WASTEWATER TREATMENT

EXPERIMENT.2 BOD&COD

Name: Kareem Tarek

I.D: 115780
Chemical- Year 4
Supervised by:
Dr. Mohamed Saada
TA. Rana Ahmed
TA. Mai Roshdy

CONTENTS
Abstract............................................................................3
Introduction....................................................................... 3
Experimental Methods and Procedure...............................4
Experimental
Results.6
o Discussion.........................................................................7
o Sources of Error................................................................. 7
o References........................................................................8
o
o
o
o

LIST OF FIGURES
FIGURE.1 BOd levels............................................................................................................... 2

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ABSTRACT
The aim of this experiment is to study the characteristics of BOD & COD and
to conduct various experiments on distilled water and wastewater to
determine oxidize-able matter using a known amount of potassium
dichromate and to calculate the oxygen consumption.

INTRODUCTION
Microorganisms such as bacteria are responsible for decomposing organic
waste. If organic matter such as sewage, fertilizer, grass clippings, leaves,
dead plants, or even food waste is existent in a water supply, the bacteria
will initiate the procedure of breaking down this waste. When this occurs,
much of the existing dissolved oxygen is used up by aerobic bacteria,
depriving other aquatic beings of the oxygen they require to live. Biological
Oxygen Demand (BOD) is a amount of the oxygen depleted by
microorganisms to decompose the waste. If there is a significant amount of
organic waste present in the water supply, there will also be a great number
of bacteria present thriving to decompose this waste. In this occasion, the
oxygen demand will build up due to all the existing bacteria, consequently,
the BOD levels will also be increase. As the waste is exhausted or diffused
through the water, the BOD concentration will start to decay. The table below
illustrates the effect of BOD levels with respect to water quality.

FIGURE.1 BOD LEVELS

The chemical oxygen demand (COD) is used as a measurement of the quality

water and wastewater and the quantity of oxygen used up to fully and
chemically oxidize the organic water elements to inorganic end products. The
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COD test is frequently utilized to observe the efficiency of water treatment

plants. The COD is commonly assessed by means of a strong oxidant (e.g.
potassium dichromate, potassium iodate, potassium permanganate) under
acidic conditions. A known excess amount of the oxidant is added to the
sample. As soon as the oxidation is finalized, the concentration of organics in
the sample is calculated by measuring the amount of oxidant remaining in
the solution. This is commonly performed by titration by means of an
indicator solution. COD is stated in mg/L, which specifies the mass of oxygen
expended per liter of solution. Oxidation of most organic compounds is 95100% the theoretical value.
The COD test simply needs 2-3 hours, whereas the Biological Oxygen
Demand (BOD) test needs 5 days, throughout that time, if the pH declines or
if there are deficient nutrients for the bacteria to consume the organics, the
bacteria will be restricted and may also take longer than 5 days to break
down. COD can determine all the organic contaminants present as well as
the contaminants that are not biodegradable. Unlike the BOD test, poisonous
compounds such as cyanide and heavy metals do not have an effect on the
oxidants used in the COD test. Consequently, the COD test can be exploited
to quantify the strength of wastes that are too toxic for the BOD test. Several
organic molecules such as pyridine and benzene are comparatively
impervious to dichromate oxidation and may give a misleadingly low
measure of COD.

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EXPERIMENTAL METHODS AND PROCEDURE

THE

PROCEDURE OF MEASURING THE

COD

OF A WASTEWATER SAMPLE IS :

1. Add 10ml of 0.1N potassium dichromate (K2Cr2O7) to 10ml of the

wastewater solution.
2. Silver of mercury compounds are added to react with any chlorides
present in the wastewater so that the oxidant only reacts with the
hydrocarbons present in the wastewater.
3. Add 5ml of concentrated sulphuric acid (H2SO4) to the mixture of
potassium dichromate and wastewater.
4. The mixture is left to boil under reflux for two hours.
Cr2O72- + 14H+ 2Cr3+ + 7H2O
5. Add 5ml of 1N potassium iodide (KI) solution to react with the excess
dichromate. Add a few drops of starch solution to act as an indicator.
I I2
6. Titrate the solution with 0.1N sodium thiosulphate (Na2S2O3).
I2 + 2Na2S2O3 Na2S4O6 + 2NaI

THE

PROCEDURE FOR EXPERIMENTALLY DETERMINING THE

FOLLOWS:

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BOD

IN A LABORATORY IS AS

1. Prepare 300ml BOD bottles.

2. Label the bottles A1, A2, B1, B2, C1 and C2.
3. Put 2.5ml wastewater in A1 and A2 and complete the remaining
volume with aerated water to the overflow so as to ensure that no
oxygen comes from the air during the experiment.
4. Put 5ml wastewater in B1 and B2 and complete the remaining volume
with aerated water.
5. Fill C1 and C2 with aerated water.
6. Measure the dissolved oxygen in A1, B1 and C1.
7. Place A2, B2 and C2 in an incubator at 20C for 5 days.
8. After A2, B2 and C2 are incubated for 5 days, measure the dissolved
oxygen in each of them.
THERE

ARE TWO METHODS FOR MEASURING THE DISSOLVED OXYGEN ; USING A

DISSOLVED OXYGEN METER AND USING TITRATION.

THE

METHOD USED WAS TITRATION,

WHICH IS CARRIED OUT AS FOLLOWS:

1. Place 10ml of the sample in a conical flask.

2. Add to it 1ml MnSO4 and 1ml alkaline-iodide-azide and shake for 30
seconds.
3. After shaking, add 1ml concentrated sulphuric acid.
4. Titrate with sodium thiosulphate.

EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS

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COD of V1= 436

COD of V2 = 264

DISCUSSION
Based on the experimental results, the sample containing wastewater has
high levels of bacteria/ contaminants than the sample containing distilled
water. This signifies that the sample containing wastewater needs further
treatment before conducting a COD test.

SOURCES

OF

ERROR

To avoid any errors that will render inaccurate results, it is advised to:
A. Thoroughly wash the test tubes with distilled water and remove any
residue solutions before conducting the experiment.
B. Use the titration apparatus carefully to avoid spillage or damage to
the sample
C. Use a stopwatch to accurately boil the sample to completion

REFERENCES
Stone, J. (n.d.). The Chemistry of Chemical Oxygen Demand . Retrieved from
Envexp: http://www.envexp.com/download/techsupport/articles/COD
%20Article.pdf
Unknown. (2013, May 6). THE NUTS & BOLTS OF CHEMICAL OXYGEN
DEMAND. Retrieved from W&WD: http://www.wwdmag.com/codtests/nuts-bolts-chemical-oxygen-demand
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Wastewater Training & Troubleshooting-COD vs. BOD . (2003). Retrieved from

Enviromental Leverage: http://www.environmentalleverage.com/BOD
%20vs%20COD.htm
BUE Lab Manual

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