FE Review for

Environmental
Engineering
Problems, problems, problems
Presented by L.R. Chevalier, Ph.D., P.E.
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Southern Illinois University Carbondale
BIOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS
FE Review for Environmental Engineering
Given the following data, calculate BOD
5

Initial DO of sample: 9.0 mg/L
Volume of sample: 10 ml
Final DO of bottle after 5 days: 1.8 mg/L
Volume of BOD bottle: standard 300 ml

Problem Strategy Solution
Review and understand the terms of the governing equation
P
DO DO
V
V
DO DO
BOD
f i
b
s
f i
t

=
|
|
.
|

\
|

=
Problem Strategy Solution
Standard Bottle: 300 ml

P = 10/300 =0.033

L
mg
P
DO DO
BOD
f i
218
033 . 0
8 . 1 0 . 9
5
=

=
Problem Strategy Solution
Time (days)
B
O
D

(
m
g
/
L
)

BOD
5

Typical Curve
Further Discussion on BOD
Typical values
domestic sewage 250 mg/L
industrial waste as high as 30,000 mg/L
untreated dairy waste 20,000 mg/L
After 5 days, BOD curve may turn sharply upward
demand of oxygen by microorganisms that decompose
nitrogeneous organic compounds into stable nitrate


Time (days)
B
O
D

(
m
g
/
L
)

carbonaceous
nitrogenous
BOD
5

L
o

If the BOD
3
of a waste is 75 mg/L and
k=0.345 day
-1
, what is the ultimate BOD?
Problem Strategy Solution
For some of you there may be a confusion as to
which equation to use:
kt
o t
e L L

=
( )
kt
o t
e L BOD

= 1
Problem Strategy Solution
Recall the equation for BOD
t

P
DO DO
V
V
DO DO
BOD
f i
b
s
f i
t

=
|
|
.
|

\
|

=
The amount of DO measured will decrease over
time. Does BOD increase or decrease over time?
Problem Strategy Solution
( )
kt
o t
e L BOD

= 1
kt
o t
e L L

=
OXYGEN CONSUMED OXYGEN DEMAND REMAINING
Want to use the equation that shows an increase with time!
0
100
200
300
400
0 5 10 15 20 25
Time, days
B
O
D

r
e
m
a
i
n
i
n
g
,

L
t
O
x
y
g
e
n

c
o
n
s
u
m
e
d
,

B
O
D
t
L
o
OXYGEN DEMAND REMAINING
OXYGEN CONSUMED
( )( )
( )
L mg L
L
e L
o
o
o
/ 116
645 . 0
1 75
3 345 . 0
=
=
=

Problem Strategy Solution
Given: DO
i
= 9.0 mg/L
DO = 3.0 mg/L after 5 days
Dilution factor P = 0.030
Reaction rate, k = 0.22 day
-1


a) What is the 5-day BOD?
b) What is the ultimate BOD?
c) What is the remaining oxygen demand after 5
days?
Problem Strategy Solution
Review and understand the equations needed for the solution
P
DO DO
V
V
DO DO
BOD
f i
b
s
f i
t

=
|
|
.
|

\
|

=
( )
kt
o t
e L BOD

= 1
0
100
200
300
400
0 5 10 15 20 25
Time, days
B
O
D

r
e
m
a
i
n
i
n
g
,

L
t
O
x
y
g
e
n

c
o
n
s
u
m
e
d
,

B
O
D
t
L
o
y
t
L
t
BOD
t
Problem Strategy Solution
a) What is the 5 day BOD?


L
mg
P
DO DO
BOD
f i
200
03 . 0
3 9
5
=

=
Problem Strategy Solution
b) What is the ultimate BOD?
( )( )
L
mg
e e
BOD
L
kt
o
300
1
200
1
5 22 . 0
5
=

=

Problem Strategy Solution
c) What is the remaining oxygen demand after 5
days?

