Odour Control at a Waste-To-Energy Anaerobic Digestion Plant by a Full Scale Biofilter

   A waste facility in the United Kingdom processes food waste via anaerobic digestion. The site is in a mainly rural location with a number of isolated properties at least 500 m from the site boundary, so odour control is mandatory to protect harmful conditions to the environment and avoid odour nuisances.

   The plant was commissioned using an ORGUS^® double stage biofilter system with coconut fibre as packing material. The performance of the system was measured in February 2014. Olfactometric samples were undertaken, obtaining an average outlet odour concentration considerably lower than the discharge emission limit stipulated in the contract.

F. Sempere ¹*, D. Hidalgo ¹, A. Waalkens ¹ and C. Gabaldón ²

1. Pure Air Solutions, P.O. Box 135, 8440 AC Heerenveen, The Netherlands.
2. Universitat de València, Avinguda Universitat s/n, 46100 Burjassot, Spain.
Corresponding author: f.sempere@pureairsolutions.nl

Correlation of Different Methodologies Applied to study Odours in Fray Bentos city, Rio Negro, Uruguay.

   The present work is a joint venture project conducted by the Uruguayan Technological Laboratory (LATU), the National Directorate of the Environment (DINAMA) and the Río Negro’s local government. It consists on the application of different methodologies to address the problem generated by the presence of unpleasant odours in Fray Bentos, Uruguay.

J. Zarauz¹, C. Luzardo¹, A. Curutchet¹, L. Francois¹, M. Hill², P. Kok² y P. Fernández² jzarauz@latu.org.uy

  ¹ Laboratorio Tecnológico del Uruguay (LATU) -Uruguay; ² Dirección Nacional de Medio Ambiente (DINAMA) -Uruguay

Odour Impact and Odour emission characterization by means of olfactometry and physicochemical analysis techniques

When addressing the resolution of odour problems it is important to characterize as detailed as possible the involved emissions or affected ambient air, not just from the sometimes limited point of view of olfactometric techniques

D. Almarcha¹ y M. Almarcha¹ *

¹ Ambiente y Tecnología Consultores, C/Còrsega 112, local 1, 08029-Barcelona

* Corresponding author: malmarcha_arroba_sta-at.com

Keywords: odour, volatile organic compounds (VOC), HRGC-MS, composting plants, advanced biofiltration, quantitative field olfactometry, Nasal Ranger^®

Abstract

   When addressing the resolution of odour problems it is important to characterize as detailed as possible the involved emissions or affected ambient air, not just from the sometimes limited point of view of olfactometric techniques, but also using physico-chemical analysis techniques, in order to identify the candidate sources of certain odoriferous episodes and/or to select the most appropriate treatment systems in each case or optimize their functioning and performance (note, in this regard, that such systems do not interact with a sensation such as odour but rather on specific odoriferous compounds)

   In this paper we present results from the application of a combination of olfactometric techniques (both in emission and immission) and chemical analysis covering a wide spectrum of odoriferous compounds in order to obtain a complete characterization of the odorous emissions from various environmental treatment facilities (Industrial Waste Treatment Plants, Ecoparks, ...) and their projection and impact on the ambient air surrounding the plants. The strategies to be applied include active or passive sampling grids, as well as advanced statistical treatment of data, the application of emissor-receptor models, ... The study techniques used in this work were both sensory (dynamic olfactometry and field olfactometry) and chemical speciation, including captation of odoriferous compounds (by means of different techniques) and the speciated analysis of both VOC and other compounds of odoriferous significance (H₂S, NH₃, ...) by HRGC-MS, UV-Vis spectrophotometry, potentiometry, etc.

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