Introduction

Chemical Oxygen Demand

Chemical Oxygen Demand or COD is a measurement of the oxygen required to
oxidize soluble and particulate organic matter in water.

We combine the data rich measurements from our advanced real-time UV-VIS
sensors with our custom AI algorithms to develop site specific calibrations for our
clients. These custom calibrations enable us to provide real-time detection of
parameters, such as COD, that would traditionally be left to the laboratory.

Chemical Oxygen Demand is an important water quality parameter because, similar

to BOD, it provides an index to assess the effect discharged wastewater will have on
the receiving environment. Higher COD levels mean a greater amount of oxidizable
organic material in the sample, which will reduce dissolved oxygen (DO) levels. A
reduction in DO can lead to anaerobic conditions, which is deleterious to higher
aquatic life forms. The COD test is often used as an alternate to BOD due to shorter
length of testing time.

Chemical oxygen demand is related to biochemical oxygen

demand (BOD), another standard test for assaying the oxygen-
demanding strength of waste waters. However, biochemicaloxygen
demand only measures the amount of oxygen consumed by microbial
oxidation and is most relevant to waters rich in organic matter. It is
important to understand that COD and BOD do not necessarily measure
the same types of oxygen consumption. For example, COD does not
measure the oxygen-consuming potential associated with certain
dissolved organic compounds such as acetate. However, acetate can be
metabolized by microorganisms and would therefore be detected in an
assay of BOD. In contrast, the oxygen-consuming potential
of cellulose is not measured during a short-term BOD assay, but it is
measured during a COD test.
Figure 1 cod waste treatment measurement

Chemical oxygen demand (COD) is a critical waste treatment measurement in

everything from municipal systems to food manufacturing waste streams.

Performing COD testing the right way is important in determining wastewater

treatment effectiveness and can help diagnose any problems in treatment. In
this blog, we’ll cover what chemical oxygen demand is, how to test it, and how
to get the best equipment for your tests.

Measure Chemical Oxygen Demand

As mentioned before, COD measures organic matter by using a chemical oxidant.
It’s critical that a strong enough oxidant is used to react with virtually all organic
material in the sample. Historically, potassium permanganate filled this role, but
it was found to be inconsistent in its ability to oxidize all the organic matter in a
wide variety of waste samples.

Currently, most COD tests use potassium dichromate as the oxidant. Potassium
dichromate is a hexavalent chromium salt that is bright orange in color and is a
very strong oxidant. Between 95-100% of organic material can be oxidized by
dichromate. Once dichromate oxidizes a substance it's converted to a trivalent
form of chromium, which is a dull green color.

1-Titrimetric Method of COD

In the titration method for determining COD, the excess dichromate is reacted
with a reducing agent, ferrous ammonium sulfate. As the ferrous ammonium
sulfate (FAS) is added slowly, the excess dichromate is converted into its
trivalent form.
Figure 2Titrimetric Method of COD

2- Colorimetric Method of COD

look at the consumption of dichromate by looking at the change in the

absorbance of the sample. The samples absorb at particular wavelengths due to
the color of trivalent chromium (Cr3+) and hexavalent chromium (Cr6+).

You can quantify the amount of trivalent chromium in a sample after digestion
by measuring the absorbance of the sample at a wavelength of 600 nm
in a photometer or spectrophotometer. Alternatively, the absorbance of
hexavalent chromium at 420 nm can be used to determine the amount of excess
chromium at the end of digestion to determine COD values.

Figure 3Colorimetric Method of COD

Biological Oxygen Demand
Biochemical Oxygen Demand or Biological Oxygen Demand, is a measurement of
the amount of dissolved oxygen (DO) that is used by aerobic microorganisms when
decomposing organic matter in water.

Biochemical Oxygen Demand is an important water quality parameter because it

provides an index to assess the effect discharged wastewater will have on the
receiving environment. The higher the BOD value, the greater the amount of organic
matter or “food” available for oxygen consuming bacteria. If the rate of DO
consumption by bacteria exceeds the supply of DO from aquatic plants, algae
photosynthesis or diffusing from air, unfavorable conditions occur. Depletion of DO
causes stress on aquatic organisms, making the environment unsuitable for life.
Further, dramatic depletion can lead to hypoxia or anoxic environments. BOD is also
used extensively for wastewater treatment, as decomposition of organic waste by
microorganisms is commonly used for treatment.

There are two commonly recognized methods for the measurement of BOD.

1- Dilution method
This standard method is recognized by U.S. EPA, which is labeled Method 5210B in the
Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater In order to obtain BOD
dissolved oxygen (DO) concentrations in a sample must be measured before and after the
incubation period, and appropriately adjusted by the sample corresponding dilution factor.
This analysis is performed using 300 ml incubation bottles in which buffered dilution water is
dosed with seed microorganisms and stored for 5 days in the dark room at 20 °C to prevent
DO production via photosynthesis. In addition to the various dilutions of BOD samples, this
procedure requires dilution water blanks, glucose glutamic acid (GGA) controls, and seed
controls. The dilution water blank is used to confirm the quality of the dilution water that is
used to dilute the other samples.

2- Monomeric method
This method is limited to the measurement of the oxygen consumption due only to
carbonaceous oxidation. Ammonia oxidation is inhibited.
The sample is kept in a sealed container fitted with a pressure sensor. A substance that
absorbs carbon dioxide (typically lithium hydroxide) is added in the container above the
sample level. The sample is stored in conditions identical to the dilution method. Oxygen is
consumed and, as ammonia oxidation is inhibited, carbon dioxide is released. The total
amount of gas, and thus the pressure, decreases because carbon dioxide is absorbed. From
the drop of pressure, the sensor electronics computes and displays the consumed quantity of
oxygen.
The main advantages of this method compared to the dilution method are:

 simplicity: no dilution of sample required, no seeding, no blank sample.

 direct reading of BOD value.
 continuous display of BOD value at the current incubation time.