Real Time Chemical Oxygen Demand Improves Wastewater Management

MANTECH’s PeCOD® Analyzer water quality analysis technology provides food and beverage processors with accurate, real time data that enables them to make timely decisions and effectively manage their water and wastewater.

The PeCOD® Analyzer is a fast, green, accurate alternative to traditional chemical oxygen demand (COD) and biological oxygen demand (BOD) testing for measuring organics in wastewater. Rapid, reliable and economical testing helps companies remain in compliance with their permits and respond quickly when they are not.

Real time monitoring of COD in a craft brewery
PeCOD® Analyzer Chosen for BLOOM Case Study

In 2015, MANTECH’s PeCOD® Analyzer was selected to provide water quality analysis for three pilot projects examining water and wastewater testing in Ontario’s food and beverage industry. Supported by The Bloom Centre for Sustainability, the study looked at the potential of new real time chemical oxygen demand (COD) methods for saving processors time and money by providing them with a continuous picture of what is going on in their wastewater systems.

Using COD to Accurately Estimate BOD

For the project, MANTECH’s PeCOD® Analyzer was installed at a winery, a brewery and a bakery to provide real time measurements and analysis of wastewater effluent at each facility. The analyzers automatically collected and tested samples at each facility over a four- to six-week period. The data was compared to a second set of samples collected at each site and sent to a laboratory for independent COD and BOD testing.

The result: tests confirmed that the real time capabilities of the PeCOD® Analyzer can be used to provide accurate BOD estimates within 10 minutes, compared to the five-day turnaround for traditional BOD testing. The pilot projects demonstrated that real time COD can be used to improve water and wastewater management in the food and beverage sector.

“You have to measure it to manage it. This provides food processors with the accuracy of a laboratory test without the need for a lab facility or highly trained technician.”

Michael Fagan, Senior Vice President, BLOOM

Read the case study to learn more.