material selection
S/No Machine Part Material
1 Cascade Stainless steel
2 Collector basin Mild steel
3 Storage tank Mild steel
4 Electric motor pump Cast iron
5 Collector basin support Galvanized steel
6 Delivery pipe Poly vinyl chloride
7 Electric motor support Wooden
8 Control valve Thermoplastic
9 Tap Stainless steel
Fig1: Isomeric drawing of Cascade Aerator
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Fig 2: Orthographic view of the Cascade
Fig 3: Orthographic view of the Collector Basin
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Fig 4: Orthographic view of Pump Assembly
2.2 Description and Operational Principle of the cascade aerator
The keys components of cascade aerator consists storage tank, collector basin, cascade, electric pump,
delivery pipe and control valve. Others components are tap, collector basin support and electric pump
support
» The storage tank
The storage tank serves as reservoir for water storage. It supplies water to collector basin at given volume.
It made of mild steel
» Collector basin
The collector basin serves duo purposes. It contains volume of water used for the experiments and also
received falling water from cascade. It made of mild steel
» Cascade
The cascade, placed vertical direction and above collector basin. It consists of eight steps with total length
of 1200mm. The Cascade is made of mild steel metal sheet which was bent at a perpendicular angle to get
the desired shape. The Cascade is the part of the Cascade Aerator where air is naturally inducted into the
cascading water flow.
» Electric motor pump
The electric motor pump is of 0.5 hp, provides pressure to the water for moving and lifting through the
delivery pipe onto cascade. It is centrifugal type and made of cast iron.
» Delivery pipe
The delivery pipe is the discharge-pipe. It is made of polyvinyl chloride of 12.25 mm diameter. It discharges
water onto cascade.
» Control valve
The control valve serves as water flow rate regulation. It made of thermoplastic
2.3 Design Considerations and Assumptions
In designing this machine, assumed data were used in designed calculation to obtain the machine size, step
geometry, surface over flow, rise per step and width of drop. Some of the assumptions are as follows:
(1) The surface over flow (SOR) = 0.01 m2/m3/hr
(2) The inlet flow rate (IFR) = 3 m3/hr
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(3) The rise per step = 150 mm
(4) The Discharge velocity of water = 1.2 m/s
(5) The length of step (LS) = 300 mm = 0.3 m
(6) The width of drop (Wd) = 50 mm = 0.05 m
(7) Thickness (t) = 5 mm
(8) Number of steps = 8
2.4 Determination of the number of steps (𝑵𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒑) in cascade aerator
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑎𝑠𝑐𝑎𝑑𝑒 (𝑚𝑚)
𝑁𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑝 = 𝑅𝑖𝑠𝑒 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑝
(1)
2.4.1 Determination of surface area of cascade aerator (SAC)
Surface over flow (SOR) and Inlet flow rate (IFR) are used to determine the surface area of cascade aerator:
𝑚2
𝑆𝑂𝑅 = 0.01 𝑚3 𝑥 ℎ𝑟 (2)
𝑚3
𝐼𝐹𝑅 = 3 ℎ𝑟
(3)
Surface Area of Cascade (𝑆𝐴𝐶 )
𝑆𝐴𝐶 = 𝑆𝑂𝑅 𝑥 𝐼𝐹𝑅 (4)
m2 m3 2
𝑆𝐴𝐶 = 0.01 x hr x 3
m3
= 0.03m
hr
2.4.2 Design height of Cascade (𝑯𝑪 ), and Flow Rate (𝑽𝑹 )
𝐻𝐶 = 𝑤𝑖𝑑𝑡ℎ 𝑜𝑓 𝑑𝑟𝑜𝑝 𝑥 2 (5)
𝐻𝐶 = 2 x 50 = 100 mm
