Dichromate method for the determination of chemical oxygen demand

The oxidizability of organic substances of different classes was studied under the conditions of an official procedure for the determination of chemical oxygen demand (COD) with and without using Ag₂SO₄ as a catalyst. Organic substances can be divided into three groups: easily oxidizable compounds that are oxidized by 80–100% without a catalyst; medium-oxidizable compounds that are oxidized by 40–80% in the absence of a catalyst; and hardly oxidizable compounds that are oxidized by less than 40% without a catalyst. It was shown that, in the presence of a catalyst, not all organic substances are completely oxidized; therefore, the verification of the results of the determination of COD using easily oxidizable potassium hydrophthalate and glucose cannot be reliable in the presence of more hardly oxidizable substances. A standard mixture containing ethylene glycol, acetic acid, dimethylformamide, and nitrobenzene was proposed to verify the results of determining COD in waters of any type. The error in COD values found in a standard mixture varied in the range from 15 to 840 mg O/L. A modified procedure for the determination of COD in pure waters was proposed.