Chemical Oxygen

Demand (COD) of Wastewater Lab Report

Group Members:
Felix (R0943005)
Giovanny Limin (B09611022)

Introduction

This report discusses an experiment to measure the Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) of a
wastewater sample. The objective of the experiment is to determine the COD of the sample,
which is used as one indicator of water quality, therefore are useful in control of wastewater
treatment plant operation.

Literature Review

Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) is the amount of oxygen needed to completely oxidize the
organic matters to CO2 and H2O. COD results can be obtained faster, so it has more
advantage in control.

When a sample is digested, the dichromate ion oxidizes the COD material in the sample.
Dichromate was used instead of oxygen since the chemical dichromate demand is
proportional to the chemical oxygen demand. The digestion results in the change of
chromium state, which both of the state are colored and absorb in the visible region in the
spectrum.

Experimental Procedure

Materials and Equipment

 K2Cr2O7 as a strong oxidizing agent (oxidant)
 Ag2SO4 + H2SO4 as catalyst
 Wastewater sample
 COD Reactor
 Spectrophotometer
 Pipette
 Measuring cylinder
 Vial
 Distilled water
Procedure

Digestion
1. Turn on the COD Reactor and preheat to 150°C.
2. Dilute the sample to fit the COD range (1:20 and 1:15 dilution rate is used).
3. Hold the vial at 45-degree angle, pipet 2.5 mL of sample to the COD digestion reagent
vial (consists of 1.5 mL of K2Cr2O7 and 3.5 mL of concentrated sulfuric acid)
4. Replace the vial cap tightly. Rinse the COD vial with distilled water and wipe with clean
tissues.
5. Hold the vial by the cap and over a sink, invert gently several times to mix the content
6. Prepare a blank by repeating step 3 to 5, substituting 2.5 distilled water for sample.
7. Heat the vials for 2 hours.
8. Turn the reactor off. Wait about 20 minutes for the vials to cool to 120°C or less
9. Invert each vial several times while still warm. Place the vials to a rack. Wait until the
vials have cooled to room temperature.
10. Use calorimetric meter to determine the COD concentration of the sample.

DR 2000 Colorimetric Determination

1. Enter the stored program number for COD-reflux method. Press 950 and
“READ/ENTER” key twice. The small display shows: 600nm and the display will show:
mg/l COD.
2. Place the blank into the adapter with the Hach logo facing the front of the instrument.
Place the cover on the adapter.
3. Press ”ZERO” key, the display will show: WAIT then: 0. mg/l COD.
4. Place the sample vial into the adapter with the Hach logo facing the front of the
instrument. Place the cover on the adapter.
5. Press ” READ/ENTER” key, the display will show: WAIT then the result in mg/l COD
will be displayed.

Results and Analysis

The following test results were obtained for three samples for each dilution rate (1:20 and
1:15), however the third sample for 1:15 dilution rate was failed to create in the process.
 Weight, g
Item
Sample 1 Sample 2 Sample 3 Sample 4 Sample 5
Dilution rate 1/20 1/20 1/20 1/15 1/15

COD result (mg/L) 437 377 378 441 935

%T 68.4 72.7 72.8 68.2 43.7

Absorption 0.165 0.139 0.138 0.166 0.360

COD result / dilution rate (mg/L) 8740 7540 7560 6615 14025

Average COD (mg/L) 8896

In this test, potassium dichromate is used to oxidize the organic matter. In order for the
potassium dichromate to oxidize organic matter completely, the solution must be strongly
acidic and is refluxed with a metal ion catalyst at an elevated temperature. These conditions
were fulfilled by using a preheated reactor to supply the heat, and sulfuric acid as the acid
required for the reaction to occur. The result will later be cooled down prior to
spectrophotometer measurements.

The Spectrophotometer measurement showed that Transmittance and Absorbance worked in

opposition with each other. An increasing amount of COD will reduce the transmittance and
increases the absorbance within the spectrophotometer. The Spectrophotometer measurement
despite showing the amount of COD, in reality measured the amount of chromium trivalent
(III) found in the solution. COD content within the solution reacted with the introduced
potassium dichromate.

The dichromate ion released will oxidize the COD content, reducing itself from a hexavalent
to trivalent state which could be read by the receptors in the spectrophotometer. The
wavelength of OD600 was also preferred as it is the most commonly used wavelength for
biochemical and microbiological analysis, allowing bacteria population observation without
eliminating said population.

Conclusion
The Spectrophotometry assessment allowed for a way of measuring COD indirectly through
the catalyst assisted reaction between the dichromate and oxygen content within the sample.
Through said spectrophotometry it was measured that the COD content is 8896 mg/l