Abstract
Industrial odour emissions are characterised by complex mixtures, variable operating conditions and very low perception thresholds, so treatment performance cannot be assessed from total volatile organic compound (VOC) measurements alone. This work examines odour mitigation by non-thermal plasma (NTP) using an indirect dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) system. The pilot dataset comprised 19 paired inlet-outlet tests from bitumen membrane production, rubber processing, pouring of animal fat processing and wastewater treatment. Dynamic olfactometry and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) were used to compare odour reduction, VOC removal and compositional changes. A separate full-scale case study at a bitumen membrane facility included two emission points with a combined airflow above 110,000 m³ h?¹.
Pilot and full-scale results are reported separately, together with the observed formation of oxygenated intermediates, the electrical energy input and the main limitations associated with olfactometric uncertainty, ozone and incomplete carbon balances.
