Odour Issues in paper industries
One such key process industry manufacturing one of the most useful and valuable commodities in the form of paper is pulp and paper industry, the per capita consumption of which is increasing exponentially. The high degree of obnoxiousness associated with the gaseous emissions from these industries is due to the presence of reduced sulfur compounds (RSCs) viz., dimethyl sulphide [(CH3)2S], dimethyl disulphide [(CH3)2S2], methyl mercaptan [(CH3SH)] and hydrogen sulphide [(H2S)]. All the above gasses have a very low odour threshold and can cause serious problems if exposed above OSHA TWA limits . Further, all the four compounds have very low boiling points with the exception of dimethyl disulphide. Due to very low boiling point they are highly volatile this in turn makes them difficult to control. Sophisticated analytical instruments such as gas chromatography needs to be coupled with a cryogenic system for preconcentration of gaseous compounds having boiling point less than 0 °C, for example hydrogen sulphide (boiling point −60 °C). This further limits the use of such analytical instruments at industrial level. Moreover, while using such analytical instruments the odour perceived is not depicted. Till date, the electronic nose developed for measurement of gaseous emissions generated from various industrial sites has found its application limited to the monitoring of VOCs and for detection of singular compounds such as H2S, NH3, etc . Therefore, keeping in view the global importance of pulp and paper industries, the inherent environmental pollution problem associated and considering the limitation offered by present analytical techniques it is necessary to investigate and develop a measurement system for rapid qualitative and quantitative analyses of such emissions as well as the odor intensity associated. Eventually this will lead to better control and regulation of these unwanted emissions.
IOMS in pulp and paper industries
Similarly, IOMS has been used to monitor the odours emitted from various pulp and paper industries. The samples collected were tested using the IOMS system. The odour intensity measurement was done in accordance with n-butanol static reference scale as described in ASTM Standard E544. The n-butanol Odor Intensity Referring Scale (OIRS) is an objective measure to determine the odor intensity of unknown samples. Out of the five butanol intensity referencing scale a 12-point static scale, was used having the concentrations as 10, 20, 40, 80, 160, 320, 640, 1280, 2560, 5120, 10240 ppm (McGinley and McGinley, 2000). The results were computed in methyl mercaptan equivalent and odour concentration in odour unit per meter cube (ou/m3)