A Rapid Biochemical Oxygen Demand Assay Based on Natively Cultivated Biofilm Reactor Approach

摘要

The analytical determination of organic compounds in wastewater has been regarded as one of the most important measurable parameters for the estimation of water quality. The current standard method for determining biodegradable organic compounds in wastewaters is the 5-day biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5) assay. This test quantifies the amount of dissolved oxygen (DO) required for the microbial oxidation of organic compound in 5 days under specified conditions. Apart from time consuming, it also involves tedious procedures, dedicated laboratory facilities and a high level of skill and experience to obtain accurate and reproducible results. Despite these drawbacks, BOD5 was defined as the international standard method due largely to the oxidative biodegradation of organic compounds was conducted by naturally occurring microorganisms in the samples to be analysed. The composition of these naturally occurring microorganisms were undefined and varied from the samples in batches. The native microorganisms used as the microbial seeds in BOD5 test can overcome the matrix dependent problems and minimize the inhibitory effect, achieving "universal" applicability.