WATER QUALITY

MEASURE OF WATER QUALITY

Dissolved Oxygen
Biochemical Oxygen Demand
Solids
Nitrogen
Bacteriological

OXYGEN DEMAND DEFINITION

Dissolved Oxygen (DO) the amount of oxygen
that is present in the water in mg/L
Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD)
the amount of oxygen utilized by microorganisms in
oxidizing carbonaceous and nitrogenous organic
matter
Carbonaceous Biochemical Oxygen Demand
(CBOD) BOD where the electron donor is
carbonaceous organic matter
Nitrogenous Biochemical Oxygen Demand (NBOD)
BOD where the electron donor is nitrogenous
organic matter

OXYGEN DEMAND DEFINITION

Theoretical Oxygen Demand (ThOD)
the amount of oxygen utilized by microorganisms in oxidizing
carbonaceous and nitrogenous organic matter, assuming
that all of the organic matter is subject to microbial
breakdown
BOD5 5-day BOD the amount of oxygen consumed over
an incubation period of 5 days
BODU Ultimate BOD the amount of oxygen consumed
when all of the biodegradable organic matter has been
oxidized.
Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) the amount of chemical
oxidant required to completely oxidized a source of organic
matter

DISSOLVED OXYGEN

BIOCHEMICAL OXYGEN DEMAND

BOD = I F
where I = initial DO, mg/L
F= final DO, mg/L

BIOCHEMICAL OXYGEN DEMAND

BOD = (I F)D
where D = dilution represented as fraction
and defined as
D = Total Volume of bottle
Volume of Sample

BIOCHEMICAL OXYGEN DEMAND

y = L(1 e-kt)
where y = BOD at any time t in days, mg/L
L = ultimate BOD, mg/L
k = deoxygenation constant

BIOCHEMICAL OXYGEN DEMAND

kT

k 20

( T 20 )

= 1.047
T = temperature (oC)
k20 = reaction rate constant at the standard lab T
kT = reaction rate at a different T

1. Given the following BOD5 test results:

Initial DO
8 mg/L
Final DO
0 mg/L
Dilution
1 : 10
a. What can you say about BOD5?
b. BOD ultimate?

2. A wastewater sample has a k1 = 0.2day-1 and an

ultimate BOD = 200 mg/L. What is the final dissolved
oxygen in a BOD bottle in which the sample is
diluted 1:20 and wherein the initial dissolved oxygen
is 10.2 mg/L?

3. Calculate the ultimate BOD of a waste that has a

measured 5-day BOD of 20 mg/L, assuming a rate
constant of 0.15/day.

4. A 15 ml wastewater sample is placed in a

standard 300 ml bottle, and the bottle is filled with
dilution water. The bottle had an initial DO
concentration of 8 mg/L and a final DO concentration
of 2 mg/L. A blank run in parallel showed no change
in DO over the 5-day incubation period. The BOD
reaction rate coefficient for the waste is 0.4/day.
Calculate the 5-day BOD and the ultimate BOD of
the wastewater.

5. A midnight dumper discharge a tank truck full of

industrial waste in a gravel pit. The truck was spotted
there 3 days ago, and a pool of pure waste remains.
A laboratory technician determined that the waste
has a 5-day BOD 80 mg/L with a rate constant of
0.1/day. Three factories in the vicinity generate
organic wastes: a winery (ultimate BOD = 275 mg/L),
a vinegar manufacturer (ultimate BOD = 80 mg/L),
and a pharmaceutical company (ultimate BOD = 200
mg/L). Determine the source of the waste.