A novel tool for odor emission assessment in wastewater treatment plant

Abstract

Odor emissions are one of the major environmental impact generated by wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) perceived by exposed population. Consequently, the control of odor emissions is a relevant aspect that must be considered in the management of the WWTPs. Any efficient strategy for odor control was based on direct and/or indirect monitoring and characterization of odor emissions. The presented work focuses on the identification of new indirect indicators for the measurement of the odors emitted by different treatment units in a full-scale wastewater treatment plant, as to reduce the cost of environmental monitoring and the environmental impacts of the plant. The work focuses on the existing correlation in each treatment unit between the odor emission capacity (OEC) of wastewater and the odor concentration measured by dynamic olfactometry according to EN13725:2003 in ambient air. In addition the research shows the correlation between the organic contents measured by BOD₅ and COD and the OEC of the wastewater by analyzing different treatment units.

Keywords:

• Dynamic olfactometry
• Multisensor array system
• Odor emission capacity (OEC)
• Organic content (BOD₅, COD)
• Wastewater

Acknowledgements

The study was developed in the project entitled “Odor impact monitoring in real time of the environmental engineering plants with analytical continuous tool” founded by MIUR and DAAD in the Vigoni Italian-German program. Research activities were also partly founded by FARB project of the University of Salerno.

Notes

Presented at the 13th International Conference on Environmental Science and Technology (CEST 2013) 5–7 September 2013, Athens, Greece