Radiation Physics and Chemistry 189 (2021) 109773

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Radiation Physics and Chemistry

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/radphyschem

The effect of hydrogen peroxide on the biochemical oxygen demand (BOD)

values measured during ionizing radiation treatment of wastewater
Anikó Bezsenyi a, b, Gyuri Sági c, Magdolna Makó a, László Wojnárovits c, Erzsébet Takács c, *
a
Budapest Sewage Works Pte Ltd, H-1087, Asztalos Sándor út 4, Budapest, Hungary
b
Óbuda University, H-1034, Bécsi út 96b, Budapest, Hungary
c
Radiation Chemistry Department, Institute for Energy Security and Environmental Safety, Centre for Energy Research, H-1121, Konkoly-Thege Miklós út 29-33,
Budapest, Hungary

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: As biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) properly illustrates transformation of toxic organic compounds to
Oxacillin harmless and biodegradable substances, it is often used to demonstrate the efficiency of wastewater treatment
Glucose-glutamic acid standard technologies. Nevertheless, H2O2 can form when solutions are subjected to advanced oxidation processes (AOP).
Catalase
H2O2 production is typical in high energy irradiation treatments. Toxic effect of H2O2 on microbes is a well
Manganese(IV) oxide
Toxicity
known fact in the field of biology, however, the impact of H2O2 is usually not taken into account when evaluating
Water radiolysis effectiveness of AOP. To quantify the impact of the forming H2O2 on the outcome of BOD tests, the BOD of
glucose-glutamic acid reference solution was determined in the presence of hydrogen peroxide in the 0.1 and 75
mg dm− 3 concentration range. Results showed that H2O2 distorts the BOD measurement in two ways. Prolonged
lag period takes place that ensures adaptation of microbes to toxic environment and promotes production of
catalase enzyme that decomposes hydrogen peroxide. On the other hand, appearance of catalase producing
bacterial groups leads to reduced BOD values because the oxygen released from the H2O2 results in a negative
error as it acts against oxygen depletion. The correlation between H2O2 concentration and the shift in lag period
was described, as well as the relationship between the initial H2O2 concentration and the final BOD results. To
validate the effects studied, BOD was measured in 0.1 mmol dm− 3 oxacillin solutions irradiated with gamma
rays. It was confirmed that the presence of H2O2 may lead to underestimation of the actual BOD as increase in
BOD was observed when hydrogen peroxide was eliminated from the solution before starting the measurement.

1. Introduction
In advanced oxidation processes (AOP) highly reactive radicals,
mainly hydroxyl radicals (•OH), induce the degradation and elimination
of recalcitrant compounds (Andreozzi et al., 1999). The AOP are based
on various chemical, photochemical, sonochemical, or electrochemical
reactions (Sirés et al., 2014; Oturan and Aaron, 2014; Mantzavinos et al.,
2017). High-energy ionizing radiation treatment as one of the AOP has
several advantages as compared to other methods. It can be used
without any additives in wide temperature range, without pH setting
and the technology can be upgraded to the 10,000–100,000 m3/day
level (CGN, 2020). In this case, the decomposition of pollutants is
initiated by the hydroxyl radical, hydrated electron (eaq− ) and hydrogen
atom (H•) reactive intermediates of water radiolysis. In the presence of
dissolved O2 eaq− and H• are converted to the O2•–/HO2• pair (Spinks
and Woods, 1990) that may also contribute to the decomposition, but
generally they have low reactivity with most of organic contaminants. In
termination reaction of O2•–/HO2• hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) forms
with relatively high yield. H2O2 may exert strong interfering effects in
water analytical methods like biochemical oxygen demand (BOD)
measurements (Illés et al., 2017; Kovács et al., 2017; Sági et al., 2018).
H2O2 also forms in all other AOP, when the O2•–/HO2• pair is produced
during the degradation processes.
The decomposition of H2O2 is very slow at moderate temperatures
without the presence of a catalyst (self-decomposition), but almost all
types of catalysts are able to accelerate the reaction (Nicoll and Smith,
1955). In biotic way H2O2 decomposition is catalyzed by enzymes called
catalases. O2 is released during both abiotic and biotic reactions,
therefore, all studies based on oxygen concentration measurement give
erroneous results to a greater or lesser extent, depending on the H2O2

* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: takacs.erzsebet@energia.mta.hu (E. Takács).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.radphyschem.2021.109773
Received 29 April 2021; Received in revised form 25 July 2021; Accepted 30 August 2021
Available online 31 August 2021
0969-806X/© 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
A. Bezsenyi et al.
concentration.
This discrepancy has already been pointed out in connection with
chemical oxygen demand (COD) studies in several articles (Talinli and
Anderson, 1992; Tusseau-Vuillemin et al., 2002; Lee et al., 2011).
Hydrogen peroxide interferes with COD analysis by consuming
oxidizing agents such as potassium dichromate, and it leads to an
overestimation of the values (Lee et al., 2011). Calibration curves were
set up for correcting the COD values measured in the presence of various
concentrations of H2O2 (Kang et al., 1999).
Ecotoxicity was performed with various test organisms in the work of
Sági et al. (2018) and toxic effect of H2O2 on the test organisms was
detected. It was demonstrated that in order to eliminate the toxic effect
in ecotoxicity assays using Vibrio fischeri and Pseudokirchneriella sub­
capitata the H2O2 concentrations should be reduced to at least 1.7 mg
dm− 3 (0.05 mmol dm− 3), while, practically complete removal is needed
in case of Dafnia magna. The same paper recommended the reduction of
the H2O2 concentration in manometric biochemical oxygen demand
(BOD) measurements. In BOD measurements activated sludge is used for
the decomposition of organic contaminants. Activated sludge consists of
a diverse microorganism community. As with other toxic contaminants,
different microorganisms respond differently to increased H2O2 content.
Normally, the toxic effect can be reduced, or eliminated by diluting the
sample. However, this approach may be used if the theoretical BOD
value in the diluted solution is above the limit of detection.
A detailed study dealing with H2O2 interference in BOD measure­
ments is missing. The main goal of our work is to fill this gap. The H2O2
effect was investigated in a standard solution and in solutions of
oxacillin antibiotic irradiated by various doses. The effect of bacterial
diversity on the adaptation time was studied using the activated sludge
of a high-loaded (low bacterial diversity) and a low-loaded (high bac­
terial diversity) wastewater treatment plant. A further purpose was to
develop a correction factor for the BOD value to eliminate the effect of
H2O2. With the correction factor, in a specified concentration range, the
BOD value can be corrected by knowing the H2O2 concentration.
2. Materials and methods
Oxacillin and allylthiourea were purchased from Sigma Aldrich.
Glucose and glutamic acid were supplied by Molar Chemicals Kft.
Samples were irradiated in a panoramic type 60Co facility with 1.8 PBq
activity. The dose rate measured with ethanol-chlorobenzene dosimetry
(ECB) was 2 kGy h− 1. BOD experiments were performed by using Oxi­
Top® Control BOD Respirometer System according to DIN EN 1899–1
(1998). During the test, the change in air pressure in the 500 cm3 brown
bottles is measured at (20 ± 3) ◦ C. The change in pressure is due to the
oxygen consumption of microorganisms and the carbon dioxide formed
during their metabolism. In the standard measurements, CO2 is removed
with sodium hydroxide pellet so that only the change in the partial O2
pressure is sensed by the head. A software transforms the pressure data
to O2 concentration data (O2 mg dm− 3). To exclude nitrification pro­
cesses 50 mmol dm− 3 N-allylthiourea (inhibitor) solution was added to
the samples, as nitrifiers also consume oxygen (aerobes) and increase the
BOD value.
The biochemical oxygen demand is the amount of dissolved O2 in
water required for the biotransformation of organic matter by aerobic
bacteria. BODx gives the biological oxygen demand of 1 L of test sample
measured for x days (5 < x < 30), expressed in mg O2, at 20 ◦ C. The five-
day test (BOD5) is most commonly used and it is considered as standard.
However, in special cases, longer measurement time is also used. The
effect of a series of H2O2 concentrations (0.1–50 mg dm− 3) on BOD
values was tested and quantified. The BOD5 value of the standard
glucose-glutamic acid solution (150-150 mg dm− 3) was the reference
point for all measurements. The solution was prepared using standard
dilution water (SM 5210) which is aerated tap water containing salts
(MgSO4, CaCl2, and FeCl3) and phosphate buffer (pH = 7.2). Two types
of inoculants were used in the experiments, which were derived from the
2
Radiation Physics and Chemistry 189 (2021) 109773
decanted and filtered activated sludge of two different wastewater
treatment plants (North-Pest Wastewater Treatment Plant (NPWTP) and
South-Pest Wastewater Treatment Plant (SPWTP), Budapest, Hungary).
