What is COD in Water and How is COD calculated?
The capacity of water to consume oxygen during the breakdown of organic materials in the water, is measured by the term "chemical oxygen demand," or COD. To put it another way, it's the quantity of oxygen required to oxidize the organic material contained in a given volume of water.
Indirect measurement of contaminants (organics) in a water sample is done using COD analysis. It is a crucial factor in determining the quality of water, lowering the risk to both humans and the environment.
Let’s look at COD and its importance in the treatment of water and wastewater.
Is COD measurement important?
COD is a great tool for assessing the effectiveness of water treatment facilities. Discharged water contains effluent organics that can compete with downstream species for oxygen, if water is left untreated or only partially treated. The life downstream of the discharge area may be killed or impaired by this oxygen demand.
Therefore, it should be obvious that anything that can assist in gathering precise information on water quality, such as COD, has a crucial role to play in lowering the probability that pollutants would cause any environmental harm.
The significance of chemical oxygen demand
For a variety of personal, medical, and commercial needs, modern cultures have a high need for water. At the same time, our industrial society creates a variety of toxins and environmental problems, all of which, if ignored, can have detrimental effects on human health and biodiversity. Pollutants might overwhelm the water body’s natural healing mechanisms.
A build-up of other, potentially harmful additives, such as pesticides, effluents, and garbage, which contaminate drinking water supplies with their toxic effects, occurs in addition to the products produced by the breakdown of natural substances, such as proteins, greases, and carbohydrates. These additives can be toxic or have an effect on hormones.
Additionally, they could use so much oxygen that water resources become contaminated.
Harmful effects of COD
Numerous effects may result from high levels of organic pollution in water discharged to tributaries and streams. These consist of:
1. Organic compound toxicity
2. Effects on flora, wildlife, and human health
3. Eutrophication and declining dissolved oxygen
4. Fish population effects
It is crucial that the quality of the water source is thoroughly evaluated before it is pulled off, for human consumption or industrial use in order to prevent the wide range of health risks to humans, and the survival of some other species. An important step in this procedure is COD testing.
How is COD calculated?
When it comes to measuring COD, there are several various approaches that may be taken. Online testing and offline laboratory techniques utilizing environmental analyzers are some of these.
The COD testing method is based on the idea that practically any organic component will oxidise, to carbon dioxide in the presence of a strong oxidising agent in an acidic environment. The COD study will calculate the equivalent oxygen concentration needed, to oxidise organic molecules in water chemically.
Environmental analysers, which are extremely precise scientific tools, are used in modern COD testing procedures.
What benefits does Chemical Oxygen Demand measurement offer?
The main benefits of COD testing are that it is an APHA and ISO-compliant testing method that is relatively quick. Accuracy cannot be compromised for speed. The COD analyser’s major advantage in a variety of scenarios is its ability to combine speed and precision.
Because, more organic compounds can be oxidised chemically than physiologically, COD will typically be higher than BOD. Various substances that are harmful to biological life are included in this. Due to the fact that BOD testing will not detect industrial sewage, COD tests are quite helpful.
What do we offer?
Specialized wastewater management is necessary because wastewater composition varies, from industry to industry. Therefore, the best method for enhancing water quality is chosen with Netsol Water Solutions’ experts, because every project is unique.