Measurement of odor intensity by an electronic nose

The possibility of using electronic noses (ENs) to measure odor intensity was investigated in this study. Two commercially available ENs, an Aromascan A32S with conducting polymer sensors and an Alpha M.O.S. Fox 3000 with metal oxide sensors, as well as an experimental EN made of Taguchi-type tin oxide sensors, were used in the experiments. Odor intensity measurement by sensory analysis and EN sensor response were obtained for samples of odorous compounds (n-butanol, CH3COCH3, and C2H5SH) and for binary mixtures of odorous compounds (n-butanol and CH3COCH3). Linear regression analysis and artificial neural networks (ANN) were used to establish a relationship between odor intensity and EN sensor responses. The results, suggest that large differences in sensor response to samples of equivalent odor intensity exist and that sensitivity to odorous compounds varies according to the type of sensors. A linear relationship between odor intensity and averaged sensor response was found to be appropriate for the EN based on conducting polymer sensors with a correlation coefficient (r) of 0.94 between calculated and measured odor intensity. However, the linear regression approach was shown to be inadequate for both ENs, which included metal oxide-type sensors. Very strong correlation (r = 0.99) between measured odor intensity and calculated odor intensity using the ANN developed were obtained for both commercial ENs. A weaker correlation (r = 0.84) was found for the experimental instrument, suggesting an insufficient number of sensors and/or not enough diversity in sensor responses. The results demonstrated the ability of ENs to measure odor intensity associated with simple mixtures of odorous compounds and suggest that ANN are appropriate to model the relationship between odor intensity measurement and EN sensor response.     

83rd Annual Meeting & Exhibition

Abstract

The estimation of odor production and dispersion from landfill sites is a very complicated task because of the different chemical species that exist in biogas. To site a new landfill, it is necessary to know the distance that odors can travel around the landfill under atmospheric conditions that increase the concentration of pollutants. Although CH₄ is an odorless gas, it can be used as an index to determine the dispersion of low-reactivity odorous species around a landfill site. Methane production rates, estimated by biogas production models, were used by an air dispersion model to determine the spatial distribution of CH₄ around landfill sites. By utilizing dispersion models under extreme atmospheric conditions, a maximum CH₄ concentration around the landfills was determined. Based on the ratio between CH₄ and odorous chemical species, the spatial distribution of the concentration of an odorous species was determined for those species with low reactivity in the atmosphere. For odorous species with high reactivity in the atmosphere, a dispersion-reaction model must be used. In this way, the acceptable distance between new landfills and residential areas can be determined. The proposed methodology could be used as a design tool for those who are interested in landfill siting.     

Characteristic analysis for odor gas emitted from food waste anaerobic fermentation in the pretreatment workshop

Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry, olfactometry, and other related methods were applied for the qualitative and quantitative analysis of the characteristics of odorous gases in the pretreatment workshop. The composition of odorous gases emitted from municipal food waste was also investigated in this study. The results showed that the tested gases are mainly composed of aromatic gases, which account for 49% of the total volatile organic compounds (VOC) concentrations. The nitrogenous compounds comprise 15% of the total concentration and the other gases comprise the remaining 36%. The level of odor concentration ranged from 2523 odor units (OU) m^?3 to 3577 OU m^?3. The variation of the total chemical composition ranged from 19,725 µg m^?3 to 24,184 µg m^?3. Among the selected four sampling points, the discharge outlet was detected to have the highest concentration in terms of odor, total chemical, sulfur compounds, and aromatics. The correlation analysis showed that the odor concentrations were evidently related to the total chemical composition, sulfur compounds, and aromatics (P < 0.05, n = 5). The odor activity value analysis identified the top three compounds, hydrogen sulfide (91.8), ethyl sulfide (35.8), and trimethylamine (70.6), which contribute to air pollution complaint of waste materials.

