APPENDIX

UNITS OF MEASURE

A.1 Abbreviations for SI Units

Abbreviation SI Unit Abbreviation SI Unit
°C degree Celsius kWh kilowatthour
cal calorie L liter
cm centimeter m meter
cm 2 square centimeter m2 square meter
cm 3 cubic centimeter m3 cubic meter
d day mg milligram
g gram Mg megagram (1000 kg or
h hour metric ton)
ha hectare MJ megajoule
J joule mL milliliter
K kelvin mm millimeter
kg kilogram MPa megapascal
kJ kilojoule N newton
km kilometer Pa pascal
kN kilonewton s second
kPa kilopascal W watt
kW kilowatt

Wastewater Sludge Processing, By Izrail S. Turovskiy and P. K. Mathai

Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

343
344 APPENDIX

A.2 Abbreviations for U.S. Customary Units

Abbreviation U.S. Customary Unit Abbreviation U.S. Customary Unit
ac acre gpm gallons per minute
Btu British thermal unit hr hour
cfm cubic foot per minute hp horsepower
(ft 3 /min) hp-hr horsepower-hour
cfs cubic foot per second in. inch
(ft 3 /sec) lb pound
cy cubic yard (yd 3) MG million gallons
d day mgd million gallons per day
°F degree Fahrenheit min minute
ft foot scfm standard cubic foot per
ft2 square foot minute
ft 3 cubic foot ton 2000 lb mass (short ton)
gal gallon wk week
gpd gallons per day yr year

A.3 Conversion from SI Units a to U.S. Customary Units

Multiply SI Units To Obtain U.S. Customary Units
Name Symbol by Symbol Name
centimeter cm 0.3937 in. inch
cubic meter m3 35.31 ft 3 cubic foot
1.308 cy cubic yard
264.2 gal gallon
cubic meters per m 3 /d 0.1835 gpm gallons per minute
day 264.2 gpd gallons per day
2.642 × 10 −4 mgd million gallons per day
cubic meters per m 3 /s 22.83 mgd million gallons per day
second
degree Celsius °C °C × 1.82 + 32 °F degree Fahrenheit
K K × 1.8 − 459.67 °F degree Fahrenheit
gram g 2.205 × 10 −3 lb pound
grams per cubic g/m 3 8.34 lb/MG pounds per million
meter gallons
grams per g/kg 1.0 × 10 −3 lb/lb pounds per pound
kilogram 2.0 lb/ton pounds per ton
hectare ha 2.471 ac acre
joule J 0.2388 cal calorie
1.0 W-sec Watt-second
kelvin 2.777 × 10 −4 W-hr Watt-hour
kilogram kg 2.2.5 lb pound
kilograms per kg/m 3 6.243 × 10 −2 lb/ft 3 pounds per cubic foot
cubic meter 1.686 lb/cy pound per cubic yard
kilograms per kg/m 3 · d 6.242 × 10 −2 lb/ft 3 -d pounds per cubic foot
cubic meter per day
per day
UNITS OF MEASURE 345

