 BOD measures oxygen taken up by the

bacteria and other microorganisms (fungi etc.)

to aerobically degrade(oxidize) the organic
matter present in a water sample over a 5 day
period, by aerobic oxidation we mean that
bacteria in presence of oxygen converts the
organic matter into stable compounds such as
nitrites, nitrates, sulphates,CO2,H2O etc.

 When degradation of Organic Matter starts,

oxygen will be used up in aerobic process and
bacteria will rob other aquatic organisms of
the oxygen they need to live.
 Oxygen (the natural or forced
draft) Wastewater treatment
plants are designed to
function as bacteria farms,
where bacteria are fed
Wastewater oxygen and organic waste.
The excess bacteria grown
Organic/ in system are removed as
nutrient SLUDGE.

Biomass : viscous, jelly-like substance containing bacteria

filter media
 BOD directly affects the amount of DO

 How ????

 The more rapidly oxygen is depleted in the

water, the GREATER the BOD

 BOD is used as a routine test to measure the

efficiency of wastewater treatment plant in
removing organic matter
 Detriment of high BOD is same as low
Dissolved oxygen
 When plants grow quickly, they also die
quickly, this causes high organic waste in
water which is then decomposed by
bacteria and this results in HIGH BOD
 As temperature increases, DO gets less
so it increases BOD level in water
 NEQS limits: 80 mg/l (for municipal and
industrial effluents)
 BOD for drinking water should be less
than 1 mg/l
Sample location BOD at 5 days after incubation

Kabul River (Sardaryab bridge) 4.8

Shah Alam River (shah alam 3.2

bridge)

Jindi River (Charsadda khas 6.0

bridge)

Rajjar canal (Hashtnagar Flour mill) 7.8

 BOD is the amount of oxygen required
by the microorganisms to decompose
organic matter in water, so it will give
you the amount of oxygen consumed, so
if it is more it will have adverse effects on
aquatic life
 Overview:
i. DO value of water is measured at the start and after 5 days
 Dilution:
i. High concentration of Organic material will not contain sufficient DO
for complete oxidation, so dilute it with certain percentage by
following the guidelines:
Raw and settled wastewater --------------- 1-5 %

 Seeding
i. After dilution, the sample must be seeded with a bacterial source to
ensure the presence of bacteria capable of degrading the organic
material in the sample, you can use RAW SEWAGE as a seed in which
bacteria will provide oxygen and bacteria used is called “seed”
 Calculation
i. BOD = (D1-D2)/P
where D1 = initial DO, D2 = final DO and P= decimal volumetric fraction of
sample used e.g. a 5 ml sample diluted to 100 ml would be a 5%
solution and P = (5/100)*100% = 5%
 This method is based on the fact that in
alkaline medium, DO oxidizes Mn2+ to
Mn4+, which in acidic medium oxidizes
Iodide ions to free iodine. The amount of
iodine released which can be treated
with a standard solution of sodium Thio-
sulphate is thus equivalent to the DO
originally present.
 MnSO4 + 2KOH ....> Mn(OH)2 + K2SO4(white)

 2Mn(OH)2 + O2 ….> 2MnO(OH)2 (brown)

 2MnO(OH)2 + 2H2SO4 …> 2Mn(SO4)2 + 6H20

 2Mn(SO4)2 + 4KI …> 2MnSO4 + 2K2SO4 + 2I2

 Sodium Thio-sulphate then reacts with the released I2 to give an
accurate estimate of the DO in the original sample. Add starch
indicator before titration with Sodium Thio-sulphate. Colorless is
the end point of titration.
 A known volume of sewage water is diluted to a known volume
with fresh water
 Equal quantities of the sample are taken in two BOD bottles
 Add 5 ml MnSO4, it will turn brown if DO is present
 Add 5 ml KI
 MnO (Manganic) precipitates should be formed, if not then
FAILURE
 Add H2SO4, precipitate will be dissolved in it
 Now take Na2S2O3 in burette
 Make starch indicator solution and add little bit of it to the
solution
 Color will change to black
 Now titrate it against Na2S2O3 until the color changes to colorless
 Note down the volume of Na2S2O3, plug in the values in the
formula(given on next slide) and find DO, this will be the DO
value initially present
 Now take the diluted sample and put in BOD incubator for 5
days at 20*C and find the DO value
 Now plug in the values in the BOD formula given on slide#12 and
find BOD value
 1 mole of O2 = 2 moles of I2 = 4 moles of
Na2S2O3
 1 mol of Na2S2O3 = ¼ th mol of O2 = 8 gm
of O2
 1 ml of 1N Na2S2O3 = 8 gm of O2
 „V‟ ml of 0.05N Na2S2O3 = 8*V*0.05N
Therefore,
DO of water sample = (8*Vol*0.05*1000)/volume of
sample
 BOD = (D1-D2)/P