Technical Bulletin No. 0019: Methods for the Determination of the BOD of Kraft Mill Wastewaters

The enclosed reports represent a summarization of the research conducted on the Council’s Louisiana State University project during its first year of operation under the direction of Mr. W. A. Moggio. The purpose of this investigation is to determine the fundamental factors influencing natural purification of kraft mill waste water so that this knowledge can be applied in the development of a dependable treatment process of reasonable cost of installation and operation. The first report deals with the development of a reliable and reproducible test for oxygen demand of this waste. Such a test is a prime requisite since it is a measuring stick for evaluating the degree of purification. The second report covers the effect of several factors on the purification occurring in storage. Most interesting results were observed on the addition of chemical oxygen in the form of nitrate which accelerated the oxidation rate to a considerable degree. These studies are being extended to cover the effect of other factors, the bacteriology of the process and exploration of further means of stimulating purification rates.