Standardization of BOD₅/COD ratio as a biological stability index for MSW

The control of biodegradable substances is the key issue in evaluating the short and long-term emission potential and environmental impact of a landfill. Aerobic and anaerobic indices, such as respirometric index (RI) and biomethane potential production (GB21), can be used in the estimation of the stability of solid waste samples. Previous studies showed different degrees of relationship between BOD₅/COD ratio compared with RI4. Aim of this study is to standardize the parameter BOD₅/COD ratio and to test the methodology under different operating conditions (dynamic or static leaching and leaching duration, 6 and 24-h) keeping constant temperature and liquid/solid ratio (L/S=10 l/kg(TS)), with the introduction of a COD fractioning method. The COD fractioning is based on the differentiation between the soluble fraction (COD(sol)) and the colloidal fraction (COD(coll)) using a flocculation method. The BOD₅/COD and the BOD₅/COD(sol) indices are both consistent and significant and can be used as stability indices. The BOD₅/COD ratio does not seem to be influenced, for the same test duration, by the type of test, static or dynamic. In the same way the longer test duration (24-h) does not influence significantly the values of BOD₅/COD ratio. As a consequence a leaching test duration of 6-h is preferable to avoid the beginning of the hydrolysis and oxidation processes.