Odour and exhaust air purification in the field of wastewater treatment

The collection, transport and treatment of wastewater are often associated with odour emissions. Odours arise at many different stages of wastewater treatment and can vary greatly in type and concentration. Primary measures to reduce odour emissions are the first choice in odour control. Odour emissions that cannot be avoided must be treated with suitable technical equipment to prevent legal limits from being exceeded.

The nature of odour emissions can vary considerably. In the field of wastewater disposal, odour emissions are promoted by anaerobic conditions. The retention time in tanks and the pipe network, the temperature, sulphate and oxygen concentration, the amount of organic material and turbulence all influence the emission of odours. Sewage pumping stations therefore often need to be equipped with odour treatment systems. At sewage treatment plants, odour emissions occur primarily in the areas of mechanical cleaning and sludge treatment.

The odour thresholds specified in the literature generally apply only to individual substances, not to substances as part of a complex odour load, such as those found in sewage treatment plants. An individual substance can only ever be regarded as an indicator of an odour. Odours are usually described using dynamic olfactometry in accordance with DIN EN 13725

In Germany and the DACH region, the target value for odour treatment is usually set at 200–500 GE/m³. NEUTRALOX Umwelttechnik GmbH's photoionisation systems comply with these limits in an energy-efficient and reliable manner. Learn more about the photoionisation (PI) process and our PI units.