Use of BOD Incubator: Why This Instrument Is Crucial for Water and Environmental Testing

If you were asked about an instrument that is used daily in the process of environmental testing by professionals, you will get the answer "BOD incubator" very likely. Even though the name of the instrument sounds quite informative – Biochemical Oxygen Demand test – the use of BOD incubator has a wider range than only this particular test. Knowing more about use of BOD incubator will let laboratories get all benefits of this multifunctional tool.

Purpose of Using BOD Incubator

Basically, biochemical oxygen demand test incubator maintains certain temperature regime for a long time of five days when keeping the temperature regime of 20°C. Due to this regime, one can measure oxygen consumption by microorganisms decomposing organic matter in water samples, that is used as indicator of pollution level. Higher oxygen consumption means higher level of pollution. However, the same regime is needed for other purposes too.

Main Applications Apart from BOD Test

A good BOD test incubator can be found in laboratories performing various analyses in such spheres as environment, microbiology and pharmaceuticals besides the main function of performing a BOD test. This instrument is used in environmental laboratories for evaluating the

quality of water and wastewater as a part of pollution control program. In microbiology laboratories, it is used for growth of bacterial and fungal cultures because of necessity to maintain the regime of low temperatures for most of microorganisms. Instruments for low-temperature incubation are used in pharmaceutical and food testing laboratories for performing stability and shelf-life tests of products sensitive to temperature changes. Such type of incubators is also used in academic research laboratories for general purposes sample incubation with cool regime instead of warm incubation.

Why Temperature Stability Is Important

Accuracy of water quality BOD incubator depends on stability of temperature regime maintained during the entire process. Any deviations in temperature regime for five-day period will influence microbial activity and thus change oxygen consumption measurements. It means that it is important to use a reliable BOD incubator with accurately controlled thermostat instead of instrument just displaying the temperature.

Key Characteristics of an Incubator

For an incubator used to test environmental conditions, it should have precise temperature control via digital display without much fluctuation of the temperature inside the incubator together with good insulation to ensure that there is a stable temperature regardless of the room temperatures. It is also necessary to have double walls or insulated chambers to avoid excess heat from outside since it may affect the readings especially when the temperature is high. It is also necessary to have temperature alarms in case of any deviation in temperature levels; otherwise, the test, which may take several days, may be futile due to a little temperature difference that may go unnoticed.

Getting Testing Equipments that Deliver Accurate Readings

BOD tests require testing devices that can stay stable at the required temperatures for longer periods without anyone supervising it. At Bionics Scientific, BOD incubators are designed to give accurate temperature readings and results, which can be very important sometimes.

Find testing equipment that gives accurate results from Bionics Scientific.