Gaseous pollutants from a small-scale aerobic biological treatment facility: odor and health risk assessment

Environmental Sciences Europe

Pinjing He¹  Fan Lü¹  Jingjing Fang²  Kexian Li²  Xinhong Xu² 

[1] College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, 1239 Siping Road, 200092, Shanghai, China;Navy Medical Centre, Second Military Medical University, 880 Xiangyin Road, 200433, Shanghai, China;

关键词: Small scale;    Aerobic biological treatment;    Gaseous pollutants;    Odor assessment;    Carcinogenic risk assessment;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12302-021-00568-x

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundBiological treatment technology is good for the recovery of resources and energy from municipal solid waste (MSW) and cutting down biodegradable components in landfill waste. Recently, the aerobic biological treatment of MSW has increased in rural areas of China. These facilities are usually open setup and close to nearby residents, and complaints tend to be received regarding odorous gases. A semi-in-vessel setup facility was built in recent years, and its impact on the environment and personnel is not clear.ResultsAmmonia was the predominant compound released from the windrow and its concentration was one order of magnitude higher than those of other compounds. Terpenes and reduced sulfur compounds (RSCs) persisted throughout the entire active fermentation process, with only slight decreases. The biofilter pool had a greater odor impact on the surrounding neighborhood than the waste unloading and sorting operation. The concentrations of most compounds were reduced by the biofilter pool. Ten major substances that caused odors at the facility were analyzed, where most comprised RSCs. The odor impact of the facility was low, but it was associated with a carcinogenic risk to the operators, thereby indicating the need to improve personal protection.ConclusionsLarge amounts of ammonia and volatile organic compounds were released from the composting units, but they had a low odor impact on the environment because of the semi-in-vessel setup. The odor impact of the facility was low but it was associated with a carcinogenic risk to the operators. This technology can be popularized in rural areas.

【 授权许可】

CC BY