Article | Why Is Wastewater Parameters Important? Specially BOD, COD and FOG

To treat wastewater, we must first consider its composition, severity, and volume needed for treatment.  From there, the approach can either be through biological or chemical treatment.

For most companies, the requirement to treat wastewater is simple: we treat it because we want to avoid penalties, fines, and surcharges.  And the headache that comes with correcting persistent treatment problems? We all want better solutions for it.  So, what exactly are wastewater parameters?  Why is it important to address? And why should we care?

You can consider wastewater as a cocktail of different types of wastes:

Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD)

For the most part, wastewater is composed mainly of biodegradable wastes.  Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) is the measurement of wastewater’s organic strength, or simply put, just how much biodegradable pollutant is present.  High BOD levels can come from waste generated by restaurants, hotel commissaries, industrial manufacturers – not to mention, we generate BOD (wastewater) even from our own homes.

Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD)

What about Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD)?  COD differs from BOD in that COD measures both organic and inorganic pollutant concentration, and in general, it is a fast, reliable method of quantifying wastewater’s degree of pollution.  Government regulations will generally use COD as the parameter of choice, given its flexibility to test on-site.

Fats, Oils, and Grease (FOG)

Fats, Oils, and Grease (FOG) is another issue: proper treatment of FOG is usually done off-site and is considered a type of Hazardous Waste.  No one wants to handle these odoriferous wastes, so how can we treat these parameters?

To treat wastewater, we must first consider its composition, severity, and volume needed for treatment.  From there, the approach can either be through biological or chemical treatment.  Biological treatment uses bacteria to help decompose waste into safer by-products, such as CO2 and water. But not all bacteria are capable of degrading waste efficiently, and not all parameters can be removed biologically.  Chemical treatment is usually done as an added approach to reduce high concentrations of waste during pre-treatment, and polishing effluent before discharge.

To sum up, the importance of addressing parameters lies on the basic premise that doing so enables us to meet government regulations.  It can help us save money – better treatment means less downtime, less capital investment, avoiding fines and penalties, but above all, less stress for us and the environment.

We should all aim to reduce our overall impact on the environment.  Doing so not only saves our companies money, but it also addresses the bigger picture: Sustainability.  The biggest threat to our planet is thinking someone else will save it.

We have the knowledge, the tools, and the power to decide to make positive changes to help us live sustainably.  We must start today.

NCH Asia has a diverse range of wastewater treatment solutions. Get in touch with us to know more.