Industrial Pollution Control

Duhok Polytechnic University

Lecturer's Name: Experiment No. (6)

Mr. Kawar Abid Group (A)

Title of Experiment:

BOD5 for testing polluted water

Student Name:

Hayder Hassan Hussain

Date Expt. Performed:

09/11/2022
Date Report Submitted:

16/11/2022
FIVE-DAY BIOCHEMICAL OXYGEN DEMAND The presence of a sufficient
concentration of dissolved oxygen is critical to maintaining the aquatic life and aesthetic
quality of streams and lakes. Determining how organic matter affects the concentration of
dissolved oxygen (DO) in a stream or lake is integral to water quality management. The decay
of organic matter in water is measured as biochemical or chemical oxygen demand. Oxygen
demand is a measure of the number of oxidizable substances in a water sample that can lower
DO concentrations.
The test for biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) is a bioassay procedure that measures the
oxygen consumed by bacteria from the decomposition of organic matter. The change in DO
concentration is measured over a given period of time in water samples at a specified
temperature. Procedures used to determine DO concentration are described in NFM 6.2. It is
important to be familiar with the correct procedures for determining DO concentrations before
making BOD measurements. BOD is measured in a laboratory environment, generally at a
local or USGS laboratory. Accurate measurement of BOD requires an ac curate determination
of DO.
There are two stages of decomposition in the BOD test:
a carbonaceous stage and a nitrogenous stage.
➢ The carbonaceous stage, or first stage, represents that portion of oxygen demand
involved in the conversion of organic carbon to carbon dioxide.
➢ The nitrogenous stage, or second stage, represents a combined carbonaceous plus
nitrogenous demand, when organic nitrogen, ammonia, and nitrite are converted to
nitrate. Nitrogenous oxygen demand generally begins after about 6 days. For some
sewage, especially discharge from wastewater treatment plants utilizing biological
treatment processes, nitrification can occur in less than 5 days if ammonia, nitrite, and
nitrifying bacteria are present. In this case, a chemical compound that prevents
nitrification should be added to the sample if the intent is to measure only the

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 carbonaceous demand. The results are reported as carbonaceous BOD (CBOD), or as
CBOD5 when a nitrification inhibitor is used.

The standard oxidation (or incubation) test period for BOD is 5 days at 20 degrees Celsius (C)
(BOD5). The 5-day value, however, represents only a portion of the total biochemical oxygen
demand. Twenty days is considered, by convention, adequate time for a complete biochemical
oxidation of organic matter in a water sample.

To measure the amount of dissolved oxygen in the water for a specified period of time
and temperature.

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 Item Description
Equipment and supplies
Constant-temperature chamber or water bath Thermostatically controlled to maintain 20 ± 1°C.
During incubation, exclude all light to prevent the
possibility of photosynthetic production of oxygen.
Aquarium pump, plastic air tubing, and air diffusion Wash tubing and air diffusion stone thoroughly with
stones a 0.2-percent monophosphate detergent solution and
rinse thoroughly 3 to 5 times with deionized or
distilled water before use.
BOD bottles Glass beads Graduated cylinder Over 300 mL, ground glass stoppered. Borosilicate, solid
cap Pipet Thermometer spherical; 5-mm diameter. Borosilicate, 50- to 250-
mL capacity, depending on the volume of sample to
be tested.
Sample container(s) Paper or plastic cup, or aluminum foil, to be placed
over BOD stoppers to prevent evaporation of the
water seal.
Bacteriological, large bore, borosilicate, volume
ranging from 1 to 50 mL, depending on the volume
of sample to be tested.
Calibrated within temperature range of
approximately 5 to 40°C with 0.5°C graduations
(NFM 6.1).
Waste disposal container(s) Wide mouth, screw top lid, polyethylene,
polypropylene, or borosilicate glass. Containers of
1-L capacity are sufficient for most samples.
Capped, and of appropriate material to contain
specified sample and chemical wastes.
Chemical reagents1 and preparation of dilution water
Calcium chloride (CaCl2) solution2 Dilution water Dissolve 27.5 g of CaCl2 in deionized water and
dilute to 1 L.
Ferric chloride (FeCl3) solution2 Deionized water of high quality; must be free from
toxic substances such as chlorine or toxic metals.
Dissolve 0.25 g of FeCl3•6H2O in deionized water
and dilute to 1 L.
Magnesium sulfate (MgSO4) solution2 Dissolve 22.5 g of MgSO4•7H2O in deionized water
Phosphate buffer solution2 and dilute to 1 L. Dissolve 8.5 g of KH2PO4, 21.8 g
of KHPO4, 33.4 g of Na2HPO4•7H2O,
and 1.7 g of NH4Cl in about 500 mL of deionized
water. Dilute to 1 L.

