TY - JOUR
T1 - A systematic study on the VOCs characterization and odour emissions in a full-scale sewage sludge composting plant
AU - González, Daniel
AU - Colón, Joan
AU - Sánchez, Antoni
AU - Gabriel, David
N1 - Copyright © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
PY - 2019/7/5
Y1 - 2019/7/5
N2 - © 2019 Elsevier B.V. Sewage sludge management is known to cause odour impact over the environment. However, an information gap exists about odour emissions quantification from different treatment strategies. In the present work, odorous emissions generated in a full-scale sewage sludge composting plant were characterized, aiming at providing specific odour emission factors (OEF) and to determine their variability depending on the composting time. Additionally, characterization of VOCs emitted during the process was conducted through TD-GC/MS analyses. Odour emission and VOCs characterization considered both (1) a first stage where a raw sludge and vegetal fraction mixture were actively composted in dynamic windrows and (2) a second curing stage in static piles. After increasing the composting time, a reduction of 40% of the maximum odour concentration referred to the dynamic windrow stage was estimated, whereas a reduction of 89% of the maximum odour concentration was achieved after turning of curing piles. However, global OEF increased from 4.42E + 06 to 5.97E + 06 ou·Mg−1 RS – VF when the composting time increased. Finally, different VOCs such as isovaleraldehyde, indole, skatole, butyric acid, dimethyl sulphide and dimethyl disulphide were identified as main potential odour contributors. Results obtained are a valuable resource for plant management to choose an appropriate sewage sludge composting strategy to mitigate odour emissions.
AB - © 2019 Elsevier B.V. Sewage sludge management is known to cause odour impact over the environment. However, an information gap exists about odour emissions quantification from different treatment strategies. In the present work, odorous emissions generated in a full-scale sewage sludge composting plant were characterized, aiming at providing specific odour emission factors (OEF) and to determine their variability depending on the composting time. Additionally, characterization of VOCs emitted during the process was conducted through TD-GC/MS analyses. Odour emission and VOCs characterization considered both (1) a first stage where a raw sludge and vegetal fraction mixture were actively composted in dynamic windrows and (2) a second curing stage in static piles. After increasing the composting time, a reduction of 40% of the maximum odour concentration referred to the dynamic windrow stage was estimated, whereas a reduction of 89% of the maximum odour concentration was achieved after turning of curing piles. However, global OEF increased from 4.42E + 06 to 5.97E + 06 ou·Mg−1 RS – VF when the composting time increased. Finally, different VOCs such as isovaleraldehyde, indole, skatole, butyric acid, dimethyl sulphide and dimethyl disulphide were identified as main potential odour contributors. Results obtained are a valuable resource for plant management to choose an appropriate sewage sludge composting strategy to mitigate odour emissions.
KW - Full-scale composting plant
KW - GASEOUS EMISSIONS
KW - Gaseous emissions
KW - IMPACT
KW - INDOOR AIR
KW - Odour emission factor
KW - Odour emission rate
KW - PREDICTION
KW - STABILITY
KW - Sewage sludge
KW - VOC
KW - VOLATILE ORGANIC-COMPOUNDS
KW - WASTE
UR - http://www.mendeley.com/research/systematic-study-vocs-characterization-odour-emissions-fullscale-sewage-sludge-composting-plant
U2 - 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2019.03.131
DO - 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2019.03.131
M3 - Article
C2 - 30959287
VL - 373
SP - 733
EP - 740
JO - Journal of Hazardous Materials
JF - Journal of Hazardous Materials
SN - 0304-3894
ER -