Airborne odor typically manifests itself at lift/pump stations, headworks, treatment ponds, and sludge handling facilities. Sometimes even at manhole covers.

The BiO₃ Airborne Odor Control technology is straightforward:

• Air management is used to capture odorous air
• Ozone is used to treat the odorous air
• A polishing unit removes excess ozone & unoxidized odors.
• Non-odorous air is released to the atmosphere.

The result: ODOR-FREE AIR 99.9% OF THE TIME.

This approach is covered by U.S. Patent Re 34,571 along with proprietary ozone application techniques and methodology.

Air management is used to capture the odor without creating excessive odor demand. The aim is to pull a negative pressure on the structure being treated, be it a pump station or headworks. The precludes or minimizes the fugitive odors and consolidates the odor so that it can be treated. If the airflow through the structure is too high, additional odor can be created. At this point, dilution is not the solution.

The polishing unit provides some retention time so that the ozone can effectively oxidize the odors. The treated air then passes through a layer of activated carbon that adsorbs both the remaining odor molecules and the excess ozone molecules. Activated carbon and ozone work well together – the activated carbon ‘grabs’ the remaining odor molecules and then ozone molecules come along in the following air and oxidize the odor thereby cleaning the carbon. Used this way activated carbon can be used almost indefinitely.

The polishing unit also acts as a fail-safe odor control unit in case of a system failure.

Ozone (O₃ ) is used to treat the odorous air. Ozone is a natural product create by lightning and by sunlight in the presence of volatile hydrocarbons and nitric oxides (NOx - from auto fumes). Ozone can be thought of as nature's reaction to air and its method of removing the pollutants from the foul air.

Ozone is a powerful oxidant, second only to flouride in oxidation potential among naturally occurring products. It reacts with odors by giving up an oxygen atom in a chemical reaction. Hydrogen sulfide, mercaptans and amines are oxidized to sulfur, methyl sulfonix acid and amine oxides, respectively, plus carbon dioxide, water and oxygen. All of these compounds/products are saturated and are not odoriferous.

Since ozone cannot be stored (it reverts to oxygen (O₂ ) in a few minutes), it is generated on-site by the Tri-O Air Treatment System. The system is customized to deliver an appropriate amount of ozone to normalize the odorous air at peak conditions.

After treatment with ozone, the air is released to the atmosphere in a virtually odor-free state. Hydrogen sulfide, since it can be readily measured, is used as a standard to ensure the released air meets the odor specifications set by the customer.

If you have any questions, please contact us. cliff@biothree.com