Environmental Management

CT-243
Lecture# 7: BOD & COD

Engr. Affan Jalil

Lecturer,MIT (Civil Technology)
Mirpur Institute of Technology, MUST 1
 Lecture Outline
 Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD)
 Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD)
 Numerical

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 Sewage Characteristics
Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD)
 Amount of oxygen r equired for decomposition of
biodegradable organic matter under aerobicconditions
 Measure of oxygen consumed by bacteria to decompose organic
matter while using it as a food source
 Dis s olved Oxygen (DO): Oxygen present in water at a
particular time
 Using DO, the organic matter oxidizes to stable end products
such as CO2 and H2O
 Oxygen cons umed (i.e. BOD) is related to the amount of
decomposable organic matter
 Means BOD value gi ves the amount of or ganic matter
decomposed during this period

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 Sewage Characteristics
Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD)
 How to Calculate BOD?
 Obtain asample of wastewater to betested
 An oxygen meter is us ed to determine the DO at that
point in time (i.e. upon sample collection; DO0)
 Sample is then s ealed and placed in darkness for
five days
 Another DO reading is taken at this point (i.e. after 5 days;
DO5)
 BOD is then determined by subtracting the second meter
reading from the first (i.e. BOD=DO0 – DO5)
 When BOD levels are high, DO levels decrease in the water
hence adversely affecting aquaticorganisms
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 BOD Equation
Derivation of BOD Equation
 Biological oxidation of organic matter by bacteria i s
considered to be a first order reaction for all practical
purposes
 In a first order reaction, the rate of reaction i s
proportional to the concentration of the reactant present

 Therefore, we can say that in case of biological

oxidation of organic matter by bacteria, the rate of
oxidation i s proportional to the organic matter
P R ES ENT or REMAINING

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 BOD Equation
Derivation of BOD Equation:
Let;

L = Concentration of organic matter (present) at

any time ‘t’
L o = Initial concentration of organic matter att=0
i.e. (also called Ultimate BOD)

Mathematically;

dL/dt  – L (–ve sign shows that L i s decreasing)

dL/dt = – k x L
Mirpur Institute of Technology, MUST 6
 BOD Equation
Derivation of BOD Equation:
Where ‘k’ is cons tant and is known as “Reaction
Rate Constant”

dL/dt = – k x L

dL/L = – k x dt

(Integrating both sides)

Mirpur Institute of Technology, MUST 7

 BOD Equation
L t
dL
 L
= −k  dt
L0 0

ln L  = −kt
L0

ln L – ln L o = – k x t
ln L/L o = – k x t
L/L o = e – kt
L = Lo e – kt
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 BOD Equation

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 BOD Equation
Let ‘y’ be the concentration of organic matter consumed up to
time ‘t’ (i.e. BODt)
y = Lo – L
y = L o – L o e –kt
y = L o ( 1 – e –kt)
i.e. Removed Organic Matter = Initial concentration of organic matter (1 – e –kt)

Typical value of k = 0.23 per day for domestic sewage at20oC.

Value of ‘k’ i s temperature dependent
k T = k 20 (1.047) T – 20

k T = Value of k at temp T

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 BOD Numerical
Problem # 1
A sewage sample i s sealed and placed in dark for 10 days. During
this time the concentration of organic matter present in the
sample i s reduced by 220mg/L. Assuming k = 0.25/day, what was
its initial concentration of organic matter?
Solution:
y = Lo ( 1 – e –kt)
here;
y = BOD
k = Reaction rate constant
t = time
L o = ultimate BOD
Therefore;
220 = Lo ( 1 – e –0.25 x 10)
220 = Lo ( 1 – 0.082)
Mirpur Institute of Technology, MUST 23
L o = 239.65 mg/L
 Sewage Characteristics
Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD)
 Amount of oxygen required to oxidize organic matter
chemically
 Oxidizes both biodegradable and non-biodegradable
organic matter
 S tr ong chemi cal oxi di z i ng agent l i ke Potas s i um
Dichromate (K2Cr2O7) can be used
 For a wastewater sample the value of COD will always
be greater then BOD

Mirpur Institute of Technology, MUST 12

 Domestic Sewage Characteristics
Parameter Range (mg/L)
Total Solids 350 – 1200

Dissolved Solids 250 – 850

Suspended Solids 100 – 350
Setteable Solids 5 – 20
BOD 100 – 300
COD 250 – 1000
Nitrogen 20 – 50

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 Reference Book
❖ Introduction to Environmental Engineering Third Edition by Davis &
Cornwell, McGraw Hill

❖ Environmental Engineering Laboratory, by Dr. Khurshid Ahmad

 Questions ???

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