ADVANCED INSTRUMENTAL ODOUR MONITORING SYSTEM FOR ENVIRONMENTAL ODOUR CONTINUOUS MANAGEMENT AND CONTROL IN COMPLEX INDUSTRIAL PLANTS

Odour emissions from complex industrial plants can cause potential impacts on the surrounding areas and, as consequence, complaints with the local residents. The identification of specific Odour control plan is therefore needed in the plant management. The current challenge is the definition of instrumental odour monitoring systems (IOMS) that allow the continuous odour characterization. No regulation or standardized procedure exist at present. Limited data are available in the literature with reference to the characteristics and operational procedure of this systems for the environmental odours monitoring. The study presents a novel prototype of intelligent and integrated IOMS for the continuous classification and quantification of the odours emitted in ambient air by complex industrial plants, with the scope to control the plants emissions in an objective and continuous manner, thus avoiding odour impact. Research studies are validated through an application to a real case study on a petroleum refinery. The architecture and the principal components of the IOMS are highlighted. The operational procedures are presented and discussed. Results highlights the importance and the flexibility of the proposed IOMS in the odour monitoring. Real-time and accurate information are provided by the system about the source and concentration of the odour emissions.