The two inoculants were tested separately in two series of measure­
ments: 20 cm3 of inoculant was added to one dm3 of standard dilution
water. Three parallel measurements of each concentration were made
simultaneously and the measurements were repeated at least four times.
In irradiated oxacillin solutions the residual H2O2 was eliminated using
manganese dioxide (MnO2, 5 g dm− 3, Sigma-Aldrich) before the mea­
surement. Data were selected based on acceptable standard deviation
(±2 SD).
The specific oxygen uptake rate (SOUR) is an indicator of the bio­
logical activity of activated sludge. As microorganisms become more
active, the SOUR increases and vice versa. 300 cm3 volume Karlsruher
flasks were filled up with air saturated mixed liquor (sample from
aeration basin: a mixture of raw or settled wastewater and activated
sludge). The changes of O2 concentration in time are measured in every
30 s for 5–10 min with a WTW inoLab®Multi 9310 IDS device, equipped
with FDO 925 dissolved oxygen probe and the final result is given in
terms of organic matter content in mg O2 g− 1 MLVSS hr− 1 (Mixed liquor
volatile suspended solids, MLVSS). The actual time required for the
measurement depends on the rate of oxygen depletion. MLVSS content
was determined by filtering it using ashless filter paper and incinerating
at 550 ◦ C.
Microscopic analysis of activated sludge samples (mixed liquor) was
performed with a Zeiss Jenaval microscope, according to the method
recommended by Eikelboom (2000), Gerardi (2008) and Jenkins et al.
(2004). The photos were taken with a Euromex VC.3038 HD-Pro
camera.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Effect of hydrogen peroxide on the BOD values in glucose-glutamic
acid standard solution
In Fig. 1 the time dependence of the BOD values obtained in glucose-
glutamic acid standard solution is compared with the values measured
in the same solution but with 0.1–50 mg dm− 3 H2O2 added. The figure
clearly shows that H2O2 distorts the BOD value in two ways. Being a
toxic compound increases the adaptation time required for the growth of
more tolerant bacterial groups. The maximum of the BOD value de­
creases because the oxygen released from the hydrogen peroxide results
in a negative error as it acts against O2 depletion.
At low H2O2 concentrations the delay in O2 depletion is small and
Fig. 1. Effect of different hydrogen peroxide concentrations on BOD values
measured in glucose-glutamic acid standard solution (150-150 mg dm− 3).
A. Bezsenyi et al.
after a certain period of time the curve begins to grow, indicating that
the bacterial culture has entered the log phase of growth (logarithmic
phase or exponential phase is a period characterized by cell doubling).
This means that in some form the cells have overcame the inhibitory
effect and are able to utilize the biodegradable organic matter content of
the sample. At high concentrations (above 20 mg dm− 3 H2O2), the
degradation is reduced throughout the entire testing period of 7 days.
H2O2 is acutely toxic for living cells, so bacteria use enzymes (cata­
lases) to maintain the intracellular H2O2 concentration at nanomolar
level. Bacteria lacking catalases grow poorly, suffer from high rates of
mutagenesis, or even die (Mishra and Imlay, 2012; Mahaseth and Kuz­
minov, 2017). In a sample containing H2O2, bacteria that can synthesize
catalase will be viable and multiply selectively during the adaptation
period. These microorganisms, e.g., Escherichia coli, also dominate the
activated sludge (~80% of the organotrophs) (Gerardi, 2003; Mara and
Horan, 2003; Tenaillon et al., 2010; Mishra and Imlay, 2012; Mahfouz
et al., 2018).
During the timeshift in O2 depletion, the bacterial inoculum culture
adapts to the conditions. The longer the period, the stronger the inhib­
itory effect and the fewer bacterial strains are viable under the given
conditions. The individual bacteria are capable of rapid and coordinated
switches in both metabolism and behavior within one generation (acli­
mation) (Bitton, 2002; Ogunseitan, 2004). The adaptation process is no
longer individual event, but can be interpreted at the population level.
The selection processes described above are the drivers of adaptation. At
the same time, another process is going on: H2O2 concentration de­
creases with the action of catalase and O2 is released. The higher is the
number of catalase-producing bacteria, the higher is the decrease in
H2O2 concentration and the more bacteria can survive. The decrease in
H2O2 concentration results in a decreased toxicity, consequently an
increased BOD value. However, during H2O2 decomposition O2 forms,
decreasing the BOD value. Fig. 1 shows the results of these two effects in
the 0.1–50 mg dm− 3 concentration range.
3.2. Effect of hydrogen peroxide on the BOD values, measured in
antibiotic solution
In order to demonstrate the effect of H2O2 in BOD measurements in