300 - 200 = 100 mg/L
Problem Strategy Solution
Determine the ThOD of a 400 mg/L solution of glucose C
6
H
12
O
6

Problem Strategy Solution
Balance the equation
Determine the MW of compound and O
2
Calculate ThOD
( ) oxygen
chemical moles
oxygen moles
chemical MW
chemical
ThOD
mol
g
L
mg
L
mg
32
#
#
=
Problem Strategy Solution
1. Balance the following equation
O H CO O O H C
O H CO O O H C
2 2 2 6 12 6
2 2 2 6 12 6
6 6 6
__ __ __
+ +
+ +
Problem Strategy Solution
2. Determine the MW of glucose and O
2

MW C
6
H
12
O
6
= 12(6) + 12 + 16(6) = 180 g/mol
MW O
2
= 2(16) = 32 g/mol

3. Calculate the ThOD
( )
L
mg
mol
g
mol
g
L
mg
L
mg
oxygen
e cos glu moles
oxygen moles
ThOD
7 . 426
32
1
6
180
400
=
=
Problem Strategy Solution
Ethanol, or ethyl, alcohol is used in beverages, as a gasoline additive, and in other
industrial applications. Because small amounts of ethanol and sugar are used in
the biological process to produce methanol, both of these compounds inevitable
end up in the waste water of methanol plants.

Calculate the ThOD demand for waste water containing 30 mg/L ethanol
[CH
3
CH
2
OH] and 40 mg/L sucrose [C
6
H
12
O
6
]
Problem Strategy Solution
Balance two equations
Determine the MW of both compounds

Calculate ThOD for both, then add
( ) oxygen
chemical moles
oxygen moles
chemical MW
chemical
ThOD
mol
g
L
mg
L
mg
32
#
#
=
Problem Strategy Solution
1. Write the balanced equation for the oxidation of
ethanol (often written EtOH) to the end products
of CO
2
and H
2
O.
O H CO O OH CH CH
2 2 2 2 3
3 2 3 + +
MW EtOH = 46 g/mol
Problem Strategy Solution
2. ThOD of EtOH is calculated as follows:
( )
2
6 . 62
32
1
3
46
30
O
oxygen
EtOH moles
oxygen moles
ThOD
L
mg
mol
g
mol
g
L
mg
L
mg
=
=
Problem Strategy Solution
3. Calculate the ThOD for wastewater containing
40 mg/L sucrose [C
6
H
12
O
6
]
O H CO O O H C
2 2 2 6 12 6
6 6 6 + +
MW Sucrose = 180 mg/L
( )
2
7 . 42
32
1
6
180
40
O
oxygen
sucrose moles
oxygen moles
ThOD
L
mg
mol
g
mol
g
L
mg
L
mg
=
=
Problem Strategy Solution
4. To calculate ThOD for waste water containing
both 30 mg/L ethanol [CH
3
CH
2
OH] and 40 mg/L
sucrose [C
6
H
12
O
6
], you can add the ThOD of the
individual compounds.


ThOD
tot
= 62.6 mg/L O
2
+ 42.7 mg/L O
2


= 105.3 mg/L O
2
... end of example
Problem Strategy Solution
A chemical plant produces the amino acid
glycine [C
2
H
5
O
2
N]. The wastewater from the
facility contains approximately 25 mg/L of
this acid. Calculate both the carbonaceous
and nitrogenous ThOD for the wastewater.
Example Solution
1. As in the previous example, write the
balance equation, but include NH
3
as an end
product.
3 2 2 2 2 5 2
? ? ? ? NH O H CO O N O H C + + +
Example Solution
3 2 2 2 2
1
2 5 2
2 1 NH O H CO O N O H C + + +
2. Balanced equation:
3. The molecular weight of the acid is 75 g/mol. The
amount of oxygen required to oxidize the
carbonaceous portion is:
( )
2
16
32
1
5 . 1
75
25
O
oxygen
acid moles
oxygen moles
ThOD
L
mg
mol
g
mol
g
L
mg
L
mg
=
=
Example Solution
4. One mole of ammonia is produced for each mole
of acid oxidized. The equation for oxidation of the
ammonia is:
NH O NO H O H
3 2 3 2
2 + + +
+
ammonia
nitrate
Example Solution
5. To determine the nitrogenous oxygen demand:
( )
2
3 . 21
32
1
2
75
25
O
oxygen
ammonia moles
oxygen moles
NOD
L
mg
mol
g
mol
g
L
mg
L
mg
=
=
Example Solution
6. The amount of oxygen required to oxidize the acid
is the sum of both the carbonaceous and the
nitrogenous oxygen demands.


ThOD = 16 + 21.33 = 37.33 mg/L O
2
.....end of example
Example Solution