The biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) of wastewater and surface water is the measurement of the amount of molecular oxygen in water required by micro-organisms in the biochemical oxidation of organic matter (i.e., degradation of the organic matter by micro-organisms into carbon dioxide and water with new cell growth). Examples of sources of organic matter that can be discharged into surface waters (e.g., rivers, lakes, and oceans) are: natural (e.g., decaying plants and animals), agricultural runoff, urban runoff, and domestic and industrial wastewater discharges. A concern is that all of these sources will result in micro-organisms using all the oxygen in these surface waters to biodegrade these organic wastes, such that anaerobic conditions result. If this happens, most of the aquatic life in the surface waters will die, odors will occur from the formation of hydrogen sulfide and other malodorous compounds under anaerobic conditions, and the water will no longer be usable by people...
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Bibliography
APHA, 1992. Standard Methods For The Examination Of Water And Wastewater (18th edn). Washington, DC: American Public Health Association.
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© 1999 Kluwer Academic Publishers
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Brenniman, G.R. (1999). Biochemical oxygen demand. In: Environmental Geology. Encyclopedia of Earth Science. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-4494-1_34
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-4494-1_34
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