Implications: Currently, the amount of food waste has rapidly increased, which leads to difficulty in waste management and more odorous gases released as air pollution. In processing of food wastes by anaerobic fermentation, odorous gases are generated, which significantly affect the workers and occupants in the plant. In the pretreatment workshop for anaerobic decomposition, the odorous gases are generated because of the stacking and decomposition of food wastes. The gases emitted mainly consist of organic gases because the food wastes are mainly organic materials. The other odors that comprise 1% of the gases are S-compounds, aromatics, esters, alkanes, and limonene, which result in unpleasant odors that are harmful to the health.     

Filters and Filter Media for the Cement Industry

To correlate the odor strength of natural gas with its sulfur analysis, the recognition odor thresholds of 18 sulfur compounds were determined using an untrained panel of 35 peopie. For each test a series of odor concentrations graduated in increments of 10^0.2 was presented to the panel in random order over a range of concentrations above and below the olfactory thresholds of all panelists. Each odor was tested on at least three different days. Desired odor concentrations were produced by dynamic blending of gaseous mixtures of the odorous compounds with air. All testing was done out-of-doors during clement weather when no ambient odors were apparent. The range of olfactory response was found to be much greater for certain compounds than for others. Branching of the hydro-carbon chain increased odor strength. Certain compounds appeared to evoke anomalous responses.     

Review of Federally Sponsored Research on Diesel Exhaust Odors

The information presented in this paper is directed to persons concerned with control of exhaust odors from diesel-engine-powered vehicles. This paper summarizes projects sponsored by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over the past years in the field of diesel-exhaust odor. These investigations have concentrated on developing measurement methods for quantifying different odor levels, evaluating various odor control methods, and evaluating public opinions of such odors.

A human panel method using odor reference standards has been found suitable to measure these odor levels. In addition to this technique, chemical characterization work has been sponsored under a project jointly sponsored by the Coordinating Research Council and the EPA to isolate and identify those species responsible for the odor.

Knowledge of these odorous compounds and the techniques necessary to isolate them should lead to development of a chemical method to measure this type of odor, in place of human panelists. Such basic information would also lead to developing control techniques to minimize this odor.

Several control techniques were evaluated for diesel exhaust odor. To date, the most effective method is an improved needle injector for use in the Detroit Diesel type E 6V-71 engine commonly used in buses.

Finally, public reaction to diesel-engine-exhaust odor has been measured. It has been found that a systematic relationship exists between increasing public objections and increasing diesel odor intensity.     

Modeling of methane oxidation in landfill cover soil using an artificial neural network

Knowing the fraction of methane (CH₄) oxidized in landfill cover soils is an important step in estimating the total CH₄ emissions from any landfill. Predicting CH₄ oxidation in landfill cover soils is a difficult task because it is controlled by a number of biological and environmental factors. This study proposes an artificial neural network (ANN) approach using feedforward backpropagation to predict CH₄ oxidation in landfill cover soil in relation to air temperature, soil moisture content, oxygen (O₂) concentration at a depth of 10 cm in cover soil, and CH₄ concentration at the bottom of cover soil. The optimum ANN model giving the lowest mean square error (MSE) was configured from three layers, with 12 and 9 neurons at the first and the second hidden layers, respectively, log-sigmoid (logsig) transfer function at the hidden and output layers, and the Levenberg-Marquardt training algorithm. This study revealed that the ANN oxidation model can predict CH₄ oxidation with a MSE of 0.0082, a coefficient of determination (R ²) between the measured and predicted outputs of up to 0.937, and a model efficiency (E) of 0.8978. To conclude, further developments of the proposed ANN model are required to generalize and apply the model to other landfills with different cover soil properties.

Implications:

To date, no attempts have been made to predict the percent of CH₄ oxidation within landfill cover soils using an ANN. This paper presents modeling of CH₄ oxidation in landfill cover soil using ANN based on field measurements data under tropical climate conditions in Malaysia. The proposed ANN oxidation model can be used to predict the percentage of CH₄ oxidation from other landfills with similar climate conditions, cover soil texture, and other properties. The predicted value of CH₄ oxidation can be used in conjunction with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) First Order Decay (FOD) model by landfill operators to accurately estimate total CH₄ emission and how much it contributes to global warming.     

