Chapter 8: Oxygen Demand

• It is a measure of the amount of “reduced” organic

and inorganic matter in a water
• Relates to oxygen consumption in a river or lake
as a result of a pollution discharge
• Measured in several ways
– BOD - Biochemical Oxygen Demand
– COD - Chemical Oxygen Demand
– ThOD - Theoretical Oxygen Demand
 Theoretical Oxygen Demand
C6H12O6 + 6O2 = 6CO2 + 6H2O

Oxygen Demand

6moles*32g/mole Oxygen/1mole*180g/mole
= 1.06 O2 / Glucose

If glucose concentration is 360 mg/L THOD is

1.06 * 360 mg/L = 384 mg/L Oxygen

 BOD: A Bioassay

Briefly, the BOD test employs a

bacterial seed to catalyze the
oxidation of 300 mL of full-strength or
diluted wastewater. The strength of
the un-diluted wastewater is then
determined from the dilution factor
and the difference between the initial
D.O. and the final D.O.
BOD
BODt  DOi  DOf Bottle
 BOD with Dilution
When BOD>8mg/L

DO i - DO f
BOD t =
 Vs 
 
 Vb 

Where
BODt = biochemical oxygen demand at t days, [mg/L]
DOi = initial dissolved oxygen in the sample bottle,
[mg/L]
DOf = final dissolved oxygen in the sample bottle, [mg/L]
Vb = sample bottle volume, usually 300 or 250 mL, [mL]
Vs = sample volume, [mL]
 BOD - loss of biodegradable
organic matter (oxygen demand)
Lo
L or BOD remaining

Lt Lo-Lt = BODt

Time

BOD BOD BOD BOD BOD

Bottle Bottle Bottle Bottle Bottle
 BOD
y
NBOD
or

BOD
(mg/L) CBOD

Time
L=oxidizable carbonaceous material remaining to be oxidized

BODt  yt  Lo  Lt
 BOD Modeling
"L" is modelled as a simple 1st order decay: dL
  k1 L
dt
Which leads to:  k1t
L  Lo e

And combining with: BODt  yt  Lo  Lt

We get: BODt  yt  Lo (1  e  k1t )

 NBOD Nitrogeneous BOD (NBOD)

NH3  15  NO2  H2 O  H 
. O2 
Nitrosomonas

1 
NO  O2  NO3
Nitrobacter
2
2
2 moles oxygen/1 mole of ammonia
4.57 grams oxygen/gram ammonia-nitrogen

Inorganic NH3, NO3- NO2-

Organic Proteins, Amino acids

TKN = Ammonia-N + Organic Nitrogen

COD: A chemical test
The chemical oxygen demand
(COD) of a waste is measured in
terms of the amount of potassium
dichromate (K2Cr2O7) reduced by the
sample during 2 hr of reflux in a
medium of boiling, 50% H2SO4 and in
the presence of a Ag2SO4 catalyst.
 Solids: significance

• TDS: used as a measure of inorganic salt

content in drinking waters and natural
waters
• TSS: used to assess clarifier performance
• VSS: used to estimate bacterial populations
in wastewater treatment systems
 Solids Analysis
TS Total Solids

Filtration
filtrate retained matter

TDS Total Dissolved Solids

TSS Total Suspended Solids

ignition

FSS Fixed S.S.

VSS Volatile S.S.

 Filtration for Solids Analysis
2. Pour
1. Weigh new Sample
filter and insert

5. Measure
Change in
Weight 3. Start
suction pump
4. Remove filter
and re-weigh

6. Divide this by the

Volume filtered and you get TSS Suction Flask & Filter Holder