BIOLOGICAL OXYGEN DEMAND (BOD):

BOD Definition: Amount of dissolved oxygen needed by aerobic biological organisms in a body of water to
break down organic material present in a given water sample at a certain temperature over a specific
time period.

 It is the amount of oxygen required for the biological decomposition of the organic matter
under aerobic condition.
 This test is the most important in sewage analysis as it indicates the amount of decomposable
organic matter in the sewage, the larger the concentration, greater the biochemical oxygen
 demand (BOD) and consequently more of the nuisance potential or strength of the sewage.
 This test has a special s ignificance in stream pollution control as it enables to determine the
degree of pollution in the stream at any time.
mg/lt

BOD Curve

Stages of oxidation process of organic matter:

The oxidation process of organic matter proceeds in 2 stages:
First stage:
 It lasts 7 – 10 days or more when the carbonaceous matter gets oxidized, the quantity of oxygen
taken up is rapid at first but then proceeds slowly, the rate depending upon the temperature and
 characteristics of sewage.
 Sanitary engineer is more concerned with the first stage demand, since the oxygen consumed
 in its satisfaction is not recoverable.
 Hence, the term BOD is usually used to mean the first stage BOD i.e. the demand due to the
presence of carbonaceous matter alone.

 The oxidation of nitrogenous matter take place. This called nitrification and proceeds for a
 much longer period before the process gets stabilized.
  The determination of complete oxygen demand may, therefore appear to be impracticable.
 However, by determining the oxygen used by a sample after a definite number of days of
incubation at a given temperature it is practically possible to arrive at a value very near to the
 total oxygen demand of the sample.
 Tests for BOD are usually made at a temperature of 20⁰C and for a period for 5 days. 20⁰C is
 more or less median value as far as natural bodies of water are concerned.
 While the 5 days period is sufficient to satisfy 70 - 80% of the total BOD in case of domestic
and industrial wastes.
Expression for BOD reaction:
 The rate at which BOD is satisfied at any time (i.e. the rate of deoxygenation) depends on
temperature and also on the amount and nature of organic matter present in sewage at that time.

(Days)

 Thus at a certain temperature, the rate of deoxygenation is assumed to be directly

proportional to the amount of organic matter present in sewage at the time; i.e.
dL/dt = -k Lt
where,
Lt = oxygen equivalent of carbonaceous oxidisable organic matter present in sewage after t days
from the start of oxidation, in mg/l
t= time in days
K = rate constant signifying the rate of oxidation of organic matter and it depends upon the nature
of organic matter and temperature. Its unit is per day.

dL/ Lt = -k1 dt------- (1)

Integrating equation 1, we get

Loge Lt = - kt + C ------ (2)

C = constant of integration and can be evaluated from the boundary
conditions t=0, Lt = L
L = oxygen equivalent of organic matter present in sewage (at start)

Subs. In eqn 2, we have

Loge L = K (0) + C
C = loge L
Subs. the value of C in eqn (2), we get
 Loge Lt = - k t+ Loge L
Loge Lt - Loge L = - k t

Lt/L = e -k1t
Lt = L [e -k1t]----------(3)
If y represents the total amount of organic matter oxidized in t days, (BOD of t days), then we
have

y = L – Lt------------- (4)
Subs. Eqn 3 in 4

y = L – [L(e -k1t)]
y = L [1 – e -k1t]--------(5)
 This is an important equation y is the oxygen absorbed in t days, i.e. BOD of t days.
 The ultimate first stage BOD would be obtained from the above equation.
  y = ultimate BOD first stage of a given sewage
 It is found to vary with temperature of sewage and this relationship is approximately
given by the equation
K1 (T⁰) = K1-20 [1.047]T - 20⁰-------- (6)
KD = deoxygenation constant at 20⁰C value varies between 0.05 – 0.2 /day, depending upon the
nature of the organic matter present in sewage.
KD (T⁰) = deoxygenation constant at temperature T⁰C.

 Eqn 5 is called first stage eqn of BOD reaction for wastewater curve Oab at particular
 temperature of 20⁰C.
 Form of this curve is reciprocal and parabolic (this is because oxygen used in satisfying
 BOD is in direct ratio of amount of organic matter oxidised).
 The portion ac represents nitrification stage which follow carbonaceous stage so that BOD
 curve for complete oxidation (carbonaceous & nitrogenous) is represented by Oac.
 The value of constant k1 in eqn 6 is usually taken as 0.1 per day at 20⁰C for organic matter
of sewage origin, range of variation is from 0.05 to 0.20 per day.

Factors on which rate of deoxygenation constant:

 KD will be higher at higher temperature which means that the speed at which BOD is
 consumed in the oxidation of the organic matter, is higher at higher temperature.
 This means that the entire carbonaceous organic matter will get oxidized quickly and
inlesser time at higher temperature.

Typical values of KD at 20⁰C for various types of water and wastewater

Water type KD Value per day

Tap water < 0.05
Surface water 0.05 – 0.1
Municipal wastewater 0.1- 0.15
Treated sewage effluents 0.05 – 0.1