Treatment of odor by a seashell biofilter at a wastewater treatment plant

Biofilters are becoming an increasingly popular treatment device for odors and other volatiles found at wastewater treatment plants. A seashell media based biofilter was installed in April 2011 at Lake Wildwood Wastewater Treatment Plant located in Penn Valley, California. It was sampled seasonally to examine its ability to treat odorous compounds found in the air above the anaerobic equalization basin at the front end of the plant and to examine the properties of the biofilter and its recirculating water system. The odor profile method sensory panels found mainly sulfide odors (rotten eggs and rotten vegetable) and some fecal odors. This proved to be a useful guidance tool for selecting the required types of chemical sampling. The predominant odorous compounds found were hydrogen sulfide, methyl mercaptan and dimethyl sulfide. These compounds were effectively removed by the biofilter at greater than 99% removal efficiency therein reducing the chemical concentrations to below their odor thresholds. Aldehydes found in the biofilter were below odor thresholds but served as indicators of biological activity. Gas chromatography with mass spectrometry and gas chromatography with sensory detection showed the presence of dimethyl disulfide and dimethyl trisulfide as well, but barely above their respective odor thresholds. The neutrality of the pH of the recirculating water was variable depending on conditions in the biofilter, but a local neutral pH was found in the shells themselves. Other measurements of the recirculating water indicated that the majority of the bio-activity takes place in the first stage of the biofilter. All measurements performed suggest that this seashell biofilter is successful at removing odors found at Lake Wildwood. This study is an initial examination into the mechanism of the removal of odorous compounds in a seashell biofilter.

Implications:?This paper presents a thorough examination of a seashell media biofilter, a sustainable treatment technology used to remove reduced sulfide compounds. The durable performance of the seashell biofilter ensures that odors will be adequately controlled, preventing odor nuisance to surrounding residences, which is an emerging problem faced by waste management facilities. The odor profile method technique used in this study can be applied in many situations by waste management facilities and regulatory air management organizations for source tracking in relation to prevention and management of odor complaints, respectively.     

Evaluating peats for their capacities to remove odorous compounds from liquid swine manure using headspace “solid‐phase microextraction”

Abstract

This paper reports on research designed to investigate the capacities of different highly characterized peats to remove odorous compounds from liquid swine manure (LSM). Peat types representing a wide range of properties were tested in order to establish which chemical and physical properties might be most indicative of their capacities to remediate odors produced by LSM. Eight percent slurries (of peat/LSM) were measured for odor changes after 24 hours using odor panel and GC/MS‐Solid‐phase microextraction (GC/MS‐SPME) analysis.

The GC/MS‐SPME and odor panel results indicated that, although all peats tested in this study were found to be effective at removing odor‐causing compounds found in LSM, some peats tended to work better than others. Overall, the peats that were the most effective at removing odor‐causing compounds tended to have lower bulk densities, ash contents, fulvic acids contents, and guaiacyl lignins contents,and higher water holding capacities, hydraulic conductivities, “total other lignins”; contents, hydrogen contents, carbon contents, and total cellulose contents.

GC/MS‐SPME analysis was found to be a reasonably inexpensive and efficient way of conducting this type of research. It allows one to identify a large number of the odor‐causing compounds found in LSM, and more importantly, to detect with some precision specific differences in the amounts of these compounds between peat types.     

Atmospheric methanethiol emitted from a pulp and paper plant on the shore of Lake Baikal

On-site measurement of methanethiol (CH₃SH) was performed for three years on ships and cars near a pulp and paper plant standing on the shore of Lake Baikal in Siberia, Russia, to investigate the behavior and impact of atmospheric CH₃SH emitted from a point source. Despite its strong odor, there are few reports on atmospheric CH₃SH, while many investigations have been carried out on dimethyl sulfide (DMS). In this work, CH₃SH and DMS were measured every 15 min by a recently developed automated instrument based on single column trapping/separation and chemiluminescence measurement. Hydrogen sulfide, sulfur dioxide and ozone were also measured simultaneously by individual instruments. Of these sulfur compounds, CH₃SH was dominant and its concentration sometimes reached several tens of ppbv. The concentration of CH₃SH was high at night, because of the lack of photodecomposition and local winds from the mountain to the lake. Such time variation was marked in the summer. The CH₃SH level decreased significantly downwind, while decreases in concentrations of other compounds such as DMS and SO₂ were relatively small. From these temporal and spatial variations, the behavior of CH₃SH is described in this paper. The impact of CH₃SH near the Siberian big sources is discussed with the presented data.     

