Managing Industrial Odors with Odor sensor
Posted by Thierry Page on Sat, Jun 23, 2012 @ 06:11 AM
Industrial plant managers can now expect better relationship between their plants and the local residents thanks to a new odor smell devices that can help to monitor odor levels.
The CrazyEngineers Magazine recently published about Odotech Scientists that have developed an electronic nose sensor that measures and predicts movement of odors from industrial plants into the neighboring communities. Electronic nose sensor technology has been used in the past to determine food quality and detect explosives. More recent usage has been in the medical field where it has been used to identify residues predictive of lung cancer. Now the eNose technology is available for environmental management too.
Odors are a regular source of complaints from residents living near industrial plants. In the US, 70 percent of air quality complaints are related to odors. Industries should ensure a peaceful co-existence with the local residents by keeping track of their odor emissions. Currently, most industries are using traditional gas sensors to track various compounds present in plants odor emissions. However, the accuracy on the extent that the compound will smell to the point of being a source of discomfort to humans has to be done manually by human volunteers.
As reported by EFY Times, Odotech has adopted electronic nose technology and tailored it to address the problems of plant odor detection. With the electronic nose, waste plant managers can not only know the concentration of odors, but also determine the extent of the smell. The electronic nose can also predict instanteneous, weekly or monthly movement of odor from the plant into the community. As a result, plant manager can mitigate losses by having a clear estimate of the scale of the odor problem they are facing.
Odotech’s electronic nose is built using 16 sensors that react to smell differently like the human nose. Therefore, industries that use the technology do not need human volunteers to determine the extent of the smell emitted. This technology enables the detection of odors accurately. Odor problems can be see, identified and contained within a short time as the sensors, through Odotech’s proprietary software, can narrow down the source of the odors in the plant.
A number of waste management companies in the UK have already adopted Odotech’s electronic nose. The companies hope to use the data gathered through the electronic nose to optimize deployment of scrubbing methods in order to contain odor emissions.
See the full article from The Engineer.
