Biological oxygen demand

  • September 23, 2022
  • Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
  • Category: DPN Topics
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Biological oxygen demand

Subject : Environment

Context:

  • The National Green Tribunal recently imposed a fine of Rs 120 crore on the Uttar Pradesh government for contamination of water bodies and groundwater in and around Gorakhpur.
  • Details:
  • The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change had allocated Rs 124.3 crore to Ramgarh Tal in Gorakhpur under the National Lake Conservation Project in 2011.
  • The lake’s condition has improved significantly after its inclusion in the National Lake Conservation Plan in 2011.
  • The lake’s Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) was 108 milligrams per litre, which has improved to 11 mg/L.

About BOD

  • BOD is the amount of oxygen consumed by bacteria and other microorganisms while they decompose organic matter under aerobic conditions
  • Biological oxygen demand is essentially a measure of the amount of oxygen required to remove waste organic matter from water in the process of decomposition by aerobic bacteria.
  • Main sources of BOD are: leaves and woody debris; dead plants and animals; animal manure; effluents from pulp and paper mills, wastewater treatment plants, feedlots, and food-processing plants; failing septic systems; and urban storm water runoff etc.
  • Higher BOD indicates more oxygen is required, signifying lower water quality. Low BOD means less oxygen is being removed from water, so the water is usually more pure.

Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD)

  • COD is a method of estimating how much oxygen would be depleted from a body of receiving water as a result of bacterial action.
  • The difference between BOD and COD is: COD or Chemical Oxygen Demand is the total measurement of all chemicals (organics & in-organics) in the water, whereas, BOD is a measure of, the amount of oxygen that require for the bacteria to degrade the organic components present in water.

Total suspended Solids (TSS):

  • It is the dry-weight of suspended particles, that are not dissolved, in a sample of water that can be trapped by a filter. These are analyzed through filtering methods.
  • It is used to assess the quality of a specimen of any type of water or water body
Biological Oxygen Demand Environment