Improvement of Odor Intensity Measurement Using Dynamic Olfactometry

Abstract

Odor intensity reveals a dose-effect relationship between inhaled odor and perceived odor sensation by the receptors, while odor concentration reflects the odor strength at the emission sources. The study reports significant improvements in experimental procedures in establishing the odor concentration-intensity (OCI) relationships using a newly developed digital olfactometer. The improvements in experimental procedures have been made to meet the requirements of both the VDI guideline 3882.1 and the European standard (EN13725). Several areas which could affect the reliability of the results have been identified in some similar studies. The latest digital olfactometer was calibrated automatically to ensure accurate and repeatable dilution ratios. Cross contamination has been eliminated through the instrument design and extensive cleaning procedures, making random presentation possible. Stringent panelist screening and continuous performance monitoring ensures consistent sensitivity of the panel. The extension of odor intensity category to temperature sensation gives a reference to assist judgments of perceived odor sensation. The Dyna-Scent calculation method has simplified odor intensity calculation and can be applied to many odor samples. A total of 38 odor samples from three alumina refinery sites and two sewage treatment plants were collected for analysis. The results have confirmed the efficiency of the olfactometer. Distinct Odor Concentrations (DOCs) were calculated for each sample using both VDI and DynaScent methods. A student t test on two major odor types confirmed that there are no significant differences between two methods. The study has shown the DOCs for refinery odor and wastewater odor are in the range of 3.8-15.4 and 4.2-15.6 odor unit (OU)/m³ respectively. The study demonstrated that the improvements are critical in achieving reliable odor intensity measurement. This can lead to the setup of quantitative odor impact criteria for different industries and sites.     

城市污水厂主要处理单元恶臭及挥发性有机物的逸散

在污水处理厂的主要处理工艺段设置采样点,采用在线监测仪,检测空气中恶臭及挥发性有机物(VOCs)的浓度,明确主要恶臭物质和排放源,研究恶臭及VOC在不同季节的逸散特征。结果表明,恶臭和VOC的排放主要集中在进水区,浓度与进水水质相关。粗格栅间是主要的恶臭源,其恶臭、TVOC、硫化物和胺类的浓度分别为3 458.54~5 028.03 OU、120~221 mg/m3、253~464 mg/m3和15~36 mg/m3,占各个监测点浓度总量的80.6%、93%、90%和89%。主要的恶臭物质为硫化氢和氨,其浓度对应的臭气强度超过4级。恶臭与VOC的排放呈现季节变化,夏季的浓度明显高于冬季。相关性分析显示,恶臭浓度与TVOC、硫化物、胺类浓度具有明显的相关性。     

Deodorization of Dimethyl Sulfide Using a Discharge Approach at Room Temperature

Abstract

The traditional technologies for odor removal of thiol usually create either secondary pollution for scrubbing, adsorption, and absorption processes, or sulfur (S) poisoning for catalytic incineration. This study applied a laboratory-scale radio-frequency plasma reactor to destructive percentage-grade concentrations of odorous dimethyl sulfide (CH₃SCH₃, or DMS). Odor was diminished effectively via reforming DMS into mainly carbon disulfide (CS₂) or sulfur dioxide (SO₂). The removal efficiencies of DMS elevated significantly with a lower feeding concentration of DMS or a higher applied rf power. A greater inlet oxygen (O₂)/DMS molar ratio slightly improved the removal efficiency. In an O₂-free environment, DMS was converted primarily to CS₂, methane (CH₄), acetylene (C₂H₂), ethylene (C₂H₄), and hydrogen (H₂), with traces of hydrogen sulfide (H₂S), methyl mercaptan (CH₃SH), and dimethyl disulfide. In an O₂-containing environment, the species detected were SO₂, CS₂, carbonyl sulfide, carbon dioxide (CO₂), CH₄, C₂H₄, C₂H₂, H₂, formal-dehyde, and methanol. Differences in yield of products were functions of the amounts of added O₂ and the applied power. This study provided useful information for gaining insight into the reaction pathways for the DMS dissociation and the formation of products in the plasmolysis and conversion processes.     

