biochemical oxygen demand
- biochemical oxygen demand
-
[1925-30]
* * *
the amount of oxygen used by microorganisms in the process of breaking down organic matter in water. The more organic matter there is (e.g., in sewage), the greater the number of microbes. The more microbes there are, the greater the need of oxygen to support them; consequently, less oxygen is available for higher animals such as fishes. The BOD is therefore a reliable gauge of the organic pollution of a body of water. One of the main reasons for treating sewage or waste water prior to its return to a water resource is to lower its BOD—i.e., reduce its need of oxygen and thereby lessen its demand from the streams or rivers into which it is released.
* * *
Universalium.
2010.
Look at other dictionaries:
Biochemical oxygen demand — or Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) is a chemical procedure for determining how fast biological organisms use up oxygen in a body of water. It is used in water quality management and assessment, ecology and environmental science. BOD is not an… … Wikipedia
biochemical oxygen demand — n. 1. the amount of dissolved oxygen needed to decompose the organic matter in waste water: a high BOD indicates heavy pollution with little oxygen remaining for fish 2. the organic matter in waste water … English World dictionary
biochemical oxygen demand — biocheminis deguonies suvartojimas statusas T sritis ekologija ir aplinkotyra apibrėžtis Vandens užterštumo organinėmis medžiagomis rodiklis – ištirpusio deguonies, reikalingo tam tikromis sąlygomis organinėms vandens priemaišoms biologiškai… … Ekologijos terminų aiškinamasis žodynas
biochemical oxygen demand — biochemical oxygen de·mand di .mand n the oxygen used in meeting the metabolic needs of aerobic microorganisms in water rich in organic matter (as water polluted with sewage) called also biological oxygen demand, oxygen demand … Medical dictionary
biochemical oxygen demand — biological oxygen demand … Dictionary of ichthyology
biochemical oxygen demand — bi′ochem′ical ox′ygen demand n. biochem. the oxygen required by aerobic organisms, as those in sewage, for metabolism Also called biological oxygen demand • Etymology: 1925–30 … From formal English to slang
biochemical oxygen demand — noun The amount of oxygen needed by aerobic microorganisms to decompose all the organic matter in a sample of water; it is used as a measure of pollution. Syn: biological oxygen demand … Wiktionary
biochemical oxygen demand — noun the amount of oxygen aerobic microorganisms need to decompose organic pollutants in water or waste; used as an index of the degree of organic pollution in water. Abbrev.: BOD Also, biological oxygen demand …
biochemical oxygen demand — noun : the oxygen used in meeting the metabolic needs of aerobic microorganisms in water rich in organic matter (as water polluted with sewage) called also biological oxygen demand … Useful english dictionary
Biochemical Oxygen Demand — The weight of oxygen taken up mainly as a result of the oxidation of the constituents of a sample of water by biological action; expressed as the number of parts per million of oxygen taken up by the sample from water originally saturated with… … Energy terms
