During last decades several techniques were proposed for the measurement of odours in environment... more During last decades several techniques were proposed for the measurement of odours in environmental field but until now no one was applied and diffused between worldwide countries. These due to the presence of a large number of variables correlated to fast and continuous variability of odours, their low concentration in environment, the meteorological conditions, the difficulty to sampling a representative volume of air. In Europe the dynamic olfactometry method was standardized in 2003 by EN 13725 and was proposed for the measurement of odour emissions. At same time several Countries have specific guidelines that norm in different way the assessment of odours. The scope of this study is to compare and evaluate the principal odour measurement methods (GC-MS, dynamic olfactometry, and electronic nose), nowadays applied in technical practices and reported in current scientific literature, used to identify and characterize the odour emissions from a wastewater treatment plant, with the...
Several scientific studies suggest using Odour Emission Factors (OEFs) as a tool for the characte... more Several scientific studies suggest using Odour Emission Factors (OEFs) as a tool for the characterization of the odour emissions and impact prediction of odorous plants, defining these taking into account only the plant capacity for the quantification of the "activity index". The research presents the results of the study of a large Anaerobic-Aerobic integrated Treatment Plant (AATP) located in a sensitive area of the municipality of Salerno (southern Italy, Campania Region), identifying the principal odour sources and their characterization in terms of odour concentration and emissions by dynamic olfactometry. OEFs relevant to single-process steps are estimated using the experimental data set as well as compared with the theoretical ones proposed in literature studies on similar treatment facilities. SOEFs (Specific Odour Emission Factors) for the studied AATP are proposed for one unit, calculating them by taking into account specific real observed parameters of the phase...
Odour emissions are a global issue that needs to be controlled to prevent negative impacts. Instr... more Odour emissions are a global issue that needs to be controlled to prevent negative impacts. Instrumental odour monitoring systems (IOMS) are an intelligent technology that can be applied to continuously assess annoyance and thus avoid complaints. However, gaps to be improved in terms of accuracy in deciphering information, especially in the implementation of the mathematical model, are still being researched, especially in environmental odour monitoring applications. This research presents and discusses the implementation of traditional and innovative parametric and non-parametric prediction techniques for the elaboration of an effective odour quantification monitoring model (OQMM), with the aim of optimizing the accuracy of the measurements. Artificial neural network (ANN), multivariate adaptive regression splines (MARSpline), partial least square (PLS), multiple linear regression (MLR) and response surface regression (RSR) are implemented and compared for prediction of odour conce...
In everyday life people are simultaneously exposed to several annoying sources (sounds, vibration... more In everyday life people are simultaneously exposed to several annoying sources (sounds, vibrations and odours), which emerge from background of considerable variability of land uses, infrastructures, residential patterns, topography, meteorology condition, and standards quality of life. The European Union has provided in recent years (and is going to update) several tools to harmonize noise mapping methodologies and relative Noise Action Plans through directives and guidelines. Unfortunately the same efforts have not been put in the harmonization of approaches in other annoying sources like odours. As a consequence, each European Member State at national or even at local level defined its own direct or indirect approach to limit odour impacts, usually considerably different one from the others. The most common approach to deal with noise impact at a policy, economic and strategy level is the use of priority indices focused to highlight areas more sensitive and where mitigation actio...
Water is needed for food processing facilities to carry out a number of tasks, including moving g... more Water is needed for food processing facilities to carry out a number of tasks, including moving goods, washing, processing, and cleaning operations. This causes them to produce wastewater effluent, and they are typically undesirable since it contains a high volume of suspended solids, bacteria, dyestuffs, salts, oils, fats, chemical oxygen demand and biological oxygen demand. Therefore, treatment of food industry wastewater effluent is critical in improving process conditions, socio-economic benefits and our environmental. This short review summarizes the role of available membrane technologies that have been employed for food wastewater treatment and analyse their performance. Particularly, electrospun nanofiber membrane technology is revealed as an emerging membrane science and technology area producing materials of increasing performance and effectiveness in treating wastewater. This review reveals the challenges and perspectives that will assist in treating the food industry was...
