Odour control

Quaternary-based materials have been used as alternatives to aldehydes and although they provide acceptable kill rates and odour control, the subsequent disposal of effluent presents heightened challenges. The growing concern over virus survival in toilet tanks has also caused some rethinking of the technology and alternative active materials and their combinations are constantly being researched. 

Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works (1989), Hydrogen sulphide control manual — Septicity, corrosion and odour control in sewerage systems, Technological Standing Committee on Hydrogen Sulphide Corrosion in Sewerage Works, vols. 1 and 2. 

Vincent, A. and J. Hobson (1998), Odour Control, CIWEM (Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management) monograph of Best Practice No. 2, Terence Dalton Publishing, London, p. 32... 

Jobbagy, A., I. Szanto, G. I. Varga, and J. Simon (1994), Sewer system odour control in the Lake Balaton area, Water Sci. Tech., 30(1), 195—204. 

Latest state of the Olfactometer and guidelines for its use Odour control of pig housing and land spreading Odour control problems in the UK, some case histories Dust filters to reduce odour from broiler houses Legislation in France, some case histories... 

In general there are four different areas of odour control in sewerage systems. 

Recent publications lead to the conclusion that ammonia contributes to the effects of acid precipitation. The main source of ammonia is animal production and regions with a high animal density are expected to have a high emission of ammonia. Because it is a volatile compound research workers in the field of odour measurement and odour control have the best knowledge and the best tools to study ammonia emissions. A proposal is made for the main goals of a research program. 

In general I should like to plead for an integration of research on ammonia volatilization and odour research. In many cases odour control can be combined with reduction of ammonia losses. This is for instance the case with storage systems, ventilation systems, bio-filters or air scrubbers and injection of slurry. This double effect gives more possibilities to make the cost of control paying. 

In this situations we should balance the positive effects of odour control against the negative effects of ammonia emissions. 

I gave some examples of a positive effect of odour control on ammonia losses. There are more activities that can have an influence like housing system, manure treatment or grazing system. 

U.K. Odour control—a concise guide (Warren Springs, 1980)... 

HENRY, J.G. and R.GEHR (1980). Odour control An operator s guide. Journal WPCF 52, 2523-2537. 

BEDBOROUGH, D.R. (1980). Sensory measurement of odours. In Odour Control—a concise guide, F.H.H.Valentin and A.A.North (eds.), Warren Springs Laboratories, Stevenage, Hertfordshire, U.K., pp. 17-30. 

ANONYMUS 1982. On target values for odour control by sensory test method. Japan environment summary. Vol. 10, no 9. 

BEDBOROUGH, D.R. (1980). Odour Control—A Concise Guide (Editors,... 

DORLING, T.A. (1978). Activated Carbon in Odour Control, Warren Spring Laboratory Report, LR 293 (AP). 

Odour Control (1980), a concise guide. Warren Spring Laboratory, Stevenage. 

Nonetheless, like most other aspects of odour control, there remain unanswered questions. Chief among these is the relationship between odour potential of a sludge, and the actual level of nuisance found during, say, application to land. Elucidating this relationship requires fairly extensive surveys, because of the variability of weather conditions. Paradoxically, such surveys would depend for their validity on the air sampling methods used the very source of inaccuracy that the Odom Potential test was developed to circumvent. 

KoSTER, E.P., PUNTER, P.H., AMERICA, A., SCHAEFER, J. and MAIWALD, K.D. (1984) Populations panels in odour control the development of a direct method forjudging annoyance caused by odours. International Symposium Characterization and control of odoriferous pollutants in process industries . Louvain la Neuve. 

Separation as a method of manure handling and odours reduction in pig buildings Measurements of the olfactometric efficiency of various odour control devices in rendering plants... 

Aeration and odour control by heterotrophic and autotrophic microorganisms... 

The major benefit from odour control is that it releases land otherwise barred to slurry spreading through its proximity to housing. This is equally important to both the farmer and water authority. For the farmer it removes pressure from other areas of the farm and allows more efficient utilisation of the nutrients in the slurry, and for the water authority, it can result in substantial savings in transport costs as farm land within urban areas is generally nearer to the sewage treatment works. 

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