Environmental Solution for Odour Diffusion from Wastewater Treatment Plants

WASTE WATER TREATMENT

Problem

Chemical and biological treatment of the influents in a wastewater treatment plant (STP, ETP, CETP) emit toxic gaseous odourants. These odours consist of a complex composition of gases like Hydrogen Sulfide, Ammonia, Methyl Mercaptan, and different VOCs. Emitted odourants affect the human nervous system over a period of time and also cause a nuisance in the surrounding areas. At times, odour indicates a malfunction in the wastewater treatment process. There is an urgent need for real-time monitoring of these odour emissions to mitigate its effect on human health as well as to optimize the treatment process.

Concept

Diffusion of odour from wastewater treatment plants needs to be controlled in the neighbourhood. This problem can be solved by monitoring the odour dispersion from the source, considering the meteorological parameters like wind speed and direction. Data-driven odour analysis is possible by installing odour sensors around the periphery of every wastewater treatment plant. Identification and quantification of specific odourful gases directly indicate the potential odour source.

Target Parameters

Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S)

Ammonia (NH3)

TVOC

Methane (CH4)

Methyl Mercaptan

Wind Speed & Direction

Solution Architecture

Proposed Solution

Installing a network of Oizom Odosense systems near key process tanks of a wastewater treatment plant (STP, ETP, CETP) and its surrounding locations provides real-time monitoring of different odourful gases. Using Odosense and meteorological data, Oizom cloud application creates real-time odour plume dispersion and measures its intensity in different areas. This solution leads to data-driven odour control for wastewater treatment plants. In certain cases, the odour can point towards an inefficient treatment process. Odour monitoring helps in identifying this issue and resolving it on time. The collected data also enables authorities to take corrective measures to mitigate odour nuisance and its adverse health effects.

Impact

This solution drastically reduces problem-to-action time. It identifies process issues in a wastewater treatment plant (STP, ETP, CETP) and reduces the preventive maintenance cost by on-time rectification. Odosense enables data-driven odour management in the surrounding areas.