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By
Dr Utpal Sharma
Assist. Professor
Department of Community Medicine, SMIMS
For the beginning…..
Water is “polluted” by many organic matter in its course of flow
When organic matter is present in a water supply, the bacteria
present in water will begin the process of breaking down this waste.
With this much of the available dissolved oxygen is consumed by
aerobic bacteria, robbing other aquatic organisms of the oxygen
they need to live.
Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) is a measure of the oxygen used
by microorganisms to decompose this waste.
A large quantity of organic waste in the water supply, guarantees a
large number bacteria present to decompose this waste.
In this case, the demand for oxygen will be high (due to all the
bacteria) so the BOD level will be high.
As the waste is consumed or dispersed through the water, BOD
levels will begin to decline.
Cont…
Definition….
The amount of oxygen absorbed by a sample of sewage
during a specific period, generally 5 days at a specific
temperature, generally 20° C for the aerobic destruction of
the organic matter by living organisms.
Possibilities…
Water from an exceptionally clear lake might show a
BOD of less than 2 ml/L of water.
Raw sewage may give readings in the hundreds and
food processing wastes may be in the thousands.
Apparatus required
Reagents required
Step 1
Sample collection
Samples for BOD test can be either grab or composite.
Composite sample more preferred as it is more representative of
the wastestream over a period of time.
Samples should be taken at a point of well-mixed and proportional to
the amount of the flow.
Preservation of sample is not practical as biological activity will
continue after a sample has been taken
Testing should be started as quickly as possible, preferrrably <6hrs.
If not possible samples should be kept ≤ 4°C.
Do not allow samples to freeze.
Dilution water
It is high quality organic free water .
The required volume of water is aerated with a supply of clean
compressed air for at least 12 hours.
It is stabilized by incubating it at 20ºC for at least 4 hours.
Step 3
Pretreatment
Samples with extreme pH values (>8.5 or <6.0) must be neutralized
to pH 7.0 prior to testing.
This is done by adding either or H2SO4 or NaOH
Any samples containing residual chlorine must be pretreated to
remove chlorine before the test is run.
This is done by adding sodium sulfite to the sample
Step 4
Seeding
The process of adding live bacteria to a sample.
If the quality of the water is good and free from impurities, the
depletion of DO should be less than 0.2 mg/L.