Activated Sludge Design Tables
- Rick Fuller
- Sep 5, 2016
- 1 min read
Updated: Jul 16
Activated Sludge Design and Process Control Parameters
Below is a handy chart from the well-known Metcalf & Eddy handbook (Metcalf & Eddy. Wastewater Engineering: Treatment and Reuse. 4th ed. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2003).
This table uses only BOD values
The version of the table shown below adds two columns, using COD values, in red, beside the original columns that use BOD values. I have done this because industrial plants often do not have suffient BOD data, using COD instead. Be aware that the ratio of 5-day biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) to chemical oxygen demand (COD) is site specific, wastewater specific, and industry specific. In the table below I show that I have used the formula COD = BOD x 2.1. Consider this 2.1 multiplier to be more like a rule-of-thumb, a starting point, when you don't know the true relationship between BOD and COD. Be aware the COD concentration will always be higher than the BOD concentration.
This table adds COD values beside the BOD values
Minitab BOD, COD, TSS, and Oil concentrations entering bioreactor along with COD/BOD ratio data.
ModelRisk Probability Distribution Fit for COD/BOD Ratio Data