Odour concentration expressed in terms of OUE/m3 by using the dynamic olfactometry analysis, stan... more Odour concentration expressed in terms of OUE/m3 by using the dynamic olfactometry analysis, standardized by the European Norm (EN) 13725 are by now the most commonly and worldwide accepted method to measure odours. The EN, first edition published in the year 2003, is actually under review process by the WG2 of the CEN/TC246 and the end of the revision work is expected for the year 2018. Related to the odour panel the standard fixes some parameters (e.g: panel size). Nothing is, however, performed about the composition of the panel members in terms of their gender, the age of the involved persons and their origin and nationality. Also the current literature is limited to discussing how the measurement of emission rates derived from the same odour source could be related to the panel composition.The scope of this study is to investigate the influence on the determination of odour concentration with dynamic olfactometry, according to EN 13725 standards, applying different panel condit...
One of the major source of complaint in relation to water quality in rivers is linked to odour em... more One of the major source of complaint in relation to water quality in rivers is linked to odour emissions. However, in the monitoring and regulations for water quality, odour normally is not directly considered. This paper explores the application of the Odour Emission Capacity (OEC) as a surrogate parameter in the assessment of river water quality and discuss the relationship between odour status and the traditional analytical parameters used in assessment of the ecological status. The study presents a novel and complete procedure for the assessment of the river water quality able to reduce the overall costs of analyses. At same time, the study presents the reliability of the novel procedure application with the discussion of its application in case studies. Correlation with conventional approach was studies and discussed. Results underline the strong relationship between the organic content in the river samples and their odour in terms of OEC. OEC can be easily integrated in the as...
The characterization and quantification of the odour emissions in wastewater treatment plant (WWT... more The characterization and quantification of the odour emissions in wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) represents a fundamental step in order to identify potential odour problems and establish the best and most appropriate odour management tools. Nowadays odour emissions in WWTP are characterized by the use of sampling techniques which take samples directly from the gaseous phase: i.e. when the emission and consequently the potential problem are already present.The definition of proactive tools for the assessment of potential odour emissions from the emitting sources can prevent the occurrence of potential significant odours events and as consequence complaints.The research presents and describes a novel system, called H2Odour, useful to measure the potential Odour Emission Capacity (OEC) directly from liquids. The system has been designed and developed to standardize the stripping phase of gaseous samples, ensuring the maximization of the odour compounds transfer from the liquid to th...
Odour emissions generated by industrial and environmental protection plants are often a cause of ... more Odour emissions generated by industrial and environmental protection plants are often a cause of nuisances and consequent conflicts in exposed populations. Their control is a key action to avoid complaints. Among the odour measurement techniques, the sensory-instrumental method with the application of Instrumental Odour Monitoring Systems (IOMSs) currently represents an effective solution to allow a continuous classification and quantification of odours in real time, combining the advantages of conventional analytical and sensorial techniques. However, some aspects still need to be improved. The study presents and discusses the investigation and optimization of the operational phases of an advanced IOMS, applied for monitoring of environmental odours, with the aim of increasing their performances and reliability of the measures. Accuracy rates of over 98% were reached in terms of classification performances. The implementation of automatic correction systems for the resistance value...
Prolonged exposure to odour emissions causes annoyance which leads to nuisance and consequently t... more Prolonged exposure to odour emissions causes annoyance which leads to nuisance and consequently to complaints. Different methodologies exist in the literature to evaluate odour impacts, but not all are suitable to assess environmental odour nuisance. Information about their applicability criteria and comparison, is scarce and referred to short time analysis. The research presents and discusses the application of different methods to characterize and assess odour nuisance around an industrial plant localized in a sensitive area. Experimental activities are carried out through a long-time analysis programme. Field inspections and predictive methods are investigated and compared. A modification of the traditional dispersion modelling approach is proposed in order to adapt its application for the prediction of the odour nuisance. The offensiveness and location factors are identified as key parameters in the quantification of the perceived nuisance. The integrated dispersion modelling mu...
