The population equivalent is a reference that describes the specific load of a wastewater treatment plant. The BOD₅ for one PE is defined as 60g BOD₅/d (biological oxygen demand, determined over a period of 5 days). For the description of the load of a wastewater treatment plant, therefore, the total BO₅ load in the influent to the plant is divided by the population equivalent, thus giving e.g. a load e.g. 100'000 PE, irrespective of the actual origin (commercial or municipal).
Other design numbers related to the population equivalent are, for example:

TKN (Total Kjelldahl Nitrogen) 10 g N / PE d
Wastewater flow 0,1 - 0,5 m3 / PE d


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