How can you assess the effectiveness of a biological treatment process?

Assessing the effectiveness of a biological treatment process primarily involves measuring biochemical parameters, which reflect the treatment's ability to reduce organic matter and remove pollutants from wastewater. Changes in Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD), Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), and Total Suspended Solids (TSS) are key indicators in this context.

BOD is a critical measure that indicates the amount of oxygen microorganisms will consume while decomposing organic matter in samples of water; a decrease in BOD after treatment signifies effective biological decomposition of waste. COD measures all the organic matter, not just what is biodegradable, providing insight into total pollution load. TSS quantifies the solid particles suspended in the water, which can also indicate treatment efficiency as effective biological processes typically lead to a reduction in suspended solids.

In contrast, other options such as measuring color changes or conducting sensory evaluations may offer peripheral insights but do not provide reliable quantitative measures of biological treatment effectiveness. Temperature variations can be related to biological activity but are not direct indicators of treatment efficiency. Thus, focusing on BOD, COD, and TSS gives a comprehensive overview of the effectiveness of a biological treatment process.