Abstract
Although wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) play a fundamental role in protecting the aquatic environment as they prevent organic matter, nutrients and other pollutants from reaching the natural ecosystems, near residential areas they can generate unpleasant smells and noise. The plant studied in the present work is in a seaside tourist area in the Valencian Community, Spain. The main aim was to detect any possible perceptible H2S concentrations from the WWTP by experimental measurement campaigns (including sensor readings and olfactometry measurements by two experts) plus mathematical modelling. After a thorough data analysis of the essential variables involved, such as wind speed, wind direction and H2S concentrations (the main odorant) and comparing their temporal patterns, it was found that the probability of affecting the residential area was highest from June to August before noon and in the late evening. The hourly H2S concentration, influent flow rate and temperature showed a positive correlation, the strongest (R2 = 0.89) being the relationship between the H2S concentration and influent flow rate. These two variables followed a similar daily pattern and indicated that H2S was emitted when influent wastewater was being pumped into the biological reactor. The H2S median concentration at the source of the emission was below 1393.865 μg/m3 (1 ppm), although concentrations 10 times higher were occasionally recorded. The observed H2S peak-to-mean ratio (1 min to 1 h of integration times) ranged from 1.15 to 16.03. This ratio and its attenuation with distance from the source depended on the atmospheric stability. Both H2S concentrations and variability were considerably reduced after submerging the inlet. The AERMOD modelling framework and applying the peak-to-mean ratio were used to map the peak H2S concentration and determine the best conditions to eliminate the unpleasant odour.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Data availability
The datasets generated and/or analysed during the current study cannot be made available because of the policy of the water utility.
References
Agustine, A., Billet, S., Crumeyrolle, S., Deboudt, K., Dieudonné, E., Flament, P., Fourmentin, M., Guilbaud, S., Hanoune, B., Landkocz, Y., Méausoone, C., Roy, S., Schmitt, F. G., Sentchev, A., & Sokolov, A. (2020). Impact of sea breeze dynamics in industrial and urban coastal environments. Remote Sensing, 12, 648.
ATSDR (2016). Agency for toxic substances and disease registry. Hydrogen sulphide definition fact sheet. URL: https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxfaqs/tfacts114.pdf.
AVAMET, AVAMET: https://www.avamet.org/.
AVAMET weather station Dénia Platja de Pego. AVAMET weather station "Dénia Platja de Pego". URL: https://www.avamet.org/mx-fitxa.php?id=c30m063e10.
AVAMET weather station Oliva Poble. AVAMET weather station "Oliva pople". URL: https://www.avamet.org/mx-fitxa.php?id=c25m181e02.
Baawain, M., Al-Mamun, A., Omidvarborna, H., et al. (2017). Assessment of hydrogen sulphide emission from a sewage treatment plant using AERMOD. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 189, 263. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-017-5983-6
Badach, J., Kolasinska, P., Paciorek, M., Wojnowski, W., Dymerski, T., Gebicki, J., Dymnicka, M., & Namiesnik, J. (2018). A case study of odour nuisance evaluation in the context of integrated urban planning. Journal of Environmental Management, 213, 417–424. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2018.02.086
Brancher, M., Hieden, A., Baumann-Stanzer, K., Schauberger, G., & Piringer, M. (2020). Performance evaluation of approaches to predict sub-hourly peak odour concentrations. Atmospheric Environment: X, 7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aeaoa.2020.100076
Carrera-Chapela, F., Donoso-Bravo, A., Souto, J. A., & Ruiz-Filippi, G. (2014). Modeling the odour generation in WWTP: An integrated approach review. Water, Air, and Soil Pollution, 225. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-014-1932-y
Centro de Descargas del Centro Nacional de Información Geográfica (CNIG), 2018. CORINE2018 Land Cover - Spanish government access portal. URL: http://centrodedescargas.cnig.es/CentroDescargas/catalogo.do?Serie=SIOSE.
Cocci Grifoni, R., Bisegna, F., Passerini, G. 2002. A refinement of AERMOD results by means of mesoscale model simulation. 8th Conference on Harmonization within Atmospheric Dispersion Modelling for Regulatory Purposes.
CORINE Land Cover (CLC) 2018. Copernicus European Land Cover project with CORINE Land Cover (CLC) Data Base, 2018. category nomenclature. URL: https://land.copernicus.eu/user-corner/technical-library/corine-land-cover-nomenclature-guidelines/html/
Dinçer, F., Dinçer, F. K., Sarı, D., Ceylan, Ö., & Ercan, Ö. (2020). Dispersion modeling and air quality measurements to evaluate the odour impact of a wastewater treatment plant in Izmir. Atmospheric Pollution Research. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apr.2020.05.018
Dräger, Dräger Polytron 7000. URL: https://www.draeger.com/en{_}seeur/Applications/Products/Stationary-Gas-Detection-Systems/Detection-of-Toxic-Gases-and-Oxygen/Polytron-7000.
