2019-2020 Innovation of the Year Award Winner: Institute of Technical Education

Portable Online Chemical Oxygen Demand System

Chemical oxygen demand (COD) is recognised worldwide as the primary indicator of total pollutants in water. In order to minimise environmental impact, governments all over the world have strict regulations on COD levels in wastewater before it can be discharged. The predominant practice in industry to analyse COD levels involves the use of hazardous chemicals like mercury, sulfuric acid, and carcinogenic dichromate compounds at high temperatures. The process is costly and may take up to a few hours. A safer, low-cost portable kit—the Portable Online Chemical Oxygen Demand (PoCOD) system—was developed by the team. Instead of using hazardous chemicals at high temperatures, it uses air at room temperature as the only reagent to analyse the COD level in wastewater treatments. The process takes less than 15 minutes, thereby attaining higher overall efficiency and productivity. The annual cost savings generated by this project is estimated between $300,000 to $700,000 SGD.

Innovators: KChang Shion Seng, Chew Yong Hui, Chong Kok Leong, Ho Kwong Yin, Shaun Yu Shyuan Kang, Tay Hong Chuan, Tina Tang Shuo, Tuan Ann Teh

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