𝑉𝑅 = 𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝑥 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑 (6)
m3
𝑉𝑅 = 0.3 x 1.2 = 0.36 s
2.4.3 Total length of cascade (𝑻𝑳𝑪 )
𝐷𝐿 = 𝐿𝑆 𝑥 𝐻𝐶 (7)
𝐷𝐿 = 300 (2 x 50) = 400 mm
Where,
DL = Design length, mm
LS = Length of cascade, mm
HC = Design height of cascade, mm
𝑇𝐿𝐶 = 𝐷𝐿 + 𝑊𝑑 𝑥 2 (8)
TLC = Total length of cascade, mm
Wdrop = Width of drop, mm
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CONTROL VALVE
TAP
CASCADE DELIVERY PIPE
CASCADE AERATOR
ELECTRIC
MOTOR PUMP
ELETRIC MOTOR
CABLE
COLLECTOR BASIN
SUPPORT
Plate 1: Cascade Aerator
CONTROL VALVE
TAP
CASCADE AERATOR
CASCADE
DELIVERY PIPE
ELECTRIC
MOTOR PUMP
ELECTRIC
MOTOR CABLE
COLLECTOR BASIN
SUPPORT
Fig. 4: Mounted Cascade Aerator for Operation
2.5 Experimentation and Sample collection
The aerator performance was conducted using Non-steady-state aeration test. The test basin was filled to
the appropriate depth wih water from a tap. Enough Cobalt Chloride and Sodium Sulphite were provided
in the test basin and mixed by running the aerator. The masses of Cobalt Chloride and Sodium Sulphite
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used per cubic metres are presented in Table 2. The operated cascade aerator had shown in (Fig. 3). Oxygen
transfer tests were conducted in basin. After maintain DO between 0.0 - 0.1 mg/l for about 5 minutes, the
cascade aerator operated and dissolved oxygen (Cm) was taken at five minutes interval until DO increased
from 0% saturation to at least 90% saturation. This prototype cascade aerator operation performance was
powered throughout by 0.375 kW (0.5 hp) electric motor pump and volume range of 0.08 m 3 to 0.15 m3.
Water samples were collected at 5 minutes intervals for each runs. 250 ml glass bottles were used for the
sampling and the sampled were analyzed for dissolved oxygen (DO). Water temperature was determined
by thermometer
Table 2: The quality of Cobalt Chloride and Sodium Sulphate used per cubic
Metres for the deoxygenated volume of water
Volume of water Mass of Cobalt Chloride Mass of Sodium Sulphite
(m2) (g) (g)
0.08 1.6 160
0.10 2.0 200
0.11 2.2 220
0.13 2.6 260
0.15 3.0 300
2.6 Determination of chemical property of water sample
Dissolved oxygen (DO): The dissolved oxygen (DO) was determined by Winker’s method. Water sample
for DO were collected at each location in 100 ml DO sample bottle without agitating. The stopper was
carefully removed. 1ml each of sodium iodide (Nal) solution and magnesium Sulphate (MgSO4) solution
were added with aid of 1ml pipette, the stopper was replaced and the content was thoroughly mixed, 2.0 ml
of concentrated Sulphuric acid (H2SO4) was added mixture, 50 ml of the solution was titrated with 0.025N
of Sodium thiosulphate (Na2S2O3) with starch solution as indicator of the colourless end point. The dissolve
oxygen (mg/l) is expressed as follows: DO (mg/l) = ml of 0.025(N) Na2S2O3 used x 4 (APHA, 2005).
2.7 Data Analysis.
Chemical property of water sample was determined in accordance with the American Public Health
Association Standards [19]. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics.
The following equations were used for the determination of the oxygen transfer rate (𝐾𝐿𝑎 ), standard oxygen
transfer rate (SOTR) and the standard aeration efficiency (SAE).
