Current Technologies
Source Treatment
We cannot smell liquids or solids, but rather the gases that are emitted from liquids and solids. The rotten egg odor from sewage is from gaseous hydrogen sulfide. The pungent odor from manure is gaseous ammonia. If these gases weren’t permitted to leave the liquid or solid waste, we would never smell them. If they were never produced to begin with, there would be no chance of detecting the odor. There are numerous additives and counteractants that can be injected into or sprayed onto an odor source for odor control.
Odor control additives can be injected into pipelines, drip fed into tanks or lagoons, or sprayed onto liquids/solids in direct application. Odor inhibitors are utilized to prevent malodor production. Scavengers target malodors after they have been produced but before emission. Biological treatments can act as inhibitors and/or scavengers, by either preventing production or feeding on existing malodors. Oxidizers react with nearly everything in a liquid or solid.
Air Purification
Air Purification Systems are often used to ventilate malodors from the airspace over odor sources such as waste dumpsters or process tanks. They are also frequently used to treat the air within a building. The most common air purification systems for municipal and industrial applications are Air Scrubbers, Biofilters, and Carbon Absorbers (carbon filters).
Open tanks and lagoons can be covered so malodors can be ventilated and removed. Likewise, the ground can be covered at compost facilities and landfills to remove malodor. Hoods and enclosures are installed over process equipment while intakes are added over truck doors and open walls to remove contaminated air.
Odor Neutralization
Odor Neutralization Systems are engineered to treat fugitive malodors in the open air. Neutralizers can be used to treat the air over and around odor sources, interior airspace, odor emission points such as doors, vents, and exhaust fans, and for exterior applications such as a compost facility, lagoon, open tank, or landfill.
Forced-air Odor Neutralization Systems may also be used for a variety of applications. Foggers and cannons can be mounted on walls or equipment or configured as self-contained units mounted on drums or totes. They are often used as portable solutions to interior and exterior malodors.
