CARBONACEOUS BIOCHEMICAL OXYGEN DEMAND

The incubation of a sample of water or wastewater for a relatively short period of time in order to determine the Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD). The short incubation, usually 5 days, is sufficient to detect only the microbial utilization of carbon compounds. A longer incubation (15 to 20 days) would also detect the oxidation of inorganic nitrogenous compounds (ammonia and nitrite) and the subsequent demand for molecular oxygen by chemoautotrophic bacteria.