ABSTRACT
A wastewater stream must be defined and characterized with respect to flows and composition before realistic treatment alternatives may be considered. The characterization of wastewaters, both quantitatively and qualitatively, is the logical beginning for evaluating process applicability. Municipal or domestic effluents contain soluble, suspended, and colloidal organic materials, primarily of human origin, which exert a deleterious impact on receiving bodies of water unless properly treated. A brief review of the analytical parameters is thus discussed in the following narrative: biochemical oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand, total organic carbon, and total oxygen demand. The acidity of a wastewater, or its capacity to donate protons, is important because a neutral or near-neutral water is required before biological treatment can be deemed effective. Organic and inorganic solid matter held in suspension in the wastewater is usually measured via a filtration and drying technique and described as total suspended solids.
