BOD Model

Curve of oxygen exerted and BOD remaining

It is generally assumed that the rate at which the oxygen is consumed is directly proportional
to the concentration of degradable organic matter remaining at any time. The kinetics of
BOD reaction can be formulated in accordance with first order reaction kinetics as:

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Typical values of k
K (base e,20 oC is 0.23 per day
K base 10 , 20oC is 0.1 per day

Relationship between K(base e) and K(base 10) is

K (base 10) =K (base e) / 2.303

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Time required to achieve the ultimate BOD depends upon the characteristics of the wastewater,
i.e., chemical composition of the organic matter present in the wastewater and its biodegradable
properties and temperature of incubation. At higher temperature for same concentration and
nature of organic matter ultimate BOD will be achieved in shorter time as compared to lower
temperatures, where it will require more time. The ultimate BOD best expresses the
concentration of degradable organic matter based on the total oxygen required to oxidize it.
However, it does not indicate how rapidly oxygen will be depleted in the receiving water.
Oxygen depletion is related to both the ultimate BOD and the BOD rate constant (K). The
ultimate BOD will increase in direct proportion to the concentration of biodegradable organic
matter

The BOD reaction rate constant is dependent on the following:

1. The nature of the waste
2. The ability of the organisms in the system to utilize the waste
3. The temperature
Nature of the waste: Thousands of organic matters exist with different chemical
composition in nature. All organic matter will not have same degradation rate. Simple sugar
and starches are rapidly degraded and will therefore have a high value of BOD rate constant.
Cellulose degrades much more slowly and hairs are almost undegradable during BOD test or
during biological treatment of wastewater. Other compounds are intermediate degradable
between these extremes. For complex waste, like sewage, the BOD rate constant depends
upon the relative proportions of the various components.

Ability of organisms to utilize waste: Every microorganism is limited in its ability to utilize
organic compounds. Many organic matters can only be utilized by particular group of
microorganisms. In natural environment, where the water course is receiving particular
organic compound, the microorganisms which have capability to degrade that organic matter
will grow in predominant. However, the culture used during BOD test may have very small
fraction of the organisms which can degrade that particular organic compounds in the waste.
As a result the BOD value, for limited incubation duration, and the rate constant would be
lower in the laboratory test than in the natural water environment where the waste is regularly
discharged. Therefore, the BOD test should be conducted with organisms which have been
acclimated to the waste so that the rate constant determined in the laboratory can be
compared to that in the river.

Temperature: The biochemical reactions are temperature dependent and the activity of the
microorganism increases with the increase in temperature up to certain value, and drop with
decrease in temperature. Since, the oxygen utilization in BOD test is caused by microbial
metabolism, the rate of utilization is similarly affected by the temperature. The standard
temperature at which BOD is determined is usually 20oC. However, the water temperature

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may vary from place to place for the same river; hence, the BOD rate constant is adjusted to
the temperature of receiving water using following relationship:

Examples1

c) 𝐵𝑂𝐷𝑡 = 𝐿0 − 𝐿𝑡
200= 300 − 𝐿𝑡
Therefore,
Lt =300-200 =100

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Example 2

Example 3

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Example 4

𝑩𝑶𝑫𝟏 = 𝑳𝑶 (𝟏 − 𝒆−𝒌𝒕 ) = 𝟐𝟗𝟑(𝟏 − 𝒆−𝟎.𝟐𝟑∗𝟏 ) = 𝟔𝟎 . 𝟐 𝒎𝒈/𝒍

Other Measures of Oxygen Demand

Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD)
During COD determination total organic content of the waste is oxidized by dichromate in
acid solution. In this test to determine the oxygen requirement of the wastewater, strong
oxidizing agent ‘potassium dichromate’ is used. Acidic environment is provided to accelerate the
reactions by addition of sulphuric acid. COD test measures virtually all oxidizable organic
compounds whether biodegradable or not, except some aromatic compounds which resists
dichromate oxidation.The COD is proportional to BOD only for readily soluble organic matter in
dissolved form e.g. sugars. For readily biodegradable waste, such as dairy COD = BODu/0.92

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The correlation between BOD and COD for sewage is presented in the below.

Correlation between BOD and COD for sewage at 20oC incubation and k=0.23per day
CODb , b means biodegradable

The COD is faster determination but does not give idea about the nature of organic matter
whether biodegradable or biorefractory organic matter. Hence, determination of BOD is
necessary for the wastewater to know biodegradable organic matter fraction. The BOD is not
very useful test for routine plant control due to long incubation period required, hence
requiring long time (5 days) to obtain results. Thus, it is important to develop correlation
between BOD and COD (or TOC), so that COD (or TOC) can be used as a parameter for
routine analysis and control of the treatment plant. Once COD values are known, the BOD
can be estimated using correlation. The test results are more reproducible for COD.

