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Special Issue "New Frontiers in the Assessment, Monitoring and Control of Environmental Odors"

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A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Sciences".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2021) | Viewed by 7576

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Selena Sironi

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Guest Editor

Department Chemistry, Material and Chemical Engineering, Politecnico di Milano, 20133 Milan, Italy
Interests: odor emission; assessment; sampling; dispersion modeling; odor sampling; odor emission estimation; chemical analysis

Prof. Dr. Laura Maria Teresa Capelli

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Guest Editor

Department Chemistry, Material and Chemical Engineering, Politecnico di Milano, 20133 Milan, Italy
Interests: electronic nose; instrumental odor monitoring; dispersion modeling; inverse dispersion; emission estimation; odor sampling

Dr. Marzio Invernizzi

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Guest Editor

Department Chemistry, Material and Chemical Engineering, Politecnico di Milano, Milan 20133, Italy
Interests: dispersion modeling; odor sampling; peak-to-mean; emission modeling; chemical analysis

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Odors are today recognized as an important source of pollution and are therefore subject to control and regulation in many countries. In recent decades, there have been huge efforts from the scientific community to overcome the common belief that odor characterization is more art than science.

For this reason, this Special Issue of the journal Applied Sciences “New Frontiers in the Assessment, Monitoring and Control of Environmental Odors” aims to attract novel contributions covering the wide range of techniques that have been developed and used for the assessment of odor impact and annoyance, as well as the management and control of emissions.

Our topics of interest include but are not limited to:

Standardization of methods;
Odor sampling;
Applications of odor measurement;
Odor impact assessment;
Measurement of odor concentration and odor thresholds;
Chemical analysis for odor characterization;
Artificial intelligence approaches;
Community participation;
Odor mapping;
Health effects of odor pollution;
Dispersion modeling;
Odor annoyance;
Odor control and abatement;
Process control for the reduction of odor emissions;
Indoor odor pollution.

Assoc. Prof. Selena Sironi
Prof. Laura Maria Teresa Capelli
Dr. Marzio Invernizzi
Guest Editors

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Keywords

Odor sampling
Dispersion modeling
Citizen science
Field inspection
Electronic nose
Odor abatement systems

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

Open AccessArticle

The Use of Chemical Sensors to Monitor Odour Emissions at Municipal Waste Biogas Plants

Marta Wiśniewska

Andrzej Kulig

and

Krystyna Lelicińska-Serafin

Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(9), 3916; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11093916 - 26 Apr 2021

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 1144

Abstract

Municipal waste treatment plants are an important element of the urban area infrastructure, but also, they are a potential source of odour nuisance. Odour impact from municipal waste processing plants raises social concerns regarding the well-being of employees operating the plants and residents of nearby areas. Chemical methods involve the determination of the quantitative composition of compounds comprising odour. These methods are less costly than olfactometry, and their efficiency is not dependent on human response. The relationship between the concentration of a single odorant and its odour threshold (OT) is determined by the odour activity value (OAV) parameter. The research involved the application of a multi-gas detector, MultiRae Pro. Measurements by means of the device were conducted at three municipal waste biogas plants located in Poland. In this paper we describe the results obtained when using a detector during the technological processes, the unitary procedures conducted at the plants, and the technological regime. The determination of these relationships could be useful in the development of odour nuisance minimization procedures at treatment plants and the adjustment to them. This is of paramount importance from the viewpoint of the safety and hygiene of the employees operating the installations and the comfort of residents in the areas surrounding biogas plants. Monitoring of expressed odorant emissions allows the course of technological processes and conducted unit operations to be controlled. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Frontiers in the Assessment, Monitoring and Control of Environmental Odors)

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Open AccessArticle

Odor Emissions Factors for Bitumen-Related Production Sites

and

Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(8), 3700; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11083700 - 20 Apr 2021

Viewed by 1241

Abstract

Bitumen-related production sites are facing increasing difficulties with nearby residents due to odor emissions. This parameter is still not regulated for these plants and little is known about the emissions that these plants have put into the atmosphere with the technologies available today. In this study, emission data from 47 Italian production plants were collected and analyzed to assess which values could describe the current situation in Italy. The results of the analysis showed that emissions are very variable, with odor concentration values between 200 to 37,000 ou_E/m³, but data have a normal distribution. The mean value of the stack odor concentration was found to be 2424 ou_E/m³. It was also possible to calculate emission factors of the plants, such as odor emission rate (OER), which represents the quantity of odor emitted per unit of time, and is expressed in odor units per second (ou_E∙s⁻¹) and odor emission factor (OEF) per ton of product, expressed in ou_E/t. The values obtained were 7.1 × 10⁴ ou_E/s and 1.4 × 10⁶ ou_E/t. respectively. These data could provide a starting point for the definition of shared values among various stakeholders for the definition of regional guidelines for the emissions of these plants, in order to adjust available technologies towards emission parameters that are protective of the surrounding environment. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Frontiers in the Assessment, Monitoring and Control of Environmental Odors)

