Main odourous Volatile Organic Compounds emitted in Municipal Solid Waste composting: Influence of process control parameters

   The relative statistical influence of control parameters, used in industrial composting of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW), such as aeration and moisture content on the amount and composition of the gases and odorous volatile organic compounds (COVs) generated in this process have been studied.

M. Delgado-Rodríguez^a, Cabeza I.^c, M. Ruiz-Montoya ^a, I. Giraldez ^b, R. López ^c,

E. Madejon^c and M J. Díaz* ^a

^a Departamento de Ingeniería Química. Agrifood Campus of International Excellence (CeiA3). Campus de “El Carmen”. Universidad de Huelva. 21071. Huelva. España.

^b Departamento de Química. Agrifood Campus of International Excellence (CeiA3). Campus de “El Carmen”. Universidad de Huelva. 21071. Huelva. España.

^c Instituto de Recursos Naturales y Agrobiología de Sevilla, IRNAS-CSIC. Avda. Reina Mercedes 10, 41012, Sevilla. España.

* Corresponding author: Prof. M.J. Díaz. Chemical Engineering Department. “El Carmen” Campus. University of Huelva. 21071 Huelva. Spain. Phone: +34 959219990, Fax: +34 959219983, e-mail:

Palabras Clave: Compostaje, RSU, minimización, COV, compuestos orgánicos volátiles, olor.

Keywords: Composting, MSW, minimisation, VOC, odor.

Abstract

    The relative statistical influence of control parameters, used in industrial composting of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW), such as aeration (0.05-0.300 L _air kg^-1 min-¹) and moisture content (40-70%) on the amount and composition of the gases and odorous volatile organic compounds (COVs) generated in this process have been studied. Specifically the evolution of limonene, β-pinene, 2-butanone, undecane, phenol, toluene, dimethyl-sulfide and dimethyl-disulfide has been studied. The greatest amount of odor-generating compounds was emitted into the initial mesophilic-thermophilic phase and, after that, a continuous decrease has been observed during the mesophilic phase. Aeration has higher statistical influence on the composition of the studied gases generated than that of moisture. A high level of aeration (0.300 L_air kg^-1 min- ¹) caused high emissions of the studied gases. Moreover under low aeration levels (0.05 L_air kg^-1 min-¹) certain anaerobic stages have been found during the thermophilic phase.

• Find this article in other languages:

1. Español

If you find this article interesting, you might be also interested in these articles.

• Official program of the Conference on Environmental Odour Management in Madrid, 27-28 Nov 2012
• Monitoring the biofiltration of α-pinene vapours through municipal solid waste and pruning residues composts using an e-nose
• Evaluation of capacity of a TD-GCO-MS system in air sample analysis
• 5th IWA Odour and Air Emissions Conference Jointly Held With 10th Conference on Biofiltration for Air Pollution Control. March 4 – 7, 2013, San Francisco, California, USA
• Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) models to tune Air Changes per Hour (ACH) in industrial buildings