Biochemical oxygen demand

What is biochemical oxygen demand?

Biochemical oxygen demand is the amount of dissolved oxygen that has to be present in water to allow microorganisms to break down organic material. BOD is often used as a way to understand the amount of organic pollution present in water, especially wastewater.

Why is biochemical oxygen demand important?

By understanding the BOD of a water sample, along with a dissolved oxygen test, we can figure out the impact that organic pollution can have on an ecosystem. Th

What does it mean?

The higher the BOD value, the more organic matter is present in the sample. It also means that more oxygen supply is needed for the microorganisms in the water to fully break down any organic matter. If the dissolved oxygen levels are lower than the BOD, there is a risk of deoxygenation, with potentially harmful effects for many organisms.

Water Rangers Protocol

We do not currently have a test for this in our kit. However, we do have a test for dissolved oxygen available in our Freshwater Explorer Kit