Comparison of spectrophotometric and digital photometric analyses of chemical oxygen demand of slaughterhouse wastewater

Date

5-2011

Degree

Bachelor of Science in Chemistry

College

College of Arts and Sciences (CAS)

Adviser/Committee Chair

Jose Rene L. Micor

Co-adviser

Ernesto J Del Rosario

Abstract

The visible spectrophotometric and digital photometric methods for determining chemical oxygen demand (COD) were compared using untreated and treated (trickling filter) wastewater samples from a hog slaughterhouse and glucose solutions with theoretical COD of 350 and 750 ppm. At 95% confidence level, statistical data suggest that the COD obtained from spectrophotometry and digital photometry were comparable for all the sample solutions. The COD obtained using R plot, a* plot and L. plot were also comparable for all the solutions except for the untreated sample A. Tests for accuracy and repeatability of the digital photometric method showed acceptable results. The error in the COD of the glucose solutions ranged from 0.0038% to 6.8% whereas the difference in the COD of the wastewater samples ranged from 0.0093% to 7.5%. The calculated limit of detection (LOD) for the R plot was 0.73 ppm, which is lower than the LOD for the visible spectrophotometry (36 ppm). The COD of the two random samples were found to be significantly different based on sampling time, i.e. during slaughter time (12:00 am — 4:00 am) and six hours after end of slaughter. The treated! and untreated samples collected on the early sampling gave higher COD values (331 to 347 ppm and 805 to 819.8 ppm, respectively) than the treated and untreated samples that were collected during late sampling (208.1 to 214 ppm and 457.8 to 585.1 ppm, respectively). The COD of the treated samples were also found to be significantly different from the COD of the untreated samples. However, the wastewater treatment process in the slaughterhouse is not very efficient since relatively high COD values for the treated samples were obtained which does not meet the standard set by the Environmental Protecting Agency (EPA). The wastewater treatment process in the slaughterhouse was able to reduce the COD of the untreated wastewater for only 54 to 60%.

Language

English

Location

UPLB Main Library Special Collections Section (USCS)

Call Number

LG 993.5 2011 C4 M35

Document Type

Thesis

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