AOP, 40 mg dm− 3 (0.1 mmol dm− 3) aqueous solutions of oxacillin were
irradiated with 0.5, 1, 2 and 4 kGy absorbed doses. At these doses H2O2
forms during water radiolysis with ~3, ~5, ~9 and ~10 mg dm− 3
concentration (Illés et al., 2017). The samples were diluted to 20 mg
dm− 3 before the BOD measurement. The values were corrected with the
Fig. 2. BOD measured in 40 mg dm− 3 oxacillin solutions in the presence (+PO,
solid lines) and absence (-PO, dotted line) of hydrogen peroxide as a function of
time at different absorbed doses.
3
Radiation Physics and Chemistry 189 (2021) 109773
dilution and Fig. 2 shows the values belonging to the original (40 mg
dm− 3) concentration. In Fig. 2 the measured points are a bit scattered
and there is no observable adaptation time at beginning of the mea­
surement. These differences compared to glucose-glutamic acid stan­
dard solution are due to the highly different organic load values: 20 mg
dm− 3 (oxacillin) and 300 mg dm− 3 (glucose-glutamic acid). In the un­
irradiated oxacillin solution the calculated chemical oxygen demand
value is ~30 mg dm− 3, while with 20 days incubation 7 mg dm− 3 BOD20
value was detected. So, the sample was poorly biodegradable. The
BOD20 values of 1 and 2 kGy irradiated samples increased to 21 and 16
mg dm− 3. A further increase to 24 mg dm− 3 was observed with both
samples when H2O2 was removed applying manganese dioxide.
Due to irradiation the biodegradability was improved, and the extent
of biodegradation was increased when H2O2 was removed. Similar re­
sults are published in the literature (Sági et al., 2018). Decrease in the
organic substance available can be the reason of the decrease of BOD
value to 13 mg dm− 3 in solutions irradiated by 4 kGy (Szabó et al.,
2017). The COD of the solution irradiated by 4 kGy decreased almost to
the half of that measured before irradiation.
Illés et al. (2017) studied the effect of the absorbed dose on the H2O2
production during radiolysis of both pure water and aerated aqueous
solutions of a large number of organic molecules. The H2O2 concentra­
tion increased with the absorbed dose and had maxima (~3.0 × 10− 4
mol dm− 3, ~10 mg dm− 3) at about 3 kGy dose. Based on their results,
the difference in BOD20 values measured in solutions irradiated with 1
kGy and 2 kGy without H2O2 removal should be due to the increase in
H2O2 concentration with increasing dose.
3.3. The importance of inoculum diversity
The community composition of activated sludge bacteria and other
microorganisms is fundamentally influenced by the technological pa­
rameters in the wastewater treatment plant. One of the important pa­
rameters is the sludge loading rate (food-to microorganism ratio, F/M).
It is defined as the mass of organic substrate supplied per day per unit
biomass in the bioreactor and expressed as kg BOD/kg MLVSS d− 1
(MLVSS = mixed liquor volatile suspended solids).
Systems with higher organic matter loads are characterized by lower
biodiversity, as this environment causes excessive stress for many bac­
terial species. The sensitive species reproduce slowly; they can only be
sufficiently enriched in low-load systems (Vuono et al., 2014; Wu et al.,
2019; Sun et al., 2020).
For the above mentioned reason, tests were performed with two
inoculum of highly different loads. The floc of the activated sludge of the
NPWTP is developing a low-load, species-rich community containing
bacteria with a wide variety of morphological forms, suggesting the
presence of a number of bacterial types growing on a mixture of sub­
strates (Jenkins et al., 2004). The food network that consumes bacteria,
mainly made up of unicellular organisms and various worm species, is
also diverse. The SPWTP is a high-load system, so activated sludge flocs
exhibit limited diversity of morphological types of bacteria, indicating of
growth on a wastewater with a simpler composition. The difference
between the two sludges is clearly visible in Fig. 3. The flocs of
low-loaded activated sludge are compact and well developed (Fig. 3b).
Few free-swimming bacteria appear around the flocs. In contrast,
high-loaded flocs are poorly developed, have a less compact structure
and large amounts of bacteria are found outside the flocs (Fig. 3a).
The respiration intensity of activated sludge, which is determined in
the form of Special Oxygen Uptake Rate (SOUR), reflects the load on a
system. For high-loaded systems, the SOUR value is above 20 mg O2 h− 1
g− 1 MLVSS, it is between 12 and 20 mg O2 h− 1 g− 1 MLVSS at medium
load and below 12 mg O2 h− 1 g− 1 MLVSS at low load. 11 mg O2 h− 1 g− 1
MLVSS was measured as the SOUR value of NPWTP’s activated sludge,
so the system was low-loaded. The SOUR value for the sludge in SPWTP
was 28 mg O2 h− 1 g− 1 MLVSS, so the activated sludge was clearly high-
loaded.
A. Bezsenyi et al. Radiation Physics and Chemistry 189 (2021) 109773

