| dc.description.abstract | The main method utilised today for Licensing, Enforcement and Taxation of effluent waters within the Netherlands and most of the EU is the Potassium Dichromate Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD). This chemical analysis of COD incorporates some toxic substances such as Mercury and Potassium Dichromate, which are potentially harmful to the environment. Due to its toxicity the EU will enforce a ban in September 2017 on the application of potassium dichromate (Annex XIV of Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 REACH regulation). This means that, from this date, the ban has the potential to have a major impact on the Licensing, Enforcement and Taxation of effluent waters. For this reason Rijkswaterstaat (RWS), as the governing body within the Netherlands, required more information on possible alternative pollution test methods. The aim of this paper is to review alternative organic pollution test methods for effluent waters, with the goal of finding a suitable alternative to the Potassium Dichromate-COD test.
This research commenced with a literature review into alternative methods and the development of a criteria list in which to compare the identified alternatives with that of the baseline (current method), allowing the identification of suitable alternatives. This was followed by consultations with relevant parties involved with the usage, manufacture or regulation of the current Potassium Dichromate COD test or the identified alternative methods. The aim was to gather sufficient information and data to enable a thorough comparison with the baseline and ultimately, to advise on the best method to employ for future effluent water testing.
There were four alternatives chosen to be compared to the baseline. BOD5, PeCOD, TOC and UVAS. All of these alternatives exhibited good and bad points, however at this time the top candidate and recommended alternative is TOC. This is due to its accuracy, its present wide spread use and standardisation. At the time of writing this paper, RWS is conducting a trial regarding PeCOD. The results of the study will reveal more detailed information regarding this particular alternative and to ensure selection of the most suitable method, the results of this study should be taken into account. | |
