Biotechnology-based odour control: design criteria and performance data

Area of Science:

• Environmental Engineering
• Microbial Treatment Technologies
• Odor Control

Background:

• Increasing urban encroachment on wastewater treatment plants necessitates advanced odor control.
• Biotechnology offers a sustainable solution by utilizing microorganisms to biodegrade odorous compounds.
• Key advantages include the absence of hazardous chemicals and reduced operational demands.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide design criteria for sizing and selecting biotechnology-based odor control systems.
• To present odor removal performance data from various biotechnology-based odor control systems.

Main Methods:

• Performance data collection from multiple biofilters (soil, organic, inorganic media) and biotowers (inert inorganic media).
• Analysis of odor removal efficiency and hydrogen sulfide reduction over time.
• Evaluation of biotechnology's consistency and viability in real-world applications.

Main Results:

• Biotechnology-based odor control systems demonstrate consistent and high removal performance.
• Effective reduction of both general odor and specific compounds like hydrogen sulfide was observed.
• Soil-, organic-, and inorganic-media biofilters and inert inorganic media biotowers showed reliable performance.

Conclusions:

• Biotechnology is a viable and effective technology for wastewater odor control.
• The study confirms the long-term performance and reliability of biofilters and biotowers.
• Findings support the use of biotechnology for mitigating offsite odorous impacts from wastewater treatment plants.