Sulfuric odorous compounds emitted from pig-feeding operations

The objective of the study was to quantify the concentration and emission levels of sulfuric odorous compounds emitted from pig-feeding operations. Five types of pig-housing rooms were studied: gestation, farrowing, nursery, growing and fattening rooms. The concentration range of sulfuric odorous compounds in these pig-housing rooms were 30–200 ppb for hydrogen sulfide (H₂S), 2.5–20 ppb for methyl mercaptan (CH₃SH), 1.5–12 ppb for dimethyl sulfide (DMS; CH₃SCH₃) and 0.5–7 ppb for dimethyl disulfide (DMDS; CH₃S₂CH₃), respectively. The emission rates of H₂S, CH₃SH, DMS and DMDS were estimated by multiplying the average concentration (mg m⁻³) measured near the air outlet by the mean ventilation rate (m³ h⁻¹) and expressed either per area (mg m⁻² h⁻¹) or animal unit (AU; liveweight of the pig, 500 kg) (mg pig⁻¹ h⁻¹). As a result, the emission rates of H₂S, CH₃SH, DMS and DMDS in the pig-housing rooms were 14–64, 0.8–7.3, 0.4–3.4 and 0.2–1.9 mg m⁻² h⁻¹, respectively, based on pig's activity space and 310–723, 18–80, 9–39 and 5–22 mg AU⁻¹ h⁻¹, respectively, based on pig's liveweight, which indicates that their emission rates were similar, whether based upon the pig's activity space or liveweight. In conclusion, the concentrations and emission rates of H₂S were highest in the fattening room followed by the growing, nursery, farrowing and gestation rooms whereas those of CH₃SH, DMS and DMDS concentrations were largest in the growing room followed by the nursery, gestation and farrowing rooms.     

Recommended Procedures for Measuring Odorous Contaminants in the Field

Although the perception of odorous contaminants cannot be precisely described, certain basic facts about human olfaction are known. With known facts or principles, it is possible to investigate odorous contaminants for air pollution control purposes. Odor remains, however, a very intangible commodity. Odorous contaminant investigations must be tailored to the individual problem or locality. Consequently, methods herein described were designed for individuals who have a working knowledge of either odor or air pollution problems. Background references are available for workers who are not familiar with either field.^1-8 This method will describe generalized facts concerning odors as well as subjective and objective methods for measuring odorous contaminants in the field. The use of specific portions of the method depends upon each individual investigation.     

Release of iodine in the atmospheric oxidation of alkyl iodides and the fates of iodinated alkoxy radicals

This paper describes a study of the products of the Cl-atom-initiated oxidation of three alkyl iodides, RI=CH₃I, C₂H₅I, and 2-C₃H₇I, carried out in synthetic air at atmospheric pressure and at room temperature. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy was used to follow the decay of reactants and subsequent formation of products. The primary step proceeds via two channels, one of which yields HCl and an iodinated alkyl radical, and the other I atoms and an alkyl chloride. Quantitative analysis of the product yields, together with an assessment of the formation of HCl in secondary processes, allowed the fractional branching into the two channels to be calculated. The channel yielding HCl from RI constitutes a fraction 0.59, 0.93, and 0.68 for R=CH₃, C₂H₅, and 2-C₃H₇. The iodinated alkyl radical forms first a peroxy, and then an alkoxy, radical in the presence of air. The final products CH₂O, CH₃CHO, and CH₃COCH₃ were observed as expected for the decomposition of these radicals with RI=CH₃I, C₂H₅I, and 2-C₃H₇I, and the fractions of the alkoxy radicals fragmenting to the carbonyl compounds were 0.88, 0.57, and 0.86, respectively. Atomic iodine is formed concomitantly with the carbonyl species, so that these fractions also indicate the yield of I atoms in the secondary process. Alternative reaction pathways for the iodinated alkoxy radicals, in particular reaction with O₂, are evaluated and discussed. The yields of I atoms in the primary and secondary steps, taken in combination with kinetic data, make it possible to estimate the contribution of the Cl-initiated oxidation of the alkyl halides to I-atom production in the atmosphere (and, making certain assumptions, the analogous contribution from OH-initiated oxidation). Radical-initiated processes might augment the photolytic yield of I atoms from simple alkyl iodides: the maximum enhancements lie between 5% (CH₃I) and more than 30% (2-C₃H₇I).     