Entidad Pública de Saneamiento de Aguas Residuales (EPSAR). Technical data of WWTP Camping San Fernando, Oliva, Spain. URL: http://www.epsar.gva.es/instalaciones/edar.aspx?id=147.
EPA and AERMIC, 2019. AERMOD model on EPA official webpage. URL: https://www.epa.gov/scram/air-quality-dispersion-modeling-preferred-and-recommended-models{#}aermod.
Fan, F., Xu, R., Wang, D., & Meng, F. (2020). Application of activated sludge for odour control in wastewater treatment plants: Approaches, advances and outlooks. Water Research, 181, 115915. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2020.115915
Ferrentino, R., Langone, M., & Andreottola, G. (2017). Temperature effects on the activity of denitrifying phosphate accumulating microorganisms and sulphate reducing bacteria in anaerobic side-stream reactor. J Environ Bio Res, 1, 1.
Fileni, L., Matteucci, G., Passerini, G., & Rizza, U. (2018). Analysis of air pollutant emissions in a wastewater treatment plant using dispersion models J. Casares, G. Passerini, J. Barnes, J. Longhurst, G. Perillo (Eds.). WIT Transactions on Ecology and Environment, Air Pollution XXVI, 230(2018), 219–230.
GOAA, 2008. Guideline on odour in ambient air GOAA. Detection and Assessment of Odour in Ambient Air. Second Version. Berlin, Germany.
Halageri, N., 2012. Odour monitoring at wastewater treatment plants. University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations, 64 URL: https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/1580.
Hvitved-Jacobsen, T., Vollertsen, J., Yongsiri, C., & Nielsen, A. H. (2002). Sewer microbial processes, emissions and impacts. Sewers Process and Networks, 13.
Iremonger S. (2012). Environmental publication 2012/06–a review of odour properties of H2S odour threshold investigation.
Lewkowska, P., Cieślik, B., Dymerski, T., Konieczka, P., & Namieśnik, J. (2016). Characteristics of odours emitted from municipal wastewater treatment plant and methods for their identification and deodourization techniques. Environmental Research, 151, 573–586. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2016.08.030
Li, X., O'Moore, L., Song, Y., Bond, P. L., Yuan, Z., Wilkie, S., Hanzic, L., & Jiang, G. (2019). The rapid chemically induced corrosion of concrete sewers at high H2S concentration. Water Research, 162, 95–104. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2019.06
Liu, J., Lu, C., Huang, L., Sun, J., Yue, P., Liu, X., & Kang, X. (2021). Performance and economic analyses of a combined bioreactor for treating odours, volatile organic compounds, and aerosols from a landfill site. Journal of Cleaner Production, 278, 124161. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.124161
Ma, Y., Xin, J., Zhang, X., Dai, L., Schaefer, K., Wang, S., Wang, Y., Wang, Z., Wu, F., Wu, X., & Fan, G. (2021). Land-sea breeze circulation structure on the west coast of the Yellow Sea, China. Atmospheric and Oceanic Science Letters, 14, 100003.
Moreno-Silva, C., Calvo, D. C., Torres, N., Ayala, L., Gaitán, M., González, L., Rincón, P., & Rodríguez, S. M. (2020). Hydrogen sulphide emissions and dispersion modelling from a wastewater reservoir using flux chamber measurements and AERMOD® simulations. Atmospheric Environment, 224. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2020.117263
Mott, A., & Guo, H. (2022). Odour dispersion modelling, impact criteria, and setback distances for an oil refinery plant. Atmospheric Environment, 270. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2021.118879
Mukwevho, M. J., Maharajh, D., & Chirwa, E. M. N. (2020). Evaluating the effect of pH, temperature, and hydraulic retention time on biological sulphate reduction using response surface methodology. Water, 12(10), 2662. https://doi.org/10.3390/w12102662
NASA, 2019. Sentinel Satellite Cloud data before August 2019. URL: https://disc.gsfc.nasa.gov/datasets/S5P{_}L2{_}{_}CLOUD{_}{_}1/summary?keywords=cloudbaseheight.
NASA, 2020. Sentinel Satellite Cloud data as of August 2019. URL: https://disc.gsfc.nasa.gov/datasets/S5P{_}L2{_}{_}CLOUD{_}{_}HiR{_}1/summary?keywords=cloudbaseheight.
Nicell, J. A. (2009). Assessment and regulation of odour impacts. Atmospheric Environment, 43(1), 196–206. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2008.09.033
NOAA, N., a. Integrated global radiosonde archive (IGRA) - upper air data base. URL: https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/data-access/weather-balloon/integrated-global-radiosonde-archive.
NOAA, N., b. Integrated Surface Database (ISD) - hourly surface weather data. URL: https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/isd.
