What is the detention time in hours for a tank holding 450,000 gallons with a flow rate of 850 gallons per minute?

To determine the detention time in hours for a tank holding a specific volume of water while also considering the flow rate, you would start with the formula for detention time, which is the volume of the tank divided by the flow rate.

In this case, the volume of the tank is 450,000 gallons, and the flow rate is 850 gallons per minute. First, calculate the detention time in minutes:

Detention Time (minutes) = Volume (gallons) / Flow Rate (gallons per minute)

Detention Time (minutes) = 450,000 gallons / 850 gallons per minute

Detention Time (minutes) = 529.41 minutes

Next, convert the detention time from minutes to hours, since there are 60 minutes in an hour:

Detention Time (hours) = Detention Time (minutes) / 60

Detention Time (hours) = 529.41 minutes / 60

Detention Time (hours) ≈ 8.82 hours

When rounded to one decimal place, this approximation results in about 8.8 hours. Therefore, the detention time accurately reflects how long the water remains in the tank before it is discharged or processed, which is essential for understanding