The University of Zambia School of Natural Sciences Department of Biological Sciences BIO-4321

THE UNIVERSITY OF ZAMBIA
SCHOOL OF NATURAL SCIENCES

DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
BIO-4321
NAME ZULU LUCY
COMPUTER NUMBER 2016143476
TASK ASSIGNMENT
LECTURER Dr BANDA
CHEMICAL OXYGEN DEMAND AND BIOCHEMICAL OXYGEN DEMAND
The Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) is a test that measures the amount of
oxygen required to chemically oxidize the organic material and inorganic nutrients
such as Ammonia or Nitrate, present in water. The COD test is often used to
monitor water treatment plant efficiency. This test is based on the fact that a
strong oxidizing agent, under acidic conditions, can fully oxidize almost any
organic compound to carbon dioxide. The COD is the amount of oxygen
consumed to chemically oxidize organic water contaminants to inorganic end
products. COD is measured via a laboratory assay in which a sample is incubated
with a strong chemical oxidant for a specified time interval and at constant
temperature (usually 2hr at 150’C). The most commonly used oxidant is
potassium dichromate which is used in combination with boiling sulphuric acid. It
is important to note that the chemical oxidant is not specific to organic
compounds hence both these sources of oxygen demand are measured in a COD
assay. Furthermore, it does not measure the oxygen-consuming potential
associated with certain dissolved organic compounds such as acetate. Thus,
measurements are not directly comparable to Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD)
but can be used to compliment.
The COD is often measured using a strong oxidant (e.g. potassium dichromate,
potassium iodide, potassium permanganate) under acidic conditions. A known
excess amount of oxidant is added to the sample. Once oxidation is complete, the
concentration of organics in the sample is calculated by measuring the amount of
oxidant remaining in the solution. This is usually done by titration, using an
indicator solution. COD is expressed in mg/L, which indicates the mass of oxygen
consumed per liter of solution.
COD is an important water quality parameter and is used in a wide range of

applications including:
 to confirm wastewater discharge and the waste treatment procedure

meets criteria set by regulators;
 to quantify the biodegradable fraction of wastewater effluent-ratio
between BOD and COD;
 COD or BOD measurements are also used as an indicator of the size of a
wastewater treatment plant required for a specific location.
Despite the COD test being entrenched in legislation there are numerous
problems and challenges associated with use of the test:
 There is a lag until results are available (transportation to lab + 2hr for
test), hence environmental damage can occur before the data is available;
 The test is time consuming and expensive;
 The test involves dangerous chemicals that need careful disposal and are
potentially harmful to operators;
 It fails to recreate natural processes (i.e. the test involves an artificial
incubation with a strong oxidizing agent);
 It is imprecise and has high minimum detection limit thus is not applicable
to clean/uncontaminated river samples.
Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) on the other hand is the amount of dissolved
oxygen needed (i.e. demanded) by aerobic biological organisms to break down
organic material present in a given water sample at certain temperature over a
specific time period. The BOD value is most commonly expressed in milligrams of
oxygen consumed per liter of sample during 5 days of incubation at 20 °C and is
often used as a surrogate of the degree of organic pollution of water. BOD
reduction is used as a gauge of the effectiveness of wastewater treatment plants.
BOD of wastewater effluents is used to indicate the short-term impact on the
oxygen levels of the receiving water.
BOD analysis is similar in function to chemical oxygen demand (COD) analysis, in
that both measure the amount of organic compounds in water. However, COD
analysis is less specific, since it measures everything that can be chemically
oxidized, rather than just levels of biologically oxidized organic matter.
BOD looks at the amount of oxygen required for microbial metabolism of organic
compounds in water. This demand occurs over some variable period of time
depending on temperature, nutrient concentrations, and the enzymes available to
indigenous microbial populations. Dissolved oxygen depletion is most likely to
become evident during the initial aquatic microbial population explosion in
response to a large amount of organic material. If the microbial population
deoxygenates the water, however, that lack of oxygen imposes a limit on
population growth of aerobic aquatic microbial organisms resulting in a longer
term food surplus and oxygen deficit.
The BOD is used in measuring waste loadings to treatment plants and in
evaluating the BOD-removal efficiency of such treatment systems. The test
method involves variables limiting reproducibility;
 Some wastes contain chemicals capable of suppressing microbiological
growth or activity. Suppression of the microbial community oxidizing the
waste will lower the test result.
 The test relies upon a microbial ecosystem with enzymes capable of
oxidizing the available organic material. Some waste waters, such as those
from biological secondary sewage treatment, will already contain a large
population of microorganisms acclimated to the water being tested. An
appreciable portion of the waste may be utilized during the holding period
prior to commencement of the test procedure. On the other hand, organic
wastes from industrial sources may require specialized enzymes.
REFERENCE
1.^ Jump up to: a b Clair N. Sawyer; Perry L. McCarty; Gene F. Parkin (2003).
Chemistry for Environmental Engineering and Science (5th ed.). New York:
McGraw-Hill. ISBN 978-0-07-248066-5.
2.^ Goldman, Charles R.; Horne, Alexander J. (1983). Limnology. McGraw-Hill. pp.
88, 267. ISBN 0-07-023651-8.
3.^ Jump up to: a b Reid, George K. (1961). Ecology of Inland Waters and
Estuaries. Van Nostrand Reinhold. pp. 317–320.
4.^ Norton, John F. Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Sewage
9th Ed. (1946) American Public Health Association p.139
5.^ Urquhart, Leonard Church Civil Engineering Handbook 4th Ed. (1959) McGraw-
Hill p. 9–40.

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THE UNIVERSITY OF ZAMBIA

SCHOOL OF NATURAL SCIENCES

NAME ZULU LUCY

COMPUTER NUMBER 2016143476

COD is an important water quality parameter and is used in a wide range of

 to confirm wastewater discharge and the waste treatment procedure

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