Euro-Mediterranean Journal for Environmental Integration, 2021
The first case of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), which is caused by Severe Acute Respirator... more The first case of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), which is caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), in Europe was officially confirmed in February 2020. On 11 March 2020, after thousands of deaths from this disease had been reported worldwide, the WHO changed their classification of COVID-19 from a public health emergency of international concern to a pandemic. The SARS-CoV-2 virus has been shown to be much more resistant to environmental degradation than other coated viruses. Several studies have shown that environmental conditions can influence its viability and infectivity. This review summarizes current knowledge on the transmission pathways of the novel coronavirus, and directs attention towards potentially underestimated factors that affect its propagation, notably indoor spread and outdoor risk sources. The contributions of significant indoor factors such as ventilation systems to the spread of this virus need to be carefully ascertained. O...
Persulfate (PS)-activated, iron-based heterogeneous catalysts have attracted significant attentio... more Persulfate (PS)-activated, iron-based heterogeneous catalysts have attracted significant attention as a potential advanced and sustainable water purification system. Herein, a novel Fe3O4 impregnated graphene oxide (Fe3O4@GO)-activated persulfate system (Fe3O4@GO+K2S2O8) was synthesized by following a sustainable protocol and was tested on real wastewater containing dye pollutants. In the presence of the PS-activated system, the degradation efficiency of Rhodamine B (RhB) was significantly increased to a level of ≈95% compared with that of Fe3O4 (≈25%). The influences of different operational parameters, including solution pH, persulfate dosage, and RhB concentration, were systemically evaluated. This system maintained its catalytic activity and durability with a negligible amount of iron leached during successive recirculation experiments. The degradation intermediates were further identified through reactive oxygen species (ROS) studies, where surface-bound SO4− was found to be do...
During last decades several techniques were proposed for the measurement of odours in environment... more During last decades several techniques were proposed for the measurement of odours in environmental field but until now no one was applied and diffused between worldwide countries. These due to the presence of a large number of variables correlated to fast and continuous variability of odours, their low concentration in environment, the meteorological conditions, the difficulty to sampling a representative volume of air. In Europe the dynamic olfactometry method was standardized in 2003 by EN 13725 and was proposed for the measurement of odour emissions. At same time several Countries have specific guidelines that norm in different way the assessment of odours. The scope of this study is to compare and evaluate the principal odour measurement methods (GC-MS, dynamic olfactometry, and electronic nose), nowadays applied in technical practices and reported in current scientific literature, used to identify and characterize the odour emissions from a wastewater treatment plant, with the...
Several scientific studies suggest using Odour Emission Factors (OEFs) as a tool for the characte... more Several scientific studies suggest using Odour Emission Factors (OEFs) as a tool for the characterization of the odour emissions and impact prediction of odorous plants, defining these taking into account only the plant capacity for the quantification of the "activity index". The research presents the results of the study of a large Anaerobic-Aerobic integrated Treatment Plant (AATP) located in a sensitive area of the municipality of Salerno (southern Italy, Campania Region), identifying the principal odour sources and their characterization in terms of odour concentration and emissions by dynamic olfactometry. OEFs relevant to single-process steps are estimated using the experimental data set as well as compared with the theoretical ones proposed in literature studies on similar treatment facilities. SOEFs (Specific Odour Emission Factors) for the studied AATP are proposed for one unit, calculating them by taking into account specific real observed parameters of the phase...
