The chemical oxygen demand (COD) is an essential parameter in waste management, particularly when monitoring wet anaerobic digestion processes. An adapted method to determine COD was developed for solid waste (total solids >15%). This method used commercial COD tubes and did not require sample dilution. A homemade plastic weighing support was used to transfer the solid sample into COD tubes. Potassium hydrogen phthalate and glucose used as standards showed an excellent repeatability. A small underestimation of the theoretical COD value (standard values around 5% lower than theoretical values) was also observed, mainly due to the intrinsic COD of the weighing support and to measurement uncertainties. The adapted COD method was tested using various solid wastes in the range of 1-8 mgCOD, determining the COD of dried and ground cellulose, cattle manure, straw and a mixed-substrate sample. This new adapted method could be used to monitor and design dry anaerobic digestion processes.
Keywords: Anaerobic digestion; Biodegradability; Chemical oxygen demand; Solid waste.