Results and Discussion

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Referring to Table W3-1 in Appendices, DO

concentration recorded for blank bottle was 7.84 mg/l while
for sample bottle, the DO concentration obtained was 7.45
mg/l. The difference between these two bottles is the presence
of water sample in sample bottle. The water sample was
obtained from the UNIMAS East Campus Lake and it
contained organic matters such as dead plants and leaves.
Their presence in the water sample will cause the bacteria to
begin the process of decomposing these wastes under aerobic
conditions. Aerobic generally means that dissolved oxygen is
present in aquatic environment. Due to this situation, the
bacteria used the organic matters found in water sample as
food. They took oxygen from the oxygen dissolved in
water sample. BOD is defined as a measure of the amount of
oxygen used by the bacteria as they stabilise the organic
matters under controlled time and temperature. The BOD
level was measured using DO terms as this actually depends
on the biodegradable activity itself. The bacteria used up the
dissolved oxygen in the water for self-respiration, self-growth
or self-decay.
DO concentration value was recorded again after five

days (Day 5). For blank bottle, DO concentration had
reduced to 4.97 mg/l while DO concentration for sample
bottle was 2.92 mg/l. It was observed that the DO level for
sample bottle had declined the most. The reason is that the
demand for oxygen by the bacteria was quite high and they
were consuming the oxygen that was available in the water.
For blank sample, there was no organic waste present in the
water, therefore there wont be as many bacteria present to
decompose it, thus the DO level did not reduce as much as
for sample bottle. The BOD test took five days to complete
due to the fact that Nitrogenous Oxygen Demand happens
after Day 5. Nitrogenous Oxygen Demand is a quantitative
measure of the amount of DO required for biological
oxidation of nitrogenous materials. After the incubation
period of BOD which is 5 days at 20C, all the organic
content would be exhausted. Also, both of the samples were
left incubated in a dark location to avoid the bacteria from
undergoing photosynthesis.
BOD value was measured using the DO levels obtained

and the results showed that the BOD level was 8.3 mg/l.
Referring to the National Water Quality Standards for
Malaysia, this value falls on Class IV which indicates that the
water was polluted, hence it needs to undergo extensive
treatment to make it suitable for daily uses. At Class IV, the
water can only be used for irrigation purpose. Theoretically, if
there is a large quantity of organic waste in the water sample,
there will also be a lot of bacteria present working to
decompose this waste. In this case, the BOD level recorded
was high which means that the DO level decreased because
the oxygen that was available in the water was consumed by
the bacteria. Another reason is the presence of nitrates and
phosphates in the body of water could contribute to high
BOD level too. They are plant nutrients that can cause plant
and algae to grow quickly. When plants grow quickly, they
die quickly as well. This condition contributes to the organic
waste in water, which is then decomposed by bacteria.
It is very important that the distilled water used for

dilution water be of high grade and free from contaminants
such as copper and chlorine which could inhibit the growth of
bacteria. The difference between the DO concentration of the
blank sample at Day 0 and Day 5 should be zero because
theoretically the sample was assumed to has no organic
matter present in it. However, there was a slight difference in
the DO level and this may be due to the presence of air
bubbles which gave additional oxygen dissolving in the
sample.
REFERENCES
1. Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. (n. d.).

Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD). Retrieved from
http://www.watereducation.org/sites/main/files/file-
attachments/pennsylvania_department_of_environmental_protection_bioc
hemical_oxygen_demand.doc
APPENDICES
Table W3-1 : Dissolved Oxygen Concentration Value (mg/l) at Day 0
1st reading 2nd reading 3rd reading Average

(mg/l) (mg/l) (mg/l) (mg/l)
Blank (Bottle 1) 7.87 7.88 7.78 7.84
Sample (Bottle 2) 7.44 7.36 7.56 7.45
Table W3-2 : Dissolved Oxygen Concentration Value (mg/l) at Day 5
1st reading 2nd reading 3rd reading Average

(mg/l) (mg/l) (mg/l) (mg/l)
Blank (Bottle 1) 4.75 5.07 5.09 4.97
Sample (Bottle 2) 2.91 2.84 3.00 2.92
To determine the BOD level :
D1D 2 ) ( B 1B2 ) f
BOD ( mgl )= ( P .Eq
uation 1
where D1 = Initial DO of sample sample after preparation (mg/l)
D2 = DO of sample sample after five days incubation (mg/l)
B1 = Initial DO of blank sample after preparation (mg/l)
B2 = DO of blank sample after five days incubation (mg/l)
P = Decimal volumetric fraction of sample used = 200ml/1000ml = 0.2
f = Ratio of seed in sample to seed in blank = 1.0

BOD ( mgl )= ( 7.452.92 ) 0.2( 7.844.97 ) 1.0 =8.3 mg/l

Results and Discussion

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Results and Discussion

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Results and Discussion

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Referring to Table W3-1 in Appendices, DO

DO concentration value was recorded again after five

BOD value was measured using the DO levels obtained

It is very important that the distilled water used for

1. Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. (n. d.).

Table W3-1 : Dissolved Oxygen Concentration Value (mg/l) at Day 0

1st reading 2nd reading 3rd reading Average

Table W3-2 : Dissolved Oxygen Concentration Value (mg/l) at Day 5

1st reading 2nd reading 3rd reading Average

To determine the BOD level :

where D1 = Initial DO of sample sample after preparation (mg/l)

D2 = DO of sample sample after five days incubation (mg/l)

B1 = Initial DO of blank sample after preparation (mg/l)

B2 = DO of blank sample after five days incubation (mg/l)

P = Decimal volumetric fraction of sample used = 200ml/1000ml = 0.2

f = Ratio of seed in sample to seed in blank = 1.0

You might also like

Pfad - The Proxy pFad of © 2024 Garber Painting. All rights reserved.