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There are chemical methods to measure nuisance components of air samples with odors. But any chemical measurement would be a very inexact approximation to measurement of odors. Best way to do it is to measure the odor units of the air sample.
Dynamic olfactometry is a sensorial method standardized by the European Standard EN 13725:2003, to measure the odor concentration of a sample, referring to the sensation that it causes in a panel of opportunely selected and trained persons, directly exposed to that odor in specific conditions.
The odor concentration, expressed in European odor units per cubic meter (ouE/m3), represents the number of dilutions with neutral air that are necessary to bring the concentration of the sample to its odor detection threshold (OT). The analysis is carried out by presenting the sample to the panelists at increasing concentrations by means of a dilution device, called an olfactometer, which dilutes the samples according to given ratios with reference air, which is made odor- and humidity-free through filtration with active carbon or silica gel.
Odor can also be measured and quantified directly in the ambient air using the standard practices. ASTM E544-99, “Standard Practice for Referencing Suprathreshold Odor Intensity”, is used to measure and quantify ambient odor intensity using an “Odor Intensity Referencing Scale (OIRS).
Additionally, there are portable olfactometers that can be use for odor assessment in the field.
We provide services of odor unit assessment in point sources and open fields
“Odors have a power of persuasion stronger than that of words, appearances, emotions, or will. The persuasive power of an odor cannot be fended off, it enters into us like breath into our lungs, it fills us up, imbues us totally. There is no remedy for it.”
Patrick Süskind
But for nuisance odors, we do have the remedy.
Olfatec provides services of odor unit measurement and the application of dispersion modelling of the
gas emissions of specific processes to determine the impact of the emissions in the environment and
the community. The technical solutions we provide are designed according to the odor intensity and
removal required to accomplish the air quality standard.