15th Nov.

,
2023

Water and
Wastewater
Engineering
Wastewater Tests and
Calculations
Dr. Olusegun K. Abass
abass.olusegun@lmu.edu.n
g
CVE 410 Course hours – 25
Course credit - 2 Assignment, tutorial and class quiz hour -10
 Ground rules

Rest room visit – Do the needful… However, don’t allow the toilet to be your friend during lecture period.

Avoid side talks – especially during lectures. There will be time for interaction

Clarification is allowed – perhaps you are not clear on a subject, feel free to ask.

Missing the bus – generally it’s a bad idea for you to miss BUS CVE 410. If you do, you miss out some goodies

Late birds – coming late is essentially discouraged for this course because you might miss some good stuffs

Consultation Hours - Tues (12noon –2pm); Thurs (1pm –3pm).

Grading Guide

1. Assignment/Homework – 7.5%
2. Class attendance (full participation) –
7.5%
3. Class presentation (1 & 2) – 10 %
4. Class Quiz – 15%
5. Final Exam – 60%
Course Content

1. Water/Wastewater Quality Parameter & Calculations

1.2 Biological Oxygen Demand

1.3 Relative stability of wastewater

1.4 Population Equivalent

Water and Wastewater Engineering

1.5 Chemical Oxygen Demand

1.6 Theoretical COD, Theoretical Oxygen Demand (ThOD) & Total Organic Carbon
1.2 Biological Oxygen Demand

Integrating the equation:

L0 is the initial/ultimate BOD value, while Lt is the BOD remaining at any time t. After
integration, we have,

Lt/Lo = e-kt
Lt = Lo e-kt

Further, to calculate the BOD consume at any time (yt) or the ultimate BOD (L0),

yt = Lo – Lt (substituting for Lt we have)

yt = Lo – Lo e-kt

yt = Lo (1– e-kt)
1.2 Biological Oxygen Demand

yt = BOD consumed at any time t

Lo = initial BOD

Assuming that t = ∞, then yt, is equal to the ultimate BOD.

(Thus, when t is at infinite, it means all the organic matter will be oxidized)

To calculate Lt in logarithm form (Lt = Lo e-kt), we have

KD is derived from k, which is known as the deoxygenation constant, which is dependent upon
the temperature.
1.2 Biological Oxygen Demand

To convert to any temperature from 20 0C to T 0C, we use the formula

is the Amherrus constant, which can vary from 1.01-1.08.

Examples on BOD conversion problems

1. If the BOD5,20 C of wastewater is 150 mg/l and the reaction rate constant (to the base e) at 20
0
C is 0.35/day. What will be the ultimate BOD in mg/l?

2. A portion of wastewater sample was subjected standard BOD test (5 days, 20 0C), yielding a
value of 180 mg/l. The reaction rate constant (to the base e) at 20 0C was taken to be
0.18/day. The temperature at which the portion of other wastewater sample that should be
tested to exert the same BOD in 2.5 days is? (Take KT = K20 (1.047)T-20)

3. The BOD5 of a wastewater is determined to be 150mg/l at 200c. The k200c value is 0.23/day
and What would be the BOD8 if the test were determined at 150c?
1.2 Biological Oxygen Demand
Examples on BOD conversion problems
4. To determine the BOD5 of a wastewater sample, 5ml, 10ml and 50ml aliquots of the
wastewater were diluted to 300 ml and incubated at 20 oC in BOD bottles for 5 days. The results
obtained are as follows
S/N Wastewater vol., ml Initial DO, mg/l DO after 5 days, mg/l

1 5 9.2 6.9

2 10 9.1 4.4

3 15 8.4 0.0

Based on the data above, the average BOD5 of the wastewater will be equal to?

5. The 5 days BOD of a wastewater sample is obtained as 190 mg/l (with k = 0.01 /h). The
ultimate oxygen demand (mg/l) of the sample will be?

6. If BOD3 of a wastewater sample is 75 mg/l and the reaction rate constant k, (base of e) is
0.345 /day, the amount remaining in the given sample after 10 days is?
Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD)

1.3 Relative stability of wastewater

The Relative Stability of wastewater is the ratio of available oxygen to the oxygen required for
1st stage BOD or C-BOD.

The available oxygen consist of DO, NO2-, NO3-

Wastewater Relative Stability Test

• Add methylene blue to wastewater sample
• Incubate at 20 0C or 37 0C
Initial Condition – aerobic condition will prevail due to abundance of aerobic organisms
After all DO is consumed – anaerobic condition will prevail due to gradual growth of
anaerobic organisms
Wastewater sample

• The anaerobic bacteria subsequently produces enzymes which will degrade the blue color
of the wastewater (i.e. the methylene blue)

• The time taken for the blue color to degrade/be removed from the sample determines whether the
water is stable or not stable.
Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD)

1.3 Relative stability of wastewater

If the blue color was remove in the first day, then it means that the DO in the water was quickly exhausted
and anaerobic conditions has set in, thus, causing the blue color to be degraded. Sample is unstable.