(𝐾𝐿𝑎 )20 = 𝐾𝐿𝑎 𝑥 1.02420−𝑇 (9)
𝑎 𝐾𝑂2 −3 𝐾𝑔
𝑆𝑂𝑅𝑇 = 𝐾𝐿 𝑇 ( 𝑀2 ) 1 𝑥 10 𝑔 ) (10)
𝑆𝑂𝑅𝑇
𝑆𝐴𝐸 = (11)
𝑃
Where,
K aL = Oxygen transfer rate, hr-1
T = Temperature, 0C
P = Power, kW
3. Results And Discussion
3.1 Length of cascade aerator
The length of cascade aerator is presented in Table 3.
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Table 3: Length of cascade aerator at each step
Number of step Dimension (mm) Total length (mm)
1 400 + (50 x 2) 500
2 500 + (50 x 2) 600
3 600 + (50 x 2) 700
4 700 + (50 x 2) 800
5 800 + (50 x 2) 900
6 900 + (50 x 2) 1000
7 1000 + (50 x 2) 1100
8 1100 + (50 x 2) 1200
3.2 Performance of the Cascade Aerator
The component parts and dimensions of the machine are presented in Table 4. Locally developed prototype
of cascade aerator is presented in Plate 1. The predictive equations indicated that the oxygen transfer rate
(OTR), standard oxygen transfer rate (SOTR) and standard aerator efficiency (SAE) was found to decrease
with increase in the volume of water. The standard oxygen transfer rate (SOTR) and standard aerator
efficiency of developed cascade aerator (SAE) ranged from 0.04 – 0.08 KgO2hr-1 and 0.11 – 0.21 KgkW-
1 -1
hr respectively. The results indicated that the effectiveness of the designed prototype machine depends
on the volume of water, number and width of cascade.
The summary of the results of the developed cascade aerator is presented in Table 5. Result of [10] using
inclined cascade aerator indicated that standard oxygen transfer rate (SOTR) and standard aerator efficiency
(SAE) ranged 0.02 - 0.069 Kg O2hr-1 and 0.007 to 0.018 KgO2kW-1hr-1.respectively. These differences may
be due to step geometry (height and length) of cascade, numbers of steps, flow rate, quality of water and
retention time
Table 4: The component parts and dimensions of the machine
S/N Component Dimension
1 Height of cascade 100 mm
2 Length of cascade 300 mm
3 Total length of cascade 1200 mm
4 Flow rate 0.36 m3/s
5 Power of electric pump 0.5 hp (375 W)
6 Number of steps 8
7 Standard oxygen transfer rate (SOTR) 0.04 – 0.08 KgO2hr-1
8 Standard aerator efficiency (SAE) 0.11 – 0.21 KgO2kW-1hr-1
Table 5: Summary of Oxygen transfer coefficient (𝐾𝐿𝑎 ), Standard Oxygen Transfer Rate
(SOTR) and Standard Aerator Efficiency (SAE) for the Cascade Aerator
Volume of Oxygen Transfer SORT SAE
Water (m3) Coefficient (𝐾𝐿𝑎 )hr-1 (KgO2hr-1) (KgO2kW-1hr-1)
0.08 8.21 0.08 0.21
0.10 7.23 0.07 0.19
0.11 6.23 0.06 0.16
0.13 5.74 0.05 0.13
0.15 5.15 0.04 0.11
4. Conclusion
The prototype of cascade aerator was developed with local materials and powered by a 0.5 hp electric motor
pump which was operated at a speed of 1.2 m/s. It has eight steps with total length of 1200mm. The
dissolved oxygen was used for the assessment of efficiency of the machine. The results indicated that:
− The effectiveness of the machine depends on the number and width of cascade
− The efficiency of the machine can be improved upon by increasing the step geometry and reduce the
flow rate
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− It improves dissolved oxygen contents of water
− It can be used for fish stock density increments
− It can be used for treatment of fish effluent with high dissolved organic matter
− It can be used for H2S, CO2, NH3 and NO2 reduction
− The effectiveness depends on concentration of organic matter
− It cannot be used for treatment of high concentration wastewater
− The variation of flow rate should be assessed.
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