Deodorization of pig manure using lignin peroxidase with different electron acceptors

Odor pollution is a big environmental problem caused by large-scale livestock production in China, and developing a practical way to reduce these odors is pressing. In this study, a combination of 0.2–1.0 U/mL lignin peroxidase (LiP) and one of three peroxides (H₂O₂, CaO₂, 2Na₃CO₃·3H₂O₂) was examined for its efficiency in reducing the release of eight chemicals (propionic acid, isobutyric acid, isocaproic acid, isovaleric acid, phenol, p-cresol, indole, and skatole), NH₃, H₂S, and odor intensity from pig manure. The results showed an approximately 90% reduction in p-cresol, 40–60% reduction in odor intensity, 16.5–40% reduction in indolic compounds, and 25–40% reduction in volatile fatty acids. Being the electron acceptors of LiP, 2Na₃CO₃·3H₂O₂ and CaO₂ performed better than H₂O₂ in reducing the concentration of eight chemicals, NH_3, H₂S, and odor intensity from pig manure. The effect of deodorization can last for up to 72 hr.

Implications: In China, one of the major environmental problems caused by confined feeding is odor pollution, which brings a major threat to the sustainability, profitability, and growth of the livestock industry. To couple the LiP with the electron acceptors, a low–cost, simple, and feasible method for odor removal was established in this study. Based on the study results, a practical treatment method was provided for odor pollution and supply the farm operators a more flexible time to dispose treated manure.     

Measurement of Ambient Odors Using Dynamic Forced-Choice Triangle Olfactometer

Certain odor control regulations specify use of the Scentometer for ambient odor measurement. This evaluation is usually performed by a single individual who is surrounded by the odorous environment to be measured. A method is desired where an ambient odor sample can be evaluated by an adequate size panel in an odor-free atmosphere. A dynamic forced-choice triangle olfactometer was designed and constructed to measure ambient odors. Teflon bags of 18 liter capacity collect a sample within 2-3 minutes which includes pre-flushing the bag. The sample is evaluated by a dynamic olfactometer equipped with 5 dilution levels (81×, 27×, 9×, 3× and undiluted sample). Three sniffing ports are provided at each dilution level to present dynamically one diluted odor stimulus and two odor-free air blanks. Each panelist is required to indicate which port contains the odor. Evaluation of one sample is routinely completed by a panel of 9 within less than 15 minutes. The odor threshold value (ED₅₀) for the panel is calculated by use of a simple table derived statistically. No significant loss of odor was observed in sampling and in storage of rendering odors up to 48 hours. Bags were reusable after flushing with odor-free air. Reproducibility of log ED₅₀ values by the same panel was within a σ = 0.10 log₁₀. Agreement in evaluating duplicate field samples by two different panels was within the same limits. Under controlled laboratory conditions, a Scentometer reading of D/T = 2 was equivalent to an ED₅₀ = 4.8; and D/T = 7 was equal to ED₅₀ = 9.5.     

