Odour Impact Determination of a Communal Toilet: Field Measurement with Panellists Using Dynamic Plume Method and Dispersion Modelling

Afful, Kobina; Oduro–Kwarteng, Sampson; Antwi, Eric Ofosu; Awuah, Esi

doi:10.4236/ojap.2016.51001

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 10 publications

(12 reference statements)

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“…Similar reports have been documented in the literature. For instance, Afful et al 62 recorded a high pH of 10.49 for coconut fibre and 10.35 for cocoa husk and ascribed the results to the thermal processing of the raw materials. That notwithstanding, the acidic or basic properties of additives influence the microbial growth of organisms and may affect the emission of NH 3 and H 2 S. This is because at higher pH nitrogen is released as NH 3 whilst, on the other hand, H 2 S forms sulphides at higher pH thereby reducing the H 2 S release 20 .…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Inhibition of ammonia and hydrogen sulphide as faecal sludge odour control in dry sanitation toilet facilities using plant waste materials

Senanu

Boakye

Oduro–Kwarteng

et al. 2021

Sci Rep

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On-site dry sanitation facilities, although cheaper than wet sanitation systems, suffer from high malodour and insect nuisance as well as poor aesthetics. The high odour deters users from utilizing dry sanitation toilets as an improved facility leading to over 20% open defecation in Sub-Saharan Africa. To address this malodour concern, this study first assessed odour levels, using hydrogen sulphide (H2S) and ammonia (NH3) as indicators, on two dry sanitation facilities named T1 and T2. The potential of using biomass (sawdust, rice husk, moringa leaves, neem seeds), ash (coconut husk, cocoa husk) or biochar (sawdust, rice husk, bamboo) as biocovers to remove or suppress odour from fresh faecal sludge (FS) over a 12-day period was investigated. Results showed that the odour levels for H2S in both T1 (3.17 ppm) and T2 (0.22 ppm) were above the threshold limit of 0.05 ppm, for unpleasantness in humans and vice versa for NH3 odour levels (T1 = 6.88 ppm; T2 = 3.16 ppm; threshold limit = 30 ppm limit). The biomasses exhibited low pH (acidic = 5–7) whereas the biochars and ashes had higher pHs (basic = 8–13). Basic biocovers were more effective at H2S emission reduction (80.9% to 96.2%) than acidic biocovers. The effect of pH on suppression of NH3 was determined to be statistically insignificant at 95% confidence limit. In terms of H2S and NH3 removal, sawdust biochar was the most effective biocover with odour abatement values of 96.2% and 74.7%, respectively. The results suggest that biochar produced from locally available waste plant-based materials, like sawdust, can serve as a cost-effective and sustainable way to effectively combat odour-related issues associated with dry sanitation facilities to help stop open defecation.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Inhibition of ammonia and hydrogen sulphide as faecal sludge odour control in dry sanitation toilet facilities using plant waste materials

Senanu

Boakye

Oduro–Kwarteng

et al. 2021

Sci Rep

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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How Ambient Environment Influences Olfactory Orientation in Search and Rescue Dogs

2020

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Under natural conditions, an animal orienting to an air-borne odor plume must contend with the shifting influence of meteorological variables, such as air temperature, humidity and wind speed, on the location and the detectability of the plume. Despite their importance, the natural statistics of such variables are difficult to reproduce in the laboratory and hence few studies have investigated strategies of olfactory orientation by mobile animals under different meteorological conditions. Using trained search and rescue dogs, we quantified the olfactory orientation behaviors of dogs searching for a trail (aged 1-3 hours) of a hidden human subject in a natural landscape, under a range of meteorological conditions. Dogs were highly successful in locating the human target hidden 800 m from the start location (93% success). Humidity and air temperature had a significant effect on search strategy: as air conditions became cooler and more humid, dogs searched significantly closer to the original trail. Dogs also modified their speed and head position according to their search location distance from the original trail. When close to the trail, dogs searched with their head up and ran quickly but when their search took them farther from the trail, they were more likely to search with their nose to the ground, moving more slowly. To our knowledge, this is the first study of a mammalian species responding to localized shifts in ambient conditions and it lays the foundation for future studies of olfactory orientation, and the development of a highly tractable mammalian species for such research

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Odour Impact Determination of a Communal Toilet: Field Measurement with Panellists Using Dynamic Plume Method and Dispersion Modelling

Cited by 2 publications

References 10 publications

Inhibition of ammonia and hydrogen sulphide as faecal sludge odour control in dry sanitation toilet facilities using plant waste materials

Inhibition of ammonia and hydrogen sulphide as faecal sludge odour control in dry sanitation toilet facilities using plant waste materials

How Ambient Environment Influences Olfactory Orientation in Search and Rescue Dogs

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