[Math] application of differential equation

ordinary differential equations

A tank, containing 1120 liters of liquid, has a brine solution entering at a constant rate of 4 liters per minute. The well-stirred solution leaves the tank at the same rate. The concentration within the tank is monitored and found to be.

$$c(t)=\frac{e^{-t/800}}{80}\text{ kg/L}$$

Determine the inflow concentration $I(t)$, where $I(t)$ denotes the concentration of salt in the brine solution flowing into the tank.

Best Answer

The governing species mass balance on the tank is:

$$ I(t)Q_{in}-c(t)Q_{out}=\frac{d[c(t)V]}{dt}$$ where $Q_{in}$ and $Q_{out}$ are the flow rates in and out of the tank, respectively, which are both equal to 4L/min. Since they're equal so we'll just call them $Q$. $V$ is the tank volume of 1120L and is constant because the inflow and outflow are equal. Thus $V$ will come out of the derivative and we get:

$$ IQ-cQ=V\frac{dc}{dt}. $$ Now we can solve for the desired unknown, $I$:

$$ I(t)=\frac{V}{Q}\frac{dc}{dt}+c. $$ Since $c$ is given, we're done. You can stop here or plug in all the values: take the derivative of $c$ and plug in $\frac{V}{Q}=\frac{1120L}{4L/min}=280min$ to get:

$$ I(t)=\frac{0.35}{80}e^{-t/800}. $$

Hope this helps,

Paul Safier