The Use of Field Olfactometry in the Odor Assessment of a Selected Mechanical–Biological Municipal Waste Treatment Plant within the Boundaries of the Selected Facility—A Case Study

Abstract

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 Perception Using a Sniffing Team at a Municipal Solid Waste Treatment Plant: A Case Study

“…The highest temperatures were recorded in June (between 21 • C and 23 • C), then in August (from 16.2 • C to 18.2 • C); temperatures were average in April (from 12 • C to 15 • C), and the coldest month was December (from −4.6 • C to −5.2 • C). The measured temperatures reflect seasonality, which has also been observed by others [59].…”

“…Pawnuk et al [59] used a portable olfactometer in their research at a biological municipal waste treatment plant; the highest concentration was 78.45 ou/m 3 , found in August, for a green waste storage area and a place near the aerobic stabilization chambers. The values obtained by the authors are much lower due to the use of a portable olfactometer with the possibility of dilutions.…”

“…Therefore, the waste that is processed in a given facility may differ from that found at another. It is also important that despite technological similarities, individual MBT facilities may differ in certain processes, which may also cause differences in odour emissions and affect odour concentrations [59].…”

“…Sówka et al [47] determined the odour impact range of an agricultural processing plant, along with an assessment of the share of individual odour emission sources in the total odour mix, using a field olfactometer. Conversely, Pawnuk et al [59] used a field olfactometer at a mechanical biological municipal waste treatment plant.…”

The effect of fermentation modes on the efficiency of organic waste treatment in batch bioreactors

“…However, the accumulation of organics in landfills causes their uncontrolled decay, resulting in the emission of greenhouse and toxic gases such as CO 2 , CH 4 , NH 3 , H 2 S, as well as toxic runoff containing organic acids and alcohols, along with the spread of pathogenic microorganisms. Incineration comes with its own costs, and also produces greenhouse gases and other toxic compounds (Chen, Zhang, and Yuan 2020;Pawnuk et al 2022).…”