Odour emissions are a global issue that needs to be controlled to prevent negative impacts. Instr... more Odour emissions are a global issue that needs to be controlled to prevent negative impacts. Instrumental odour monitoring systems (IOMS) are an intelligent technology that can be applied to continuously assess annoyance and thus avoid complaints. However, gaps to be improved in terms of accuracy in deciphering information, especially in the implementation of the mathematical model, are still being researched, especially in environmental odour monitoring applications. This research presents and discusses the implementation of traditional and innovative parametric and non-parametric prediction techniques for the elaboration of an effective odour quantification monitoring model (OQMM), with the aim of optimizing the accuracy of the measurements. Artificial neural network (ANN), multivariate adaptive regression splines (MARSpline), partial least square (PLS), multiple linear regression (MLR) and response surface regression (RSR) are implemented and compared for prediction of odour conce...
In everyday life people are simultaneously exposed to several annoying sources (sounds, vibration... more In everyday life people are simultaneously exposed to several annoying sources (sounds, vibrations and odours), which emerge from background of considerable variability of land uses, infrastructures, residential patterns, topography, meteorology condition, and standards quality of life. The European Union has provided in recent years (and is going to update) several tools to harmonize noise mapping methodologies and relative Noise Action Plans through directives and guidelines. Unfortunately the same efforts have not been put in the harmonization of approaches in other annoying sources like odours. As a consequence, each European Member State at national or even at local level defined its own direct or indirect approach to limit odour impacts, usually considerably different one from the others. The most common approach to deal with noise impact at a policy, economic and strategy level is the use of priority indices focused to highlight areas more sensitive and where mitigation actio...
Water is needed for food processing facilities to carry out a number of tasks, including moving g... more Water is needed for food processing facilities to carry out a number of tasks, including moving goods, washing, processing, and cleaning operations. This causes them to produce wastewater effluent, and they are typically undesirable since it contains a high volume of suspended solids, bacteria, dyestuffs, salts, oils, fats, chemical oxygen demand and biological oxygen demand. Therefore, treatment of food industry wastewater effluent is critical in improving process conditions, socio-economic benefits and our environmental. This short review summarizes the role of available membrane technologies that have been employed for food wastewater treatment and analyse their performance. Particularly, electrospun nanofiber membrane technology is revealed as an emerging membrane science and technology area producing materials of increasing performance and effectiveness in treating wastewater. This review reveals the challenges and perspectives that will assist in treating the food industry was...
Odour concentration expressed in terms of OUE/m3 by using the dynamic olfactometry analysis, stan... more Odour concentration expressed in terms of OUE/m3 by using the dynamic olfactometry analysis, standardized by the European Norm (EN) 13725 are by now the most commonly and worldwide accepted method to measure odours. The EN, first edition published in the year 2003, is actually under review process by the WG2 of the CEN/TC246 and the end of the revision work is expected for the year 2018. Related to the odour panel the standard fixes some parameters (e.g: panel size). Nothing is, however, performed about the composition of the panel members in terms of their gender, the age of the involved persons and their origin and nationality. Also the current literature is limited to discussing how the measurement of emission rates derived from the same odour source could be related to the panel composition.The scope of this study is to investigate the influence on the determination of odour concentration with dynamic olfactometry, according to EN 13725 standards, applying different panel condit...
One of the major source of complaint in relation to water quality in rivers is linked to odour em... more One of the major source of complaint in relation to water quality in rivers is linked to odour emissions. However, in the monitoring and regulations for water quality, odour normally is not directly considered. This paper explores the application of the Odour Emission Capacity (OEC) as a surrogate parameter in the assessment of river water quality and discuss the relationship between odour status and the traditional analytical parameters used in assessment of the ecological status. The study presents a novel and complete procedure for the assessment of the river water quality able to reduce the overall costs of analyses. At same time, the study presents the reliability of the novel procedure application with the discussion of its application in case studies. Correlation with conventional approach was studies and discussed. Results underline the strong relationship between the organic content in the river samples and their odour in terms of OEC. OEC can be easily integrated in the as...
