Measuring aquatic organic pollution by the Permanganate Value method

Abstract

Permanganate Value methods provide a convenient procedure for measuring aquatic organic pollutants, and are compared with the Biochemical Oxygen Demand procedure The educational convenience, safety, and results from Permanganate Value (PV) methods for measuring aquatic organic pollution were compared with those of the Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) procedure, which is the standard in the water industry. Twenty river water and 20 sewage effluent samples were used in the investigation. Statistical relationships between results were calculated. It was found with the river water, whose BOD levels varied from 2–20 mg O2 dm−3, that there was no significant correlation between BOD and PV results. However, with sewage effluent, whose BOD levels varied from 7–330 mg O2 dm−3, the correlation coefficient between methods was 0.95 (p <0.001). With the PV method, reducing the incubation period to 20 min at 60°C gave simitar results to those from the usual period of 4 hours at 27°C. The shortened procedure should albw organic pollutants to be determined within the timespan of an educational practical session. Further educational investigations are discussed.