Design of a Specific Apparatus to Evaluate Odour Reduction Efficiency of a Nebulizing System Applied on Odorous Liquid Surfaces

Abstract

In recent years an increase of population complaints about odour emissions from industrials occurred. For this reason several abatement systems have been developed in order to reduce odour emissions that could impact on the surrounding territory. The evaluation of the odour reduction efficiency of such systems is a crucial aspect and therefore methods to evaluate it have been developed. This work focuses on the development of an experimental apparatus in order to evaluate the odour reduction efficiency of nebulization systems on odorous surfaces. This apparatus was designed in order to simulate field conditions, such as the wind flow on the odorous surface. The designed apparatus was used to evaluate the odour abatement efficiency of deodorizing products from Chimec S.p.A. on API liquid, taken form a refinery API tank. Olfactometric analyses were carried out on samples relevant to API solution without any treatment and after product nebulization. The efficiency was evaluated at different wind speeds inside the apparatus, in order to simulate different conditions that may occur on field. Moreover, tests were carried out in order to evaluate the influence of the product concentration in water on the odour abatement efficiency. Tests show that by nebulizing the product with an optimized dosage an odour abatement efficiency of 80% can be reached. Further tests could be performed by using other odour emitting surfaces or to compare the efficiency of different products designed for odour abatement.