But, if it took 5 days for the blue color to be gone, then it means DO must have been present in the sample up
till 4 to 5 days (aerobic conditions). For the DO to persist for 5 days before been removed means the sample is
stable.

Therefore, the late or quick discoloration of the sample tells us whether the sample is stable or not.
Wastewater sample Wastewater sample

Day 1 Day 5

t
SR = 100 (1 – 0.794 20) t20
or t37 is the time required at 20 0C or 37 0C
t Where SR is the relative stability, and t is the time in days
SR = 100 (1 – 0.605 37)
taken to decolorize the sample
Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD)

1.4 Population Equivalent

This is used to estimate the amount of municipal wastewater generated to the amount of people having the
potential to generate this amount of BOD in the municipality. It helps to determine how rates are fixed by
environmental regulators.

• Generally, the BOD contribution per capital per day is a fixed value given as 80 g/day or 0.08 Kg/day

Population Equivalent = BOD generated in the municipal wastewater treatment facility / 0.08 Kg/day

E.g. If 800 kg/day of BOD is generated in Landmark University wastewater treatment facility. What is the
population equivalent of people that can generate this amount of wastewater in Landmark University?
1.5 Chemical Oxygen Demand (BOD)

Generally, it takes five days to measure BOD but it takes only 3 hours to measure COD.

Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) is a test that measures the amount of oxygen required to chemically oxidize
the organic material and inorganic nutrients, such as Ammonia or Nitrate, present in water or wastewater.
Like BOD, it is also measured in mg/L.

COD Test

- Uses Chemical Oxidizing Agent to oxidize organic matters & inorganic nutrients.

- It is done in an acidic medium

- COD > BOD

Materials and Equipment:

Glassware:
• COD digestion vials
Reagents: • Graduated cylinders
1. Potassium dichromate (K2Cr2O7) • BOD bottles
2. Sulfuric acid (H2SO4) • Pipettes
• Burettes
3. Silver sulfate (Ag2SO4)
• Glass stoppers
4. Mercuric sulfate (HgSO4) • Separatory funnel
5. Ferrous ammonium sulfate [(NH4)2Fe(SO4)2.6H2O] • Volumetric flasks
1.5 Chemical Oxygen Demand (BOD)

Apparatus:

• COD digestion apparatus (digestion tubes, heating block or digester)

• Spectrophotometer
• Water bath
• Colorimeter or spectrophotometer
• pH meter
• Magnetic stirrer

Procedure:
1. Sample Collection: Collect a representative water sample from the source of interest.

2. Sample Preservation: Add a solution of sulfuric acid to the sample to lower the pH and preserve it for
analysis.

3. Digestion: Transfer a known volume of the preserved sample into a COD digestion vial.
Add a known amount of potassium dichromate and other required reagents to the vial.
Digest the sample using a digestion apparatus (heating block or digester) at a high temperature for a
specified period.
This step oxidizes the organic matter in the sample.

4. Cooling: Allow the digested sample to cool to room temperature.

 1.5 Chemical Oxygen Demand (BOD)

Procedure:

5. Titration: Add a reducing agent (ferrous ammonium sulfate) to the cooled sample to titrate the unreacted
dichromate.
The excess ferrous ions are then titrated with a standard solution of a known concentration of a reducing agent
(e.g., ferrous ammonium sulfate).

6. Blank Determination: Run a blank determination using distilled water and all reagents to account for any
impurities.

7. Calculation: Calculate the COD concentration using the volume and concentration of the titrant used.

8. Verification: Verify the results through duplicate or triplicate analyses and compare them for consistency.

Wastewater Standards

For Domestic Sewage, the ratio of COD to BOD5 is 1.25 to 2.5

If the COD / BOD5 is higher than the normal value, it means that the wastewater sample will be difficult to
biodegrade.
1.6 Theoretical COD, Theoretical Oxygen Demand (ThOD) & Total Organic Carbon

The COD can also be estimated from the concentration of oxidizable compound in the
sample, based on its stoichiometric reaction with oxygen to yield CO2 (assume all C goes to
CO2), H2O (assume all H goes to H2O), and NH3 (assume all N goes to NH3), using the following
formula: COD = (C/FW)·(RMO)·32

Where
C = Concentration of oxidizable compound in the sample,
FW = Formula weight of the oxidizable compound in the sample,
RMO = Ratio of the no. of moles of oxygen to no. of moles of oxidizable compound in their
reaction to CO2, water, and ammonia.

Question: if a water sample contains 500 Wppm (Weight Parts per Million) of phenol, assuming
complete oxidization of the phenol compound, what will be the COD of the water sample in
Wppm.
C6H5OH + 7O2 → 6CO2 + 3H2O
COD = (500/94)·7·32 = 1191 Wppm

ThOD is the calculated amount of oxygen required to oxidize a compound to its final
oxidation products.
Total organic carbon (TOC) is the measure of the concentration of organic carbon in a
substance and is considered to be the best indicator of contamination, or purity, of a
substance.