Fig. 3. Optical microscopic images showing morphological diversity of activated sludge flocs: (a) high-loaded, South-Pest Wastewater Treatment Plant and (b) low-
loaded North-Pest Wastewater Treatment Plant (magnification 156x).

It can be assumed that species richness/diversity also influences the
community’s response to toxic substances. Bacterial consortia with
higher diversity are more resistant to disturbance caused by toxic shock
loading (Saikaly and Oerther, 2011; Downing et al., 2012) and the
adaptation period (resilence) is shorter, because there is a high proba­
bility that fast-adapting bacteria specialized for a certain compound are
present in the system (Kümmerer, 2008).
Resistance and resilience can be well monitored, as the toxic effect of
H2O2 can be interpreted as disturbance. Resistance can be inferred from
the BOD5 values plotted against the H2O2 concentration. The higher the
resistance of the bacterial community, the higher is the BOD5 value at a
given H2O2 concentration. Based on the adaptation times, we can draw
conclusions about the resilience. When the activated sludge community
is more resilient, the adaptation time is shorter.
In Fig. 4a there is indeed a difference between the two inoculum
cultures. Bacteria have different sets of enzymes, so the ability to
biodegrade organic compounds also differs. In the case of high-load
activated sludge, the bacteria are in an intensive phase of growth due
to the large amount of nutrients available. Although the enzyme
repertoire is less diverse due to the low diversity of the bacterial com­
munity, they are still available in large quantities, so the starting BOI5
value in Fig. 4 is higher for the South-Pest WWTP (221.0 mg dm− 3) than
North-Pest WWTP (187.2 mg dm− 3).
The low loaded activated sludge of the NPWTP proved to be more
resilient and resistant during the measurements. The BOD5 values
reached their minimum at 15 mg dm− 3 H2O2 concentration for activated
sludge at SPWTP and 20 mg dm− 3 at NPWTP. The difference between
the adaptation time at the two plants is 0.36 days (8.64 h) at a con­
centration of 7.4 10− 5 mol dm− 3 (2.5 mg dm− 3) H2O2, at 75 mg dm− 3
the difference is already 0.9 days (21.6 h, Fig. 4b). In the standard so­
lution, containing no H2O2 1.1-day adaptation time was observed for
activated sludge at NPWTP and 1.2 day for that at SPWTP. Compared to
these adaptation times of the standard solutions, the shift of the absolute
value is 9.1 days for the NPWTP and 10.1 days for the SPWTP. Above
2.5 mg dm− 3 H2O2 concentration the activated sludge of the NPWTP
adapts faster. Shorter adaptation time is typical of the low loaded

