Waste management plants are one of the most important sources of odorants that may cause odor nuisance. The monitoring of processes involved in the waste treatment and disposal as well as the assessment of odor impact in the vicinity of this type of facilities require two different but complementary approaches: analytical and sensory. The purpose of this work is to present these two approaches. Among sensory techniques dynamic and field olfactometry are considered, whereas analytical methodologies are represented by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS), single gas sensors and electronic noses (EN). The latter are the core of this paper and are discussed in details. Since the design of multi-sensor arrays and the development of machine learning algorithms are the most challenging parts of the EN construction a special attention is given to the recent advancements in the sensitive layers development and current challenges in data processing. The review takes also into account relatively new EN systems based on mass spectrometry and flash gas chromatography technologies. Numerous examples of applications of the EN devices to the sensory and analytical measurements in the waste management plants are given in order to summarize efforts of scientists on development of these instruments for constant monitoring of chosen waste treatment processes (composting, anaerobic digestion, biofiltration) and assessment of odor nuisance associated with these facilities.
The sequence of actions in matters of restricting odour nuisance is topped by preventive actions taken while an investment is planned and exploited. However, if using the best techniques available and abiding by technological regimes is insufficient and emission is still observed, one should make use of the method of deodorization. The choice of the specific suitable method is determined by many factors such as the properties of the gases being cleaned, the concentration of the pollution being emitted and the designed cleaning efficiency. Odour emission management concerning sustainable development should, therefore, comprise the required level of gas cleaning, the economic balance sheet of the investment and the acquired environmental effects. In the instance of biological methods, especially gas biofiltration, the cleaning process is carried out without virtually any side products, which would produce waste. Biofiltration is more and more commonly used in cleaning waste gases, because of both ecological reasons and economical competitivity with other methods. The balance of costs of an investment in biological gas deodorization along with its profits, as well as the ecological benefits coming from the usage of such methods, are presented in this work. The obtained cleaning efficiencies have also been included.
Ambient air quality is a complex issue that depends on multiple interacting factors related to emissions coming from energy production and use, transportation, industrial processes, agriculture, and waste and wastewater treatment sectors. It is also impacted by adverse meteorological conditions, pollutants concentrations, their transport and dispersion in the atmosphere, and topographic constraints. Therefore, air pollutants distribution is not uniform and their monitoring at proper temporal and spatial resolution is necessary. Drone-borne analytical instrumentation can fulfill these requirements. Thanks to the rapid development in the drone manufacturing sector as well as in the field of portable detectors construction, applications of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for atmospheric pollution monitoring are growing. The purpose of this work is to give an overview of this matter. Therefore, this paper contains basic information on UAVs (i.e., description of different types of drones with their advantages and disadvantages) and analytical instrumentation (i.e., low-cost gas sensors, multi-sensor systems, electronic noses, high-accuracy optical analyzers, optical particle counters, radiation detectors) used for the monitoring of airborne pollution. Different ways of payload integration are addressed and examples of commercially available solutions are given. Examples of applications of drone-borne analytical systems for pollution monitoring coming from natural (i.e., volcanoes, thawing permafrost, wildfires) and anthropological (i.e., urbanization and industrialization; extraction, transport and storage of fossil fuels; exploitation of radioactive materials; waste and wastewater treatment; agriculture) sources are also described. Finally, the current limitations and future perspectives are discussed. Although there is a great potential for drones applications in the field of atmospheric pollution monitoring, several limitations should be addressed in the coming years. Future research should focus on improving performances of available analytical instrumentation and solving problems related to insufficient payload capacity and limited flight time of commonly used drones. We predict that applications of drone-assisted measurements will grow in the following years, especially in the field of odor pollution monitoring.
Excessive odour emission, and thus the potential effect of unpleasant odours in the form of odour nuisance for residents, is a problem that affects many different waste management facilities. In order to prevent and reduce odour emissions, it is necessary to define specific clear and strict legal solutions and to use appropriate technologies. The Polish law indicates that waste management should not cause a nuisance. Despite this fact, legal solutions at the national level are not clear and precise. They are limited to only a few entries. At the European level, BREF Documents have been developed, which are a set of solutions that can be successfully used to counteract odour emissions. On their basis, BAT Conclusions were created, constituting a set of the best available techniques applicable, among others, to reduce the odour emissions from the waste management facilities. By way of implementation into Polish law, they constitute valid standards for prevention and control of odour emissions. The paper presents several solutions demonstrated in the above-mentioned documents aimed at preventing and reducing odour emissions. Various activities, not only those at the technological level but also related to management and planning, in combination with the best available technology allow for effective prevention and control of odour emissions, which could improve the state of environment around the waste management facilities and the quality of human life.
A wide range of tools is required to comprehensively assess the impact of odours on people and the environment. Among them, mathematical tools for odour dispersion modelling are widely used. We can distinguish models based on Gaussian, Lagrangian and Eulerian approach. In Poland, the reference model, Operat FB, based on Gaussian way is commonly used for odour dispersion modelling. Modelling was conducted for two scenarios: first including area and point emission sources, while second one included only point sources. Comparison of both scenarios shows significant improvement of odour impact range of selected Plant in case when area sources are excluded.
Within the research, on the premises of an agricultural plant, the odour concentration was measured, and the odour emission was determined. The obtained values allowed us to analyse the odour distribution using the Polish reference mathematical model for four different scenarios, including (1) all identified emission sources, i.e., point and surface: scenarios 1 and 2, and (2) only point sources, scenario 3 and 4. The values of the comparative level and the frequency of exceedances in scenarios 1 and 3 were based on the Polish draft act on counteracting odour nuisance, while the Dutch guidelines were used for scenarios 2 and 4. Model calculations showed the potential impact of the tested structure on adjacent residential areas, i.e., in scenarios 1 and 2, the permissible value of the frequency of exceedances was exceeded at all points representing residential buildings. The exceedances for scenario 3 and 4 took place in seven out of eight and two out of eight points, respectively. The results indicated that to accurately and reliably assess the odour impact and to determine the measures to prevent and reduce odour emissions, it is necessary to consider all types of emission sources in the facilities potentially causing odour nuisance.
Odor management plans indicate the need to identify odor sources in waste management facilities. Finding the right tool for this type of task is a key element. This article covers a new approach for odor quantification and source identification at a selected waste management facility by coupling field olfactometry and the spatial interpolation method, such as inverse weighted distance. As the results show, this approach works only partially. Field olfactometry seems to be a suitable tool for odor identification that could be an instrument incorporated into odor management plans as it allowed for recognition of most odor-generating places at the selected facility, i.e., waste stabilization area, green waste storage area, and bioreactors. However, spatial distributions obtained by the selected interpolation method are characterized by high errors during cross-validation, and they tend to overestimate odor concentrations. The substantial weakness of the selected interpolation method is that it cannot handle points where the odor concentration is below the detection threshold. Therefore, the usefulness of such a method is questionable when it comes to odor management plans. Since field olfactometry is a reliable tool for odor measurements, further research into computational methods is needed, including advanced interpolation methods or dispersion modeling based on field olfactometry data.
Odour concentration measurements in a chosen industrial source were made in this study using the method of dynamic olfactometry. The two different scenarios considered the variation of the odour emission rate as input for the dispersion model were compared for the period 2017 (before installation of the equipment for gas treatment) and 2018 (after implementation of purifying technologies). In this paper the odour impact range was determined by applying model calculations conducted in the Polish reference dispersion model -OPERAT FB software for the grid size 2 x 2 km. The conducted research shows a significant improvement in the odour impact range of chosen industrial source in year 2018 compared to 2017.
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