Oliveira, S. L. A., & Corrêa, S. M. (2022). Atmospheric odour dispersion from oil refinery flare system: A case study. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 194, 563. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-022-10202-9
Piccardo, M. T., Geretto, M., Pulliero, A., & Izzotti, A. (2022). Odour emissions: A public health concern for health risk perception. Environmental Research, 204(Part B). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2021.112121
Pikaar, I., Keshab, I., Sharma, K. R., Hu, S., GernjakJürg, W., Kellerand, J., & Yuan, Z. (2014). Reducing sewer corrosion through integrated urban water management. Science, 345(6198), 812–814. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1251418
Piringer, M., Knauder, W., Anders, I., Andre, K., Zollitsch, W., Hörtenhuber, S. J., Baumgartner, J., Niebuhr, K., Hennig-Pauka, I., Schönhart, M., & Schauberger, G. (2019). Climate change impact on the dispersion of airborne emissions and the resulting separation distances to avoid odour annoyance. Atmospheric Environment: X, 2, 100021.
Piringer, M., Knauder, W., Petz, E., & Schauberger, G. (2015). A comparison of separation distances against odour annoyance calculated with two models. Atmospheric Environment, 116, 22–35. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2015.06.006
Rafiq, S., Pattiaratchi, C., & Janekovic, I. (2020). Dynamics of the land-sea breeze system and the surface current response in South-West Australia. Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, 8, 931.
Schauberger, G., Piringer, M., & Petz, E. (2000). Diurnal and annual variation of the sensation distance of odour emitted by livestock buildings calculated by the Austrian odour dispersion model (AODM). Atmospheric Environment, 28–34. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1352-2310(00)00240-5
Shareefdeen, Z., Singh, A., 2005. Biotechnology for odour and air pollution control. Springer, . https://doi.org/10.1007/b138434.
Smet, E., Lens, P., & Langenhove, H. V. (1998). Treatment of waste gases contaminated with odourous sulfur compounds. Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology, 28, 89–117. https://doi.org/10.1080/10643389891254179
Talbot, C., Augustin, P., Leroy, C., Willart, V., Delbarre, H., & Khomenko, G. (2007). Impact of sea breeze on the boundary-layer dynamics and the atmospheric stratification in a coastal area of the North Sea. Boundary-Layer Meteorology, 125, 133–154.
Toledo, M., Gutiérrez, M. C., Siles, J. A., & Martín, M. A. (2019). Odour mapping of an urban waste management plant: Chemometric approach and correlation between physico-chemical, respirometric and olfactometric variables. Journal of Cleaner Production, 210, 1098–1108. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.11.109
Walgraeve, C., Van Hufffel, K., Bruneel, J., & Van Langenhove, H. (2015). Evaluation of the performance of field olfactometers by selected ion flow tube mass spectrometry. Biosystems Engineering, 137, 84–94. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biosystemseng.2015.07.007
WHO_World Health Organization. (2000). Guidelines for air quality. WHO Regional Office for Europe.
Windguru station Platja de Piles. Windguru station - Dunes Kite Piles Club / Platja de Piles, DKPiles Meteo. URL: https://www.windguru.cz/station/51.
Windguru station Playa de l’Ahuir. Windguru station - Playa de l’Ahuir, Gandia Surf. URL: https://www.windguru.cz/station/1064
Zhang, T., Yan-Zhu, T., Hong-Wei, Y., Chen, Z., Xiao-Mao, W., & Yuefeng, F. X. (2020). Study on the removal of aesthetic indicators by ozone during advanced treatment of water reuse. Journal of Water Process Engineering, 36, 101381. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jwpe.2020.101381
Zounemat-Kermani, M., Stephan, D., & Hinkelmann, R. (2019). Multivariate NARX neural network in prediction gaseous emissions within the influent chamber of wastewater treatment plants. Atmospheric Pollution Research, 10(6), 1812–1822. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apr.2019.07.013
Acknowledgements
The EPSAR (Entidad Pública de Saneamiento de Aguas de la Comunitat Valenciana) is gratefully acknowledged for its support for this work.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
Andreas Luckert: data curation, maintenance and analysis, modelling and software, creating data and graphic outputs, literature research, writing (original draft preparation), reviewing and editing, conceptualization and methodology, field measurements and cooperation with WWTP enterprise. Daniel Aguado: supervision, conceptualization and methodology, literature research, reviewing, proof reading, field measurements and cooperation with WWTP enterprise. Rafael García-Bartual: supervision, conceptualization and methodology proof reading. Carlos Lafita: data supply, field measurements, proof reading, and contact person. Tatiana Montoya: data supply, proof reading and contact person. Norbert Frank: supervision and proof reading.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Ethical approval
Not applicable.
Competing interests
The authors declare no competing interests.
Additional information
Publisher’s note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
This document is the result of the collaborative research project between the Universitat Politècnica de València (Spain) the Heidelberg University (Germany) and the wastewater utility Global Omnium Medioambiente S.L.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Luckert, A., Aguado, D., García-Bartual, R. et al. Odour mapping and air quality analysis of a wastewater treatment plant at a seaside tourist area. Environ Monit Assess 195, 1013 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-023-11598-8
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-023-11598-8