Effectiveness of Porous Covers for Control of Ammonia,Reduced Sulfur Compounds,Total Hydrocarbons,Selected Volatile Organic Compounds,and Odor from Hog Manure Storage Lagoons

Abstract

Anaerobic lagoons are a major source of odor at concentrated animal feeding operations. Seven different kinds of artificial (geotextile and polyethylene foam) and natural (straw and redwood) permeable lagoon covers were evaluated for their potential to reduce odorous emissions generated by anaerobic waste lagoons. A novel floating sampling raft was constructed and used to simultaneously evaluate the effectiveness of lagoon covers on an operating swine waste lagoon. The air collected from the raft was evaluated for odor, total reduced sulfur (TRS) compounds, ammonia, total hydrocarbons, dimethyldisulfide, and trimethylamine. The emission rates from the lagoon were highly variable both temporally and spatially. All of the lagoon covers substantially reduced TRS emissions and odor. Geotextile fabric and a recycled foam cover exhibited the greatest reduction in total hydrocarbon emissions; natural covers were less effective. Because of consistently low emission rates of ammonia, no statistically significant reduction of ammonia emissions were observed from any of the lagoon covers.     

Biofiltration of odorous fume emitted from recycled nylon melting operations

This study aimed to develop a biofilter packed only with fern chips for the removal of odorous compounds from recycled nylon melting operations. The fern chip biofilters could avoid the shortcomings of traditional media, such as compaction, drying, and breakdown, which lead to the performance failure of the biofilters. A pilot-scale biofilter consisting of an acrylic column (14 cm²?×?120 cm height) packed with fern chips to a volume of around 19.6 L was used for the test. Experimental results indicate that oxygen- and nitrogen-containing hydrocarbons as well as paraffins were major volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from thermal smelting of recycled nylon at 250 °C. With operation conditions of medium pH of 5.5–7.0, empty bed retention time (EBRT) of 6–12 sec, influent total hydrocarbon (THC) concentrations of 0.65–2.61 mg m^?3, and volumetric organic loading of 0.05–0.85 g m^?3 hr^?1, the fern-chip-packed biofilter with nutrients of milk, potassium dihydrogen phosphate, and glucose could achieve an overall THC removal efficiency of around 80%. Burnt odor emitted from the smelting of the recycled nylon could be eliminated by the biofilter.

Implications: Biotreatment of contaminants in air streams offers an inexpensive and efficient alternative to conventional technologies. Biofiltration have a great potential for the degradation of gas-borne odorous compounds. THC removal efficiency of around 80% can be achieved. Burnt odor emitted from the smelting of the recycled nylon could be eliminated by the biofilter. This study provides an experimentally verified model for the design and operation of such biotreatment systems.     

An on-line analysis of reduced sulfur gases in the ambient air surrounding a large industrial complex

In this study, the concentrations of reduced sulfur compounds (RSC: H₂S, CH₃SH, DMS, and DMDS) were continuously measured from an odor monitoring station over a 4-month period (August–November 2005) using an on-line GC system. The hourly measurement data of RSC, collected along with some major aromatic VOCs (benzene, toluene, xylene, etc.), approached the sum of 1500; the mean for all hourly H₂S was computed to be 295 ppt, while those of the others were seen at 7 (DMS), 1 (CH₃SH), and 0.4 ppt (DMDS). When these RSC data were compared across two seasons and on a 24 h scale basis, the values for either the summer or nighttime periods were generally high relative to their counterparts in the fall and daytime. Analysis of these RSC data generally suggests that most RSCs occur at some ppt concentration ranges and that their values frequently fall below detection limits (DL) values (except for H₂S). If the total number of effective data sets (i.e., above DL values) are compared to each other, the results tend to differ significantly between H₂S and the others: the proportion of effective number was as high as 75% for H₂S, while the others were very low (6% of DMS and even less than that for the others). The distributions of RSC were hence clearly distinguished from those of VOCs in that the determination of the latter was scarcely limited by the instrumental detectability. According to the present study, the H₂S data exhibit strong potential as the malodor tracers, while those of the other RSCs are unlikely due to the limited detectability. The overall results of this study hence suggest that several factors which include the selection of target compounds, the location of the monitoring points, and the scale (or number) of total monitoring points should be considered simultaneously to effectively track down the odor occurrence patterns in areas near strong source processes.