How smelly is your rubbish?
According to some estimates, every year, over 8 billion tonnes of urban waste are generated worldwide, and there is every reason to believe that this figure will increase in coming years due to population growth. Compositing, by which organic waste is converted into fertiliser, is a process that provides a use for part of this huge amount of waste. Despite its many environmental advantages, including the recovery and recycling of resources, the composting process generates volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which omit a range of offensive smells. Different types of waste generate different smells or combinations of smells; composted raw materials can now be classified by their odorous impact, with a view to minimising emissions. Scientists at the University of Córdoba's Department of Inorganic Chemistry and Chemical Engineering have devised a new system for analysing the smell generated during composting using a combination of two techniques: NIR spectroscopy and chemometrics, a...