Characterization of odorous compounds and odor load in indoor air of modern complex MBT facilities

Abstract

Gaseous emissions and chemical compounds responsible for odor nuisance are the most common social concerns arising from modern municipal mechanical-biological waste treatment (MBT) facilities. Regarding to this, an inventory of indoor concentrations of hydrogen sulfide and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) along with odor analyses were carried out at three different full-scale MBT facilities. 48-hour profiles of total volatile organic compounds (tVOCs) and hydrogen sulfide were performed in selected areas (reception warehouse, pretreatment, anaerobic digestion and composting areas) and a complete gases and odor characterization were performed at two selected moments of the day according to maximum and minimum tVOCs concentrations, which corresponded to day/night variations. Terpenoids, aromatic hydrocarbons and aliphatic hydrocarbons were the families of VOCs more often detected. The average percentage of contribution of these three VOCs families was 32, 21 and 24 %, respectively, while the average percentage of contribution of other VOCs families ranged from 0.2 to 5.5 %. A multiple regression method was developed as a simple tool for odor modeling and prediction, showing that 98.5% (p<0.001) of the variance in odor concentration could be explained by the concentrations of hydrogen sulfide and tVOCs. Results obtained suggested that optimization of indoor ventilation systems and, concomitantly, operational costs of MBT facilities was possible in certain locations where ventilation could be reduced up to 20-25 % during night hours.

Odors Emitted from Biological Waste and Wastewater Treatment Plants: A Mini-Review

“…If a biofilter is used to minimize these emissions, this can be another evident emission source [11]. However, the emissions of VOCs and other odorants during some pre-(waste conditioning) and post-treatment operations can be significant [12]. In the case of anaerobic digestion, since only closed reactors are possible, odor emissions come from complementary operations rather than the anaerobic digestion process itself: waste storage, mechanical pretreatment, fermentation preparation, or digestate dewatering [13].…”

Odour Load of Selected Elements of the Technological Line at a Municipal Waste Biogas Plant

“…Another limitation was the threshold and the range of detection of compounds analysed by the detector, along with the range of deter-mination of odour concentration by the olfactometer. Further research should focus on increasing their frequency for multiple regression analysis, building on the experience of other researchers [33][34][35][36][37][38]. The relatively small dataset obtained in this pilot study makes it impossible to conduct a reliable statistical analysis at this stage.…”

“…Several papers can be found in the literature on odour load [32][33][34][35][36][37]. The odour load presented therein is understood in various ways, including characterisation of the dispersion of odour substances described by simulation models [32]; odour emission and immission characterised by field inspections, olfactometric tests, and diffusion calculations [33]; odour concentration [34]; the combination of field inspections, olfactometric measurements, and dispersion calculations [35]; correlation of odour index and odour stimulation level, allowing the development of an odour load map of the analysed area [36]; or the impact of odorants on odour concentration (through multiple regression analysis) [38].…”

Archives of Environmental Protection

“…Biodegradation can occur both under aerobic (He et al 2020) and anaerobic (Wiśniewska 2020a) conditions. The processes related to the management of municipal waste containing organic fractions, which can generate odors, include: waste collection at residential areas (Liu et al 2020, Shi et al 2020, Tan et al 2017, transport (Tan et al 2017, waste transfer stage at transfer stations (Chang et al 2019 and the activities related to waste management at mechanical-biological treatment (MBT) plants and biological waste treatment plants (Colón et al 2017, Hou et al 2013, Kulig and Szyłak-Szydłowski 2016, Sironi et al 2006, including aerobic stabilization and anaerobic stabilization technology, in the case of mixed municipal waste treatment, as well as composting and anaerobic digestion, in the case of selectively collected bio-waste (Mustafa et al 2017, Sánchez--Monedero et al 2018, Sironi et al 2007, Wiśniewska et al 2019, thermal treatment of waste in waste incineration plants (Guo et al 2017, Çetin Doğruparmak et al 2018 or landfilling (Duan et al 2021, Zhang et al 2021. Figure 1 shows the waste management chain with the possible individual waste management steps.…”