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Mitigation of odor causing emissions--bench-scale investigation
Fatih Büyüksönmez1, Robert Rynk, Asli Yucel
1Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering, San Diego State University, 5500 Campanile Drive, San Diego, CA 92182, USA. fatih@mail.sdsu.edu
Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association (1995)
|February 1, 2013
Summary
Finished compost effectively mitigates malodors in the composting industry. Applying finished compost as a blanket or amendment significantly reduces emissions of terpenes, ammonia, and sulfur compounds, offering a cost-effective odor control solution.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Science
- Waste Management
- Industrial Ecology
Background:
- Malodorous emissions pose a significant threat to the composting industry's viability.
- Existing odor control methods are often expensive, necessitating cost-effective alternatives.
- Common compost odorants include terpenes, ammonia, and reduced sulfur compounds.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effectiveness of simple odor mitigation alternatives for compost facilities.
- To evaluate methods including finished compost blankets, feedstock amendments, odor neutralizing agents (ONAs), and oxygen release compounds (ORCs).
Main Methods:
- Assessed the emission reduction of terpenes, ammonia, and reduced sulfur compounds.
- Compared the efficacy of finished compost blankets and amendments against ONAs and ORCs.
Main Results:
- Finished compost blanket application reduced terpene emissions by up to 95% and ammonia by 25%.
- Blending feedstock with finished compost (24% ratio) reduced terpene emissions by 73.6–93.1% and ammonia by up to 85% (35% ratio).
- Finished compost (12% ratio) reduced reduced sulfur compounds by 75%; ONAs showed no consistent reduction.
Conclusions:
- Using finished compost as a blanket or amendment is a highly effective and conclusive method for odor mitigation in composting.
- These methods offer significant, cost-effective odor control, addressing a critical need for facilities unable to afford advanced containment systems.
- The application of a compost blanket is gaining industry acceptance as a practical odor management strategy.
