Characterization of odorous compounds and odor load in indoor air of modern complex MBT facilities

Abstract

Gaseous emissions and chemical compounds responsible for odor nuisance are the most common social concerns arising from modern municipal mechanical-biological waste treatment (MBT) facilities. Regarding to this, an inventory of indoor concentrations of hydrogen sulfide and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) along with odor analyses were carried out at three different full-scale MBT facilities. 48-h profiles of total volatile organic compounds (tVOCs) and hydrogen sulfide were performed in selected areas (reception warehouse, pretreatment, anaerobic digestion and composting areas) and a complete gases and odor characterization were performed at two selected moments of the day according to maximum and minimum tVOCs concentrations, which corresponded to day/night variations. Terpenoids, aromatic hydrocarbons and aliphatic hydrocarbons were the families of VOCs more often detected. The average percentage of contribution of these three VOCs families was 32, 21 and 24%, respectively, while the average percentage of contribution of other VOCs families ranged from 0.2 to 5.5%. A multiple regression method was developed as a simple tool for odor modeling and prediction, showing that 98.5% (p<0.001) of the variance in odor concentration could be explained by the concentrations of hydrogen sulfide and tVOCs. Results obtained suggested that optimization of indoor ventilation systems and, concomitantly, operational costs of MBT facilities was possible in certain locations where ventilation could be reduced up to 20–25% during night hours.