Fig. 4. Dependence of the BOD5 values. (a) and the dependence of the adaptation time shift (b) on the logarithm of the hydrogen peroxide concentration: black
square SPWTP, red dot NPWTP. (For interpretation of the references to colour in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the Web version of this article.)

4
A. Bezsenyi et al.
wastewater treatment plants, which is related to the diversity. The more
bacterial species are in the system, the more likely they are able to adapt
to the changes in conditions (Cardinale, 2011; Sun et al., 2020).
3.4. How to avoid the effect of H2O2 in biochemical measurements?
H2O2 may strongly influence the adaptation time and the values
measured in BOD5 tests, as it was demonstrated previously. In order to
obtain correct values, the impact of H2O2 has to be considered in all
cases. The approach and tools depend on the H2O2 concentration of test
samples.
As concluded in connection with Fig. 4a, there is no significant H2O2
dependence in the BOD5 values in case when the H2O2 concentration is
between 0.1 and 1 mg dm− 3, even using inoculation with activated
sludge types radically different from each other. Based on these,
neglecting the impact of H2O2 below 1 mg dm− 3 concentration in BOD
measurements can be assumed as a general principle (especially if we
consider the usually high uncertainty of biological measurements).
However, the behaviour of the test system strongly depends on the test
organisms, therefore, this principle should be confirmed on a case-by-
case basis. This can be performed, for instance, by running the BOD
test with an additional setup that contains inoculated reference solution
(typically glucose-glutamic acid solution) and the highest H2O2 con­
centration measured in test sample series (e.g., 1 mg dm− 3).
H2O2 in the concentration range of 1–10 mg dm− 3 shows significant
impact on the results of BOD measurements. In order to determine the
real values, either removal of H2O2 has to be done prior to setting up a
BOD test or correction by mathematical models is needed if the former is
not feasible. Nevertheless, the removal method has to be chosen care­
fully to keep substances other than H2O2 intact as much as possible and
not to introduce further factors interfering with BOD measurement
method. Developing a mathematical model can be done similarly to
what here has been shown. Namely, by measuring the impact of known
H2O2 concentrations on the inoculated reference solution and using this
correlation for correction of results obtained on samples measured in the
presence of H2O2. Nevertheless, as activated sludge from low-loaded and
high-loaded systems were investigated in this study, equations provided
below can be generally used to estimate the actual BOD values with a
good approximation. The curves fitted (sigmoidal dose-response curve)
in Fig. 4a can be described with the following equations:
214.02 − 17.24
South − Pest WWTP : y = 17.24 +
1 + 10(− 0.28*(8.94− x))
186.73 − 17.62
North − Pest WWTP : y = 17.62 +
1 + 10(− 0.17*(10.66− x))
In these equations y is BOD5 in mg dm− 3, while x is H2O2 concen­
tration in mg dm− 3.
At very high H2O2 concentrations the only possibility is to remove
H2O2, otherwise the microorganism community used for inoculation
will extinct because of the toxic effect. As a results, the BOD will remain
very low during the entire measuring period, even if there are biode­
gradable substances present.
It is important to underline what we have consistently tried to
highlight throughout our work: the dose-response relationship in
various activated sludges may vary significantly; a generally valid, exact
range or general equation for precise correction cannot be determined.
This has to be done case-by-case since the magnitude of the response to a
certain stimulus or stressor highly depends on the composition and
condition of the activated sludge used. However, ranges and equations
described above provide a proper basis for good approximation and
serve as a guidance for developing an approach on how to handle the
issue.
5
Radiation Physics and Chemistry 189 (2021) 109773
4. Conclusions
It was shown that H2O2 has a major influence on the outcome of BOD
measurements at concentrations higher than 1 mg dm− 3, the impact is
negligible below this concentration. Results obtained in reference so­
lutions and solutions containing known concentrations of H2O2 indicate
two major processes that need to be taken into account. Prolonged lag
period takes place and reduced BOD5 values are measured as compared
to solutions tested with the same amount of biodegradable reference but
without H2O2.
Test performed on model wastewater treated by gamma-radiation
confirmed that the presence of H2O2 in test solutions may be a basis
for false conclusions if not considered. It was found that BOD is under­
estimated if there is no correction for the effect of H2O2.
This study provides support on evaluation of H2O2 impact on BOD
test by describing processes taking place in the inoculum – test solution
closed system and by quantifiying the shift in adaptation period in
function of H2O2 concentration and quantifying the expected deviation
in the BOD values if known concentrations of H2O2 are present.
Credit author statement
Anikó Bezsenyi: Conceptualization, Methodology, Investigation,
Writing - Original Draft, Gyuri Sági: Formal analysis, Writing - Review &
Editing, László Wojnárovits: Conceptualization, Writing - Review &
Editing, Erzsébet Takács: Conceptualization, Writing - Review & Edit­
ing, Supervision.
Declaration of competing interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence
the work reported in this paper.
Acknowledgement
This work was supported by the National Office for Research and
Development through the Hungarian-Chinese Industrial Research and
Development Cooperation Project (No. 2017–2.3.6.-TÉT–CN–2018-
00003).
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