Odor Emissions Control

Basics

• The engineering approach of Emissions Control / Emissions Control System but applied to Odor Emissions
• Mainly relevant in Waste Management and Wastewater Treatment
• Some agricultural, bio-petrochemical, and culinary industries can also apply
• Regulation is largely lacking in this sector so effort is moreso done for “best practices” / maintaining a good relationship with locals rather than for solely compliance reasons
  • Going the approach of Regulatory Compliance is a Floor, not a Ceiling does allow for futureproofing of the design/overall plant however, rather than expensive modifications down the road

Planning

• What process/feedstocks are you dealing with?
• Similar to Smokestack design, modeling can also be done on how far you are away from tbe public and how things would diffuse/dilute by then
  • GRANTED from an Ecological Justice perspective, saying a nasty WWT or Landfill is fine because it’s in a Rural, Poor, or some Minority’s area isn’t exactly great (albeit technically “valid” )

Measurement

• Due to the complexity of Scentography , it is still a mix of Qualitative Measurements with a few Quantitative Measurements (depending on process/feedstocks
• Ammonia and Hydrogen Sulfide can be measured, and are major Odor Compounds
• Others are inherently more subtle/hard to measure, OR are a complex mixture (similar to how Welding Fumes are hard to quantify compared to how easily hydrocarbon vapors/VOCs can be quantified)
• A certain degree of subjectivity and varying ability of detection exists in people too, thus a Qualitative Approach (Almost akin to the Scoville Scale for spiciness) is used where the Entire Smell is compared based on how diluted it must be to be undetectable

External Links

• A Video by the YouTube Channel “Open Solid Waste” Titled “8.0 Introduction to Odor Management” ( ‘’’~5 Minute Watch’’’ )
  • Part of a Series:
    • A Video by the YouTube Channel “Open Solid Waste” Titled “8.1 Odor Qualification ( ‘’’~6 Minute Watch’’’ )
    • A Video by the YouTube Channel “Open Source Solid Waste” Titled “8.2 Odor Quantification and Dynamic Olfactometry” ( ‘’’~4 Minute Watch’’’ )
    • A Video by the YouTube Channel “Open Source Solid Waste” Titled “8.2B Odor Impact Assessment and Siting” ( ‘’’~4 Minute Watch’’’ )
    • [https://youtu.be/-qmHC10f6U8?si=yZlT8IsUlNWMq5i6 A Video by the YouTube Channel “Open Source Solid Waste” Titled “8.3 Operational Measures for Odor Control”
      • Mentions the balancing act of wanting to cover things up/seal them vs the desire to reduce Confined Spaces , this ties into Design for Cleaning / Designed for Confined Space Entry well