A Method for Calculating Bacterial Deposition Coefficients Using the Fraction of Bacteria Recovered from Laboratory Columns

To determine if a practical relationship exists between the easily determined fractional recovery of bacteria and the deposition coefficient, useful for predictive modeling, an analytical solution to a nondimensional transport equation incorporating bacterial deposition was integrated. A nonlinear relationship between the dimensionless deposition coefficient (κ1) and fraction of bacteria recovered (fr) was observed, and this relationship was shown to be affected by dispersion. This theoretical relationship was tested for its utility using observed data from a suite of column experiments. The predicted relationship between κ1 and fr was reflected quite well by the experimental data. The results indicate that a simple measurefractional recovery of bacteriacan be used to obtain an accurate value for the dimensionless deposition coefficient.