Theoretical Oxygen Demand (ThOD)

Theoretical oxygen demand for the wastewater is calculated as oxygen required for oxidizing
the organic matter to end products. For example, for glucose, the theoretical oxygen demand
can be worked out as below:

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 TOC is related to COD through carbon-oxygen balance
𝐶𝑂𝐷 6 ∗ 𝑚𝑜𝑙𝑎𝑟 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑜𝑥𝑦𝑔𝑒𝑛 6 ∗ 16 ∗ 2
= = = 2.66
𝑇𝑂𝐶 6 ∗ 𝑚𝑜𝑙𝑎𝑟 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑏𝑜𝑛 6 ∗ 12

Self Purification Of Natural Streams

The self purification of natural water systems is a complex process that often involves
physical, chemical, and biological processes working simultaneously. The amount of
Dissolved Oxygen (DO) in water is one of the most commonly used indicators of a river
health. As DO drops below 4 or 5 mg/L the forms of life that can survive begin to be reduced.
A minimum of about 2.0 mg/L of dissolved oxygen is required to maintain higher life forms.
A number of factors affect the amount of DO available in a river. Oxygen demanding wastes
remove DO; plants add DO during day but remove it at night; respiration of organisms
removes oxygen. In summer, rising temperature reduces solubility of oxygen, while lower
flows reduce the rate at which oxygen enters the water from atmosphere.

Factors Affecting Self Purification

1. Dilution: When sufficient dilution water is available in the receiving water body, where
the wastewater is discharged, the DO level in the receiving stream may not reach to zero
or critical DO due to availability of sufficient DO initially in the river water before
receiving discharge of wastewater.
2. Current: When strong water current is available, the discharged wastewater will be
thoroughly mixed with stream water preventing deposition of solids. In small current, the
solid matter from the wastewater will get deposited at the bed following decomposition
and reduction in DO.
3. Temperature: The quantity of DO available in stream water is more in cold temperature
than in hot temperature. Also, as the activity of microorganisms is more at the higher

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temperature, hence, the self-purification will take less time at hot temperature than in
winter.
4. Sunlight: Algae produces oxygen in presence of sunlight due to photosynthesis.
Therefore, sunlight helps in purification of stream by adding oxygen through
photosynthesis.
5. Rate of Oxidation: Due to oxidation of organic matter discharged in the river DO
depletion occurs. This rate is faster at higher temperature and low at lower temperature.
The rate of oxidation of organic matter depends on the chemical composition of organic
matter.

Oxygen Sag Analysis

The oxygen sag or oxygen deficit in the stream at any point of time during self purification
process is the difference between the saturation DO content and actual DO content at that
time.
Oxygen deficit, D = Saturation DO – Actual DO

The saturation DO value for fresh water depends upon the temperature and total dissolved
salts present in it; and its value varies from 14.62 mg/L at 0oC to 7.63 mg/L at 30oC, and
lower DO at higher temperatures
The DO in the stream may not be at saturation level and there may be initial oxygen deficit
‘Do’. At this stage, when the effluent with initial BOD load Lo, is discharged in to stream, the
DO content of the stream starts depleting and the oxygen deficit (D) increases. The variation
of oxygen deficit (D) with the distance along the stream, and hence with the time of flow
from the point of pollution is depicted by the ‘Oxygen Sag Curve’ (Figure below. The major
point in sag analysis is point of minimum DO, i.e., maximum deficit. The maximum or
critical deficit (Dc) occurs at the inflexion points of the oxygen sag curve.

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Deoxygenation and Reoxygenation Curves
When wastewater is discharged into the stream, the DO level in the stream goes on depleting.
This depletion of DO content is known as deoxygenation. The rate of deoxygenation depends
upon the amount of organic matter remaining (Lt) to be oxidized at any time t, as well as
temperature (T) at which reaction occurs. The variation of depletion of DO content of the
stream with time is depicted by the deoxygenation curve in the absence of aeration. The
ordinates below the deoxygenation curve (Figure above) indicate the oxygen remaining in the
natural stream after satisfying the bio-chemical oxygen demand of oxidizable matter.

When the DO content of the stream is gradually consumed due to BOD load, atmosphere
supplies oxygen continuously to the water, through the process of re-aeration or
reoxygenation, i.e., along with deoxygenation, re-aeration is continuous process.
The rate of reoxygenation depends upon:
i) Depth of water in the stream: more for shallow depth.
ii) Velocity of flow in the stream: less for stagnant water.
iii) Oxygen deficit below saturation DO: since solubility rate depends on difference
between saturation concentration and existing concentration of DO.
iv) Temperature of water: solubility of oxygen is lower at higher temperature and also
saturation concentration is less at higher temperature.

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 Mathematical analysis of Oxygen Sag Curve: Streeter – Phelps equation
The analysis of oxygen sag curve can be easily done by superimposing the rates of
deoxygenation and reoxygenation as suggested by the Streeter – Phelps analysis. The rate of
change in the DO deficit is the sum of the two reactions as explained below

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This is Streeter-Phelps oxygen sag equation. The graphical representation of this equation is
shown in Figure below.

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Note: Deoxygenation and reoxygenation occurs simultaneously. After critical point, the rate
of re-aeration is greater than the deoxygenation and after some distance the DO will reach to
original level and stream will not have any effect due to addition of wastewater. At time t=0
at x = 0.

Determination of Critical DO deficit (Dc) and distance Xc

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