The characterization and quantification of the odour emissions in wastewater treatment plant (WWT... more The characterization and quantification of the odour emissions in wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) represents a fundamental step in order to identify potential odour problems and establish the best and most appropriate odour management tools. Nowadays odour emissions in WWTP are characterized by the use of sampling techniques which take samples directly from the gaseous phase: i.e. when the emission and consequently the potential problem are already present.The definition of proactive tools for the assessment of potential odour emissions from the emitting sources can prevent the occurrence of potential significant odours events and as consequence complaints.The research presents and describes a novel system, called H2Odour, useful to measure the potential Odour Emission Capacity (OEC) directly from liquids. The system has been designed and developed to standardize the stripping phase of gaseous samples, ensuring the maximization of the odour compounds transfer from the liquid to th...
Odour emissions generated by industrial and environmental protection plants are often a cause of ... more Odour emissions generated by industrial and environmental protection plants are often a cause of nuisances and consequent conflicts in exposed populations. Their control is a key action to avoid complaints. Among the odour measurement techniques, the sensory-instrumental method with the application of Instrumental Odour Monitoring Systems (IOMSs) currently represents an effective solution to allow a continuous classification and quantification of odours in real time, combining the advantages of conventional analytical and sensorial techniques. However, some aspects still need to be improved. The study presents and discusses the investigation and optimization of the operational phases of an advanced IOMS, applied for monitoring of environmental odours, with the aim of increasing their performances and reliability of the measures. Accuracy rates of over 98% were reached in terms of classification performances. The implementation of automatic correction systems for the resistance value...
Prolonged exposure to odour emissions causes annoyance which leads to nuisance and consequently t... more Prolonged exposure to odour emissions causes annoyance which leads to nuisance and consequently to complaints. Different methodologies exist in the literature to evaluate odour impacts, but not all are suitable to assess environmental odour nuisance. Information about their applicability criteria and comparison, is scarce and referred to short time analysis. The research presents and discusses the application of different methods to characterize and assess odour nuisance around an industrial plant localized in a sensitive area. Experimental activities are carried out through a long-time analysis programme. Field inspections and predictive methods are investigated and compared. A modification of the traditional dispersion modelling approach is proposed in order to adapt its application for the prediction of the odour nuisance. The offensiveness and location factors are identified as key parameters in the quantification of the perceived nuisance. The integrated dispersion modelling mu...
Euro-Mediterranean Journal for Environmental Integration, 2021
The first case of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), which is caused by Severe Acute Respirator... more The first case of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), which is caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), in Europe was officially confirmed in February 2020. On 11 March 2020, after thousands of deaths from this disease had been reported worldwide, the WHO changed their classification of COVID-19 from a public health emergency of international concern to a pandemic. The SARS-CoV-2 virus has been shown to be much more resistant to environmental degradation than other coated viruses. Several studies have shown that environmental conditions can influence its viability and infectivity. This review summarizes current knowledge on the transmission pathways of the novel coronavirus, and directs attention towards potentially underestimated factors that affect its propagation, notably indoor spread and outdoor risk sources. The contributions of significant indoor factors such as ventilation systems to the spread of this virus need to be carefully ascertained. O...
Persulfate (PS)-activated, iron-based heterogeneous catalysts have attracted significant attentio... more Persulfate (PS)-activated, iron-based heterogeneous catalysts have attracted significant attention as a potential advanced and sustainable water purification system. Herein, a novel Fe3O4 impregnated graphene oxide (Fe3O4@GO)-activated persulfate system (Fe3O4@GO+K2S2O8) was synthesized by following a sustainable protocol and was tested on real wastewater containing dye pollutants. In the presence of the PS-activated system, the degradation efficiency of Rhodamine B (RhB) was significantly increased to a level of ≈95% compared with that of Fe3O4 (≈25%). The influences of different operational parameters, including solution pH, persulfate dosage, and RhB concentration, were systemically evaluated. This system maintained its catalytic activity and durability with a negligible amount of iron leached during successive recirculation experiments. The degradation intermediates were further identified through reactive oxygen species (ROS) studies, where surface-bound SO4− was found to be do...
Uploads
Papers