A Series Piezoelectric Quartz Crystal Microbial Sensing Technique Used for Biochemical Oxygen Demand Assay in Environmental Monitoring

A new method for biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) determination, which combines the series piezoelectric quartz crystal (SPQC) technique with the growth of a microorganism is presented in this paper. This method needs no immobilization of bacteria and is simple and convenient. When a calibration technique was used for BOD analysis, the detection time was 2.5 h at 37°C. There was a good linear relationship between the frequency shift and BOD value in the range 2.2–11 mg/L and the regression equation was ΔF = 64.10 + 11.23BOD]. The proposed method was compared with the conventional BOD₅ method. This method was more rapid than the BOD₅ method and the results obtained by the former were in good agreement with those obtained by the latter. The experimental conditions are also discussed in detail.