FACULTY OF CIVIL ENGINEERING DIPLOMA IN CIVIL ENGINEERING

UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MARA LABORATORY MANUAL

COURSE WATER ENGINEERING LABORATORY

COURSE CODE ECW341
LEVEL OF OPENNESS 2
CATEGORY PARTIALLY OPEN
DEGREE OF OPEN ENDED 67%
PERIOD OF ACTIVITY 1 WEEK
LAB NO 5.2 MEASUREMENT OF CHEMICAL PARAMETERS OF WATER :
DISSOLVED OXYGEN (DO) & BIOCHEMICAL OXYGEN DEMAND
TITLE
(BOD)

INTRODUCTION

Oxygen is measured in its dissolved form as dissolved oxygen (DO). If

more oxygen is consumed than is produced, dissolved oxygen levels
decline and some sensitive animals may move away, weaken, or die. DO
levels fluctuate seasonally and over a 24-hour period. They vary with water
temperature and altitude.

OBJECTIVES

At the end of the laboratory activities, students would be able to:

1. To determine the concentration of Dissolved Oxygen (DO) and

Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) in the water sample.

2. To compare the results obtained from the experiments with the

standard from Department of Environment (DOE) Malaysia.

PREAMBLE LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of the lesson, students should be able to:

1. Conduct and construct the measurement of chemical parameters

of water laboratory experiment. (CO1 – PO4)
2. Analyze and interpret the data based on obtained data. (CO2 –
PO6)

THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

Wastewater from sewage treatment plants often contains organic

materials that are decomposed by microorganisms, which use oxygen in
the process. The amount of oxygen consumed by these organisms in
breaking down the waste is known as the biochemical oxygen demand or
BOD.

A test is used to measure the amount of oxygen consumed by these

organisms during a specified period of time (usually 5 days at 20˚C).

ECW341 – WATER ENGINEERING LABORATORY Page 1

 FACULTY OF CIVIL ENGINEERING DIPLOMA IN CIVIL ENGINEERING
UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MARA LABORATORY MANUAL

BOD directly affects the amount of dissolved oxygen in rivers and streams.
The greater the BOD, the more rapidly oxygen is depleted in the stream.
The consequences of high BOD are the same as those for low dissolved
oxygen.

According to Malaysia's Environmental Law, ENVIRONMENTAL

QUALITY ACT, 1974, the Malaysia Environmental Quality (Sewage and
Industrial Effluents) Regulations, 1979, 1999, 2000: Biochemical Oxygen
Demand (BOD) limit for effluent of standard A and B is 20 and 50 mg/L
respectively. Based on this requirement, each group is required to
PROBLEM STATEMENTS
evaluate the effectiveness of wastewater treatment plant around UiTM or
any significance sources as the water sample by obtaining the effluent,
discharge/water samples. You are also allowed to used the prepared
sample in the laboratory.

Each group should be able to identify the correct apparatus for the
experiment.

WAYS AND MEANS Each group should be able to search relevant procedures/methods with
(Refer to Standard Methods for the regard to the intended experimental works to be proposed to the
Examination of Water and lecturer/instructor prior to doing the experiment for approval.
Wastewater
The proposed procedures should consider the availability of the
apparatus, chemical and materials in the laboratory.

Collect all the data from the above procedure and results for a comparison
of DO & BOD.

All data collected and observed during the experiment should be tabulated
in proper format for easy verification and presentation of the technical
report.
RESULT, ANALYSIS
CONCLUSION 1. Tabulate the DO and BOD concentration for all sample.
2. Analyse the result based on the effluent/suitable standard from
DOE.
3. Discuss the condition of the results based on the DO and BOD
effluent concentration.
4. Suggest how the BOD concentration can be minimized in
wastewater.
5. Discuss and conclude the experimental work.

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