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Open AccessArticle

Development and Evaluation of a Fluctuating Plume Model for Odor Impact Assessment

and

Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(8), 3310; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11083310 - 07 Apr 2021

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1424

Abstract

For environmental odor nuisance, it is extremely important to identify the instantaneous concentration statistics. In this work, a Fluctuating Plume Model for different statistical moments is proposed. It provides data in terms of mean concentrations, variance, and intensity of concentration. The 90th percentile peak-to-mean factor, R₉₀, was tested here by comparing it with the experimental results (Uttenweiler field experiment), considering different Probability Distribution Functions (PDFs): Gamma and the Modified Weibull. Seventy-two percent of the simulated mean concentration values fell within a factor 2 compared to the experimental ones: the model was judged acceptable. Both the modelled results for standard deviation, σ_C, and concentration intensity, I_c, overestimate the experimental data. This evidence can be due to the non-ideality of the measurement system. The propagation of those errors to the estimation of R₉₀ is complex, but the ranges covered are quite repeatable: the obtained values are 1–3 for the Gamma, 1.5–4 for Modified Weibull PDF, and experimental ones from 1.4 to 3.6. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Frontiers in the Assessment, Monitoring and Control of Environmental Odors)

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Open AccessArticle

Evaluation of a Wet Acid Scrubber and Dry Filter Abatement Technologies in Pig Barns by Dynamic Olfactometry

and

Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(7), 3219; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11073219 - 03 Apr 2021

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1266

Abstract

Livestock activities, in particular swine farms, are sources of odorant compounds that cause conflicts with the neighboring population. Beside the effects on the neighborhood, excessive odor emission can cause discomfort to farm workers. In this context the APPROAch project, aims to test the application of two different air cleaning technologies (a wet acid scrubber and a dry filter) to reduce dust, ammonia and odors, in naturally ventilated pig facilities. The aim of the present study is to evaluate, in a pig farm, the odor removal efficiency of the two tested abatement technologies, based on air samples analyzed by dynamic olfactometry. Odor sampling was carried out at a pig facility involved in the project and brought to the lab within 30 h from sampling, as established by the European Standard EN 13725:2004. Odor concentration was evaluated by dynamic olfactometry using an Olfaktomat-n 6 (PRA-Odournet B.V.—Amsterdam, The Netherlands). The results show that the wet acid scrubber prototype presents an average odor removal efficiency of 16%, whereas dry filter has from limited to no effect. This efficiency could be considered as a good result for a prototype even if further analysis, with longer sampling periods are needed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Frontiers in the Assessment, Monitoring and Control of Environmental Odors)

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Open AccessArticle

Comparative Performance Evaluation of Commercial Packing Materials for Malodorants Abatement in Biofiltration

and

Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(7), 2966; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11072966 - 26 Mar 2021

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1572

Abstract

Packing materials used in biofiltration of gaseous pollutants represent a key design parameter, as a proper selection might not only determine the adequate performance of the system but also its cost-effectiveness. This study systematically assessed and compared the performance of a conventional plastic carrier with that of two novel clay-based materials from SAINT GOBAIN for the abatement of a model odorous stream composed of H₂S, methylmercaptan and toluene. The packing materials were tested in biotrickling filters, biofilters and a two-phase biotrickling filter. SAINT GOBAIN materials exhibited a higher adsorption potential under abiotic conditions, a higher buffer capacity and a superior performance compared to conventional plastic rings when implemented in biotrickling filters operating at gas residence times as low as 7.5 s. Among the materials tested in biofilters, Filtralite Air AC supported almost complete H₂S and toluene removals at a gas residence time of 20 s, while successfully eliminating methylmercaptan at values of ~80%. Interestingly, under most of the conditions tested, clay-based materials also showed comparable pressure drop values than those of plastic rings. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Frontiers in the Assessment, Monitoring and Control of Environmental Odors)

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