A.3 Continued
Multiply SI Units To Obtain U.S. Customary Units
Name Symbol by Symbol Name
3 3
62.42 lb/10 ft -d pounds per thousand
cubic foot per day
kilograms per kg/d 2.205 lb/lb pounds per pound
day
kilograms per kg/ha 0.8922 lb/ac pounds per acre
hectare
kilograms per kg/m 2 0.2049 lb/ft2 pounds per square foot
square meter
kilojoule kJ 0.9478 Btu British thermal unit
kilojoules per kJ/kg 0.4303 Btu/lb British thermal unit per
kilogram pound
kilometer km 0.6214 mile mile
kilopascal kPa 0.145 psi pounds per square inch
(gage) (gage)
kilowatt kW 1.341 hp horsepower
liter L 3.532 × 10 −2 ft 3 cubic foot
0.2642 gal gallons
liters per L/s 15.85 gpm gallons per minute
second
megagram Mg 1.1.5 ton ton (short)
(1000 kg or
metric ton)
megajoule MJ 0.3725 hp-hr horsepower-hour
0.2777 kWh kilowatthour
meter m 3.281 ft foot
1.094 yd yard
meters per m/s 3.281 fps feet per second
second
milligrams per mg/L 8.34 ll/MG pounds per million
gallons
liter
milliliters per mL/m 3 0.1337 ft 3 /MG cubic feet per
cubic meter million gallons
millimeter mm 3.937 × 10 −2 in. inch
newton N 0.2248 lb pound force
pascal Pa 1.450 × 10 −4 psi pounds per square inch
square km 2 247.1054 ac acre
kilometer 0.3851 mi 2 square mile
square meter m2 10.764 ft2 square foot
1.196 yd 2 square yard
watt W 3.412 Btu/h British thermal units
per hour
0.738 ft-lb/sec foot-pounds per second
a
Some of the units listed are metric units commonly used in environmental engineering.
346 APPENDIX

A.4 Conversion from U.S. Customary Units to SI Units a

Multiply U.S. Customary Units To Obtain SI Units
Name Symbol by Symbol Name
acre ac 0.4047 ha hectare
bar bar 100.0 kPa kilopascal
British thermal Btu 1.055 kJ kilojoule
units
British thermal Btu/lb 2.326 kJ/kg kilojoules per
units per kilogram
pound
calorie cal 4.187 J joule
cubic feet per ft 3 /MG 7.482 mL/m 3 milliliters per cubic
million meter
gallons
cubic feet per cfs (ft 3 /s) 2.832 × 10 −2 m 3 /s cubic meters per
second second
cubic foot ft 3 2.832 × 10 −2 m3 cubic meter
28.32 L liter
cubic yard cy 0.7646 m3 cubic meter
degree °F 0.5556(°F − 32) °C degree Celsius
Fahrenheit (°F + 459.67) K Kelvin
degree Rankin °R 0.5556 K Kelvin
feet per second fps 0.3048 m/s meters per second
foot ft 0.3048 m meter
gallon gal 3.785 × 10 −3 m3 cubic meter
3.785 L liter
gallons per day gpd 3.785 × 10 −3 m 3 /d cubic meters per day
gallons per gpm 5.451 m 3 /d cubic meters per day
minute
horsepower hp 7.457 kW kilowatt
horsepower- hp-hr 2.685 MJ megajoule
hour
kiowatthour kWh 3.60 MJ megajoule
mile mile 1.609 km kilometer
million gallons MG 3.785 × 103 m3 cubic meter
million gallons mgd 3.785 × 103 m 3 /d cubic meters per day
per day 4.383 m 3 /s cubic meters per
second
pound (force) lbf 4.448 N newton
pound (mass) lb 0.4536 kg kilogram
pounds per lb/ac-d 1.121 kg/ha · d kilograms per hectare
acre per day per day
pounds per lb/gal 0.1198 kg/L kilograms per liter
gallon
pounds per lb/MG 0.1198 g/m 3 grams per cubic meter
million 0.1198 mg/L milligrams per liter
gallons
UNITS OF MEASURE 347

A.4 Continued
Multiply U.S. Customary Units To Obtain SI Units
Name Symbol by Symbol Name
pounds per psi 6895 Pa pascal
square
inch (force)
pounds per lb/103 ft 3 16.02 × 10 −3 kg/m 3 kilograms per cubic
thousand meter
cubic feet
square foot ft2 9.290 × 10 −2 m2 square meter
square inch in 2 645.2 mm 2 square millimeter
square mile mi 2 2.590 km 2 square kilometer
square yard yd 2 0.8361 m2 square meter
ton (short) ton 907.2 kg kilogram
tons per acre tons/ac 0.2242 kg/m 2 kilograms per square
meter
2.242 Mg/ha megagrams per
hectare
yard yd 0.9144 m meter
a
Some of the units listed are metric units commonly used in environmental engineering.