Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD)Wastewater Treatment EngineeringCE 455

Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD)

Definition

• The quantity of oxygen utilised by a mixed population of micro-organisms to biologically degrade the organic matter in the wastewater under aerobic condition.

• Normally, wastewater has high organic content. The organic content are measured by Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) and Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD).

• BOD is used as a measure of organic pollution as a basis for estimating the oxygen needed for biological processes, and as an indicator of process performance.

• The more “food” present in the waste, the more Dissolved Oxygen (DO) will be required.

Aerobic and Anaerobic decomposition

• Aerobic decomposition

• Anaerobic decomposition

BOD

BOD excretion and remaining

BOD, CBOD, NBOD

BOD5• BOD5

20: Biochemical Oxygen Demand, by microbial decomposition in the lab, under standardised conditions:

• during 5 days

• at 20 º Celsius

• in the dark (to prevent algae growth and photosynthesis of O2)

• other compounds (than organic matter) can also be converted by microbes while using oxygen. Most common one

is NH4+:

• Theoretically: NH4+ + 2 O2→ NO3

- + 2H+ + H2O

• Nitrogen Oxygen Demand (nBOD) = 4.57 g O2 / g NH4-N !

• When no measures are taken to prevent this, the analysis result is called TBOD (total BOD).

• When a so-called nitrification inhibitor is added (prevents conversion of NH4+), then it is called CBOD (carbon-

BOD).

Forms of Nitrogen in Wastewater

Ammonia – NH3

Nitrite – NO2-

Nitrate – NO3-

Organic

Ammonia – NH3

Nitrite – NO2-

Nitrate – NO3-

ToxicOxygen Demand

Chlorine Demand

Health Concern

Complex CompoundsProtein (plant & animal)Amino Acidsetc.

Forms of Nitrogen in Wastewater

Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen - “TKN”

Total Inorganic Nitrogen - “TIN”

Sum ofOrganic N + Ammonia

Sum of Ammonia + Nitrite + Nitrate

Nitrification

• Biological Oxidation of Ammonia to Nitrite to Nitrate

NH3 NO2 NO3*Autotrophic Bacteria Utilize Inorganic Compounds

(and CO2 as a Carbon Source)

NH3-NAmmonia N

NO2-NNitrite N

NitrosomonasNO2-N

Nitrite NNO3-N

Nitrate NNitrobacter

Oxygen requirements of Nitrogen

• Air Requirements

1.5 lbs O2 / lb BOD4.6 lbs O2 / lb TKN

• Lower temperatures cause slower nitrifier growth rate.

BOD test – without dilution

BOD test – with dilution

Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD)

• In practice, to avoid 5 days delay between sampling and obtaining result:

• COD: Chemical Oxygen Demand; oxidation by strong chemical oxidant, usually K2Cr2O7(potassium dichromate) in the presence of sulfuric acid at elevated temperatures (~ 150 ºC), during 2 hours

• For various types of (waste)waters, there is usually a more or less constant ratio between BOD and COD:

• domestic wastewater: BOD/COD = 0.65

• surface water: BOD/COD = 0.40

Example

Determine the 5-day BOD for a 15 ml sample that is diluted with dilution water to a total volume of 300 ml when the initial DO concentration is 8 mg/l and after 5 days, has been reduced to 2 mg/l.

BOD Kinetics

Ultimate BOD

• The “ultimate BOD” is the amount of oxygen required to decompose all of the organic material after “infinite time”. This is usually simply calculated from the 5 day data.

Example

A raw wastewater sample from WWTP1 has 2000 mg/L 5-day BOD (due to carbon only) with reaction constant (k=0.23/day at 20°C). Calculate ultimate BOD; amounts of BOD exerted on 1- and 15-day and comment on observed differences between 1- and 15-day BOD values