Carbonaceous vs. total biochemical oxygen demand as a basis for WRRF design and performance monitoring

The standard 5-day biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5) measurement of water quality is used widely as a design parameter for water resource recovery facilities (WRRFs). This measure usually includes a component of nitrogenous oxygen demand (NOD) that can cause oversizing of biological processes and under-evaluation of process capacity. Carbonaceous BOD (CBOD5) more closely represents oxygen demand associated with biodegradation of organic constituents of a wastewater than does BOD5 and therefore should be used as a basis for sizing aerobic treatment processes. Nitrogenous oxygen demand or reduced nitrogen content should be used as a loading and process performance parameter for nitrogen removal processes. (C) 2021 Water Environment Federation.

Automated summary

The standard 5-day biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5) measurement is widely used in designing water resource recovery facilities, but the component of nitrogenous oxygen demand (NOD) should be taken into consideration to avoid oversizing. Carbonaceous BOD (CBOD5) is more accurate for sizing aerobic treatment processes based on the biodegradation of organic constituents in wastewater. Nitrogenous oxygen demand is important for nitrogen removal processes.