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 Item Description
Chemical reagents for sample pretreatment and preparation of chemical solutions
Sodium hydroxide (NaOH) Add 40 g of NaOH to about 900 mL of deionized
water. Mix and dilute to 1
L (1 N NaOH).
Sodium sulfite (Na2SO3) or sodium thiosulfate Dissolve 1.575 g of Na2SO3 or NaS2O3 in 1 L of
(Na2S2O3) deionized water. This solution is not stable and
should be prepared daily to weekly, as needed.
Store refrigerated in a dark bottle.
Sulfuric acid (H2SO4) Slowly and while stirring add 28 mL of
concentrated H2SO4 to about 900 mL of deionized
water. Mix and dilute acid solution to 1 L (1 N
H2SO4).
DO equipment and supplies (refer to NFM 6.2)
Calibration chamber DO instrument system Stirrer Follow manufacturer’s recommendations.
attachment for DO sensor Temperature and pressure compensated. Must fit in
300-mL BOD bottle.
Pocket altimeter- barometer Calibrated, Thommen model 2000 or equivalent.
DO sensor membrane replacement kit Membranes, O-rings, KCl filling solution.
Oxygen solubility table Zero DO calibration Dissolve 1 g Na2SO3 and a few crystals of CoCl3
solution in 1 L water. Prepare fresh zero DO solution before
each use.

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1- preparation of diluting water (1000 ml):
i. Add 1 ml of buffer solution, 1 ml each of FeCl3, CaCl2, and MgSO4 to the mixture.
ii. Shaking for one minute in order to dissolve the slurry and oxygenate the water.

2- Sample, 2ml of NaOH, 2ml of H2SO4, and 5ml of Na2SO4 were used to prepare the
sample.
3- Add a certain amount of sample to a given amount of water for dilution.
• Sample 1 is composed of 20 ml of sample and 310 ml of water for dilution.
• Sample 2 180ml of dilution water added to 150ml of sample.
• Sample 3 contains 290ml of sample and 40ml of dilution water.
4- Calculate the (DO) for samples 1, 2, and 3 on the first day.
5- Keep the sample at a steady 20°C for five days.
6- Measure the (DO) of the sample after 5 days.
✓ calibration of the appropriate oxygen sensor.
✓ If the sample's pH is more than 7, add H2SO4, and if it's lower than 7, add NaOH
to keep the pH constant at 7 so you can test the DO.

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 Microorganisms such as bacteria are responsible for decomposing organic waste. When
organic matter such as dead plants, leaves, grass clippings, manure, sewage, or even food
waste is present in a water supply, the bacteria will begin the process of breaking down this
waste. When this happens, much of the available dissolved oxygen is consumed by aerobic
bacteria, robbing other aquatic organisms of the oxygen they need to live.
Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) is a measure of the oxygen used by microorganisms to
decompose this waste. BOD is a chemical procedure for determining the rate of uptake of
dissolved oxygen by the rate biological organisms in a body of water use up oxygen. It is not
a precise quantitative test, although it is widely used as an indication of the quality of water.
If there is a large quantity of organic waste in the water supply, there will also be a lot of
bacteria present working to decompose this waste. In this case, the demand for oxygen will be
high (due to all the bacteria) so the BOD level will be high.
In experiment, the objective of the experiment is achieved. The experiment was carried
out to measure the amount of dissolved oxygen in the water for a specified period of time and
temperature. Normally, BOD5 will be used to determine the BOD level in water. Since the
average BOD5 obtained from experiment is for three different water samples is 20 mL,
150 mL and 290 mL is 6.6 , 6.41 and 3.87 ppm respectively. So a lower reading of BOD5
will result in a higher level of dissolved oxygen. When the dissolved oxygen level is high, this
indicates that the water is suitable for living organisms.