Tounderstandthedetailsoftheprocesses,highlysophisticated
techniquesareneeded.Thetreatedsamplescanbecharacterized
by suchstandardizedmethodsasthedeterminationofchemical
oxygendemand(COD),biologicaloxygendemand(BOD),total
organic carboncontent(TOC)andmostprobablenumber(MPN)
indexofthenumberofcoliformbacteria.Currently,theaccepted
methods todeterminecolorareADMItristimulus filter andUV
absorbance methods.Thedegreeofdiscolorationisusuallycal-
culated fromthedecreaseofabsorbanceataselectedwavelength
and, mostconveniently,atthemaximumabsorbance