The hedonic tone of an environmental odor is a powerful predictor of annoyance. Pertinent field surveys combined with laboratory analysis of landfill, pharmaceutical factories and rubber factories have been conducted, with the purpose of obtaining a behavior curve of the hedonic tone for specific odor emissions, and comparing the annoyance potential and odor persistence of the sources under investigation. The 9-point scale was used to determine the hedonic tone, and the odor concentration was measured using the Triangle Odor Bag Method. The concentration to be presented to panel members comprises a range of 5 or 6 dilution steps which differ by a factor of approximately 3. Using a suitable curve fitting procedure, a line can be fitted through the points obtained in the experiment. Characteristic H values at any concentration can be derived from the hedonic behavior curve. The relationship between the hedonic tone and lgOC conforms to the quadratic polynomial for the three sources. The persistence of odor is expressed as a dose (concentration) response and (intensity) function. According to the rate of change in odor intensity, the pharmaceutical odor is the strongest, followed by the landfill odor, and then the rubber odor. Annoyance potential is calculated by multiplying lgOC with the max hedonic value, meaning that the three sources are sorted as follows: rubber factory>landfill>pharmaceutical factory. This study will further the understanding of the sensory characteristics of different odor source

Livestock production is the basis of global food production and it is a serious threat to the environment. Significant environmental pollutants are odors and ammonia (NH3) emitted from livestock buildings. The aim of the study was to determine the concentration and emission factors of ammonia and odors, in the summer season, from a deep-litter fattening house. The research was carried out during summer in a mechanically ventilated fattening piggery located in the Greater Poland Voivodeship. Ammonia concentrations were measured using photoacoustic spectrometer Multi Gas Monitor Innova 1312, and odor concentrations were determined by dynamic olfactometry according to EN 13725:2003 using a TO 8 olfactometer. The NH3 emission factors from the studied piggery, in summer, ranged from 8.53 to 21.71 g·day-1·pig-1, (mean value 12.54±4.89 g·day-1·pig-1). Factors related to kg of body mass were from 0.11 to 0.23 g·day-1·kg b.m.-1 (mean value 0.17±0.06 g·day-1·kg b.m.-1). Odor concentrations in the studied piggery were from 755 to 11775 ouE·m-3 and they were diversified (coefficient of variation 43.8%). The mean value of the momentary odor emission factors was 179.5±78.7 ouE·s-1·pig-1. Factor related to kg of body mass was 2.27±1.71 ouE·s-1·kg b.m.-1. In Poland and many other countries, the litter systems of pigs housing are still very popular. Therefore, there is a need to monitor the pollutant emissions from such buildings to identify the factors influencing the amount of this emission. Another important issue is to verify whether the reduction techniques, giving a measurable effect in laboratory research, bring the same reduction effect in production

The paper presents the preliminary study of n-butanol removal in the adsorption process. The main objective of the research was to asess whether and to what extent biochars produced from selected organic waste materials are suitable for odor removal. Biochars produced from dried sewage sludge and beekeeping waste were tested in the adsorption process. At first, raw materials were pyrolyzed and then modified with a 25% ZnCl2 solution or a 30% H2O2 solution. The adsorption process was conducted using a model gas – the European reference odorant – n-butanol. The output parameter was odor concentration Cod [ouE/m3]. Odor concentration Cod values were obtained using a dynamic olfactometry method on T08 olfactometer. The solid byproducts of pyrolysis of digested sewage sludge and beekeeping waste may be used as adsorbents for the removal of n-butanol in the adsorption process. Adsorption performance of biochar from sewage sludge is better than biochar from beekeeping waste. Additional modification with H2O2 or ZnCl2 increases the efficiency of the process, thus decreasing the required bed height for the elimination of odorant. The results of the studies confirm the findings of other authors that biochars derived from sewage sludge and other organic waste materials may be efficient sorbents in the removal of various substances from water or the air. Other biochars and methods of their activation should be tested. For practical reasons, the next stage of the research should be the determination of the adsorption front height and its migration rate.

Waste management faces more and more serious challenges, especially given the growing amount of municipal waste generated in Poland and the resulting environmental impact. One of the significant environmental aspects of waste management is the emission of odorants and odors. Taking into account the odor problem, the majority of municipal waste generated is being collected as mixed waste (62% of municipal waste), which by weight contains approximately 32.7% of kitchen and garden waste. These organic fractions are mainly responsible for the emission of odor and odorants. Those substances can be emitted at every stage: from the waste collection at residential waste bins, through transport, waste storage, and transfer stations, up to various respective treatment facilities, i.e., mechanical-biological waste treatment plants, landfills, or waste incineration plants. The gathered data during the study showed that it is necessary to increase the share of different waste management methods, i.e., recycling, composting, or fermentation processes rather than landfilling to meet all necessary regulations and to fulfill provisions of the waste hierarchy. One of the actions indicated in the legal solutions is expansion, retrofitting, and construction of new sorting plants, anaerobic digestion plants, composting plants, and increase in thermal treatment capacity. Variety of different processes that could emit odors and a diversity of different odor-generating substances released from particular waste management steps should be taken into consideration when building new facilities which are suitable for waste treatment. The overall aim of the work was to characterize and summarize available knowledge about waste management system in Poland and to gather information about odor-generating substances emitted from different waste management steps and facilities, which could be a potential source of information for preparing legal solutions to reduce possible odor nuisance form broadly understood waste management.

Evaluations of odour intensity of the air polluted with cyclohexane (A), cyclohexanone (B) and cyclohexane with admixtures of cyclohexanone (mixtures MI, M2 and M3; x8 = 0.14; 0.05 and 0.02 respectively) were made. Empirical parameters of psychophysical equations (Weber-Fechner' and Stevens') were determined. Total concentrations of the mixtures were within the range C = 1500-3500 ppm. The interaction constant av= 115-132° was estimated for the mixtures. Verification of known models of odour interaction led to the conclusion that possible application of the models for prediction of odour intensity of the air polluted with mixtures of cyclohexane and hexane is limited.