SCHOOL OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING

UNIVERSITI SAINS MALAYSIA

SEMESTER II
ACADEMIC SESSION 2021/2022

EKC 291 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING LABORATORY I

PRE LAB TEST

EXPERIMENT 20: COD AND BOD MEASUREMENT

GROUP 14

LECTURER:
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR DR. DEREK CHAN JUINN CHIEH

GROUP MEMBER:
LEE CHEE MENG (151613)
NURAIN NADRAH BINTI AZMI (153225)
GRACE ANG PEI JUN (153406)
KHAVIENEIYAA A/P SELVARAJOO (153231)

SUBMISSION DATE:
25 APRIL 2022
 1. Describe three differences between COD and BOD.

BOD DIFFERENCES COD

Amount of oxygen required by Amount of oxygen required to

the microbes to decompose the Definition chemically oxidise organic
organic matter under aerobic matter.(BYJUS, n.d.)
conditions.(BYJUS, n.d.)

Measured by keeping a sealed The water sample is incubated

water sample for incubation for a with a strong
period of 5 days at 20 degree oxidant in combination with
Celsius. The reduction in Test boiling sulphuric acid for a
dissolved oxygen gives the specific period of time and
amount of oxygen consumed by temperature.(The Constructor,
the aerobic organisms.(The 2019)
Constructor, 2019)

Always lower than COD (BYJUS, Value Always greater than BOD
n.d.) (BYJUS, n.d.)

2. List the limitations in BOD test.

The limitations in the BOD test are (Civil Crews,2020):

1) The BOD test only measures biodegradable organics.

2) Pre-treatment is required if the sample contains toxic wastes.
3) The effects of nitrifying bacteria should be reduced or eliminated by pre-treatment or
by use of inhibitory agents before the test is applied.
4) It is essential to have a high concentration of active bacteria present in the sample
wastewater.
5) The test loses its stoichiometric validity after the soluble organic matter present in the
solution has been used or exhausted.
6) To gather findings, the test utilises an arbitrarily long period of time.
7) The 5-day timeframe for the BOD5 test may or may not correspond to the point when
soluble organic matter present has been used.

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 3. What is the value stated for BOD or COD in Malaysian Environmental Quality
Act for Industrial Effluent discharge? Explain your understanding on the stated
values.

The value stated for BOD is given in the Fifth Schedule of Environmental Quality (Industrial
Effluent) Regulations 2009.

Table 1: Acceptable Conditions for Discharge of Industrial Effluent or Mixed Effluent of

Standard A and B
Standard
Parameter Unit
A B
BOD5 at 20°C mg/L 20 50
(Environmental Quality (Industrial Effluent) Regulations 2009)

The value stated for COD is given in the Seventh and Eighth Schedule of Environmental
Quality (Industrial Effluent) Regulations 2009.

Table 2: Acceptable Conditions for Discharge of Industrial Effluent Containing Chemical

Oxygen Demand for Specific Trade or Industry Sector
Standard
Trade/Industry Unit
A B
Pulp and paper industry
Pump mill mg/L 80 350
Paper mill (recycled) mg/L 80 250
Pulp and paper mill mg/L 80 300
Textile industry mg/L 80 250
Fermentation and distillery industry mg/L 400 400
Other industries mg/L 80 200
(Environmental Quality (Industrial Effluent) Regulations 2009)

Table 3: Acceptable Conditions for Discharge of Mixed Effluent Containing Chemical

Oxygen Demand (COD)
Standard
Parameter Unit
A B
COD mg/L 80 200
(Environmental Quality (Industrial Effluent) Regulations 2009)

Where Standard A is discharged into any inland water within the water catchment areas and
Standard B discharged into any other inland waters or Malaysian water (Environmental
Quality (Industrial Effluent) Regulations 2009). In which catchment areas are areas where the
water will be collected and be used in humans daily lives. As we have explained, COD and

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BOD5 is the oxygen required for the organic material to oxidise chemically and oxygen
required for the microorganism to decompose biodegradable organic material through aerobic
reaction for an extended period of time. Since both BOD5 and COD measure the amount of
oxygen required to stabilise the sample directly, it reflects the original oxidation state of the
sample (BOD, COD, and TOC, 2021). Thus, water with high COD and BOD5 indicates that
the water contains high concentration of organic or inorganic material and contains high
concentration of biodegradable organic material. High COD and BOD5 value will lead to
environmental and human health concerns. If the COD exceeds the acceptable amount as set
by the Environmental Quality Act, indicate that the oxidizable organic and inorganic material
is very high that will reduce the dissolved oxygen (DO), causing death to the aquatic animal
(Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), 2017). If the BOD5 exceeded the acceptable amount as
set by the Environmental Quality Act, indicating that the DO available in the source of
sample is insufficient for higher forms of aquatic life, causing the aquatic life to stress,
suffocate and even die (US EPA, 2012).

REFERENCE

Archive.epa.gov. 2012. 5.2 Dissolved Oxygen and Biochemical Oxygen Demand | Monitoring
& Assessment | US EPA. [online] Available at:
<https://archive.epa.gov/water/archive/web/html/vms52.html> [Accessed 23 April 2022].

BYJUS. (n.d.). Difference between BOD and COD. [online] Available at:
<https://byjus.com/biology/difference-between-biochemical-oxygen-demand-bod-and-chemi
cal-oxygen-demand-cod/> [Accessed 21 Apr. 2022].
CIVIL CREWS. 2020. BOD – Biological Oxygen Demand. [online] Available at:
<https://civilcrews.com/bod/> [Accessed 22 April 2022].

Environmental Quality (Industrial Effluent) Regulations 2009. Available at:

<https://www.doe.gov.my/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Environmental_Quality_Industrial_Ef
fluent_Regulations_2009_-_P.U.A_434-2009.pdf>

The Constructor. (2019). Difference between Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) and
Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD). [online] Available at:
<https://theconstructor.org/environmental-engg/difference-chemical-oxygen-demand-cod-biol
ogical-oxygen-demand-bod/34792/.> [Accessed 22 April 2022].

The Wastewater Blog. 2021. BOD, COD, and TOC. [online] Available at:
<https://www.thewastewaterblog.com/single-post/2019/01/13/bod-cod-and-toc> [Accessed
23 April 2022].

Real Tech Water. 2017. Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD). [online] Available at:
<https://realtechwater.com/parameters/chemical-oxygen-demand/> [Accessed 23 April
2022].