Characterization of the odorous fluxes

Reducing and controlling industrial odor fluxes requires a complete characterization of emissions. In particular, knowing the chemical nature, in terms of nature and concentration of pollutants, and evaluating the odor potential of odorous emissions are necessary to understand and manage industrial odorous fluxes by choosing the correct abatement system. Due to the complexity of the odorous matrix, a combination of different techniques appears the best choice to obtain a complete characterization of industrial fluxes. Dynamic olfactometry is the only standardized technique to measure odor concentration (Cod), that exploits the human nose as a sensor to determine the concentration at which odor can be perceived. Regarding chemical information (the nature and the quantification of pollutants), the principal technique is Gas chromatography coupled with Mass Spectrometry (GC–MS). In parallel, other instruments (specific or non-specific instruments) or additional GC detectors are used in the odor characterization context. Every technique has advantages and drawbacks; therefore, the use of complementary procedures and the combination of different analytical instrumentations appears fundamental to obtain as much information as possible about odor. This chapter aims to illustrate all these techniques applied to odor characterization, the potentiality and the limits of their application.