Study on the Treatment of Odors from Composting Plant by Bio-reactor－A Case Study of a Composting Plant in Miaoli

• Main Authors: Wen-Hua Tsai, 蔡文華
• Other Authors: 章裕民
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2009
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/m7n3wn

碩士 === 國立臺北科技大學 === 環境工程與管理研究所 === 97 === In striving to achieve its goals of zero waste disposal and perpetual resource re-utilization, the government over the last few years has developed a diversified waste disposal policy. As part of that initiative, it has recently been promoting the composting of kitchen waste in cities as well as villages and towns across all counties. In addition, the private sector has effectively built and brought online a number of organic composting plants. Yet in the time that these plants have been operating, surrounding populations have often been unhappy with and resistant to the downside of having them in their communities; that is, the problem of unpleasant odors being released into the air. Depending on feed compositions, the principle constituents of these odors commonly include ammonia, organic amines, some hydrogen sulfides, organic sulfur compounds, and short chain fatty acids. Addressing the challenge of eliminating odors from a composting plant, this experiment utilized fixed microorganisms on a biofilter bed in the creation an automatic bio-reactor system. The system was not one that needed to be monitored manually, as water was automatically pumped and sprayed, air was automatically fed, and temperature and humidity were consistently maintained at levels ideal to sustain the microorganisms'' habitat. A composting plant actively operating in Zhunan, Miaoli was selected for this research, and first an analysis of the sources of odors and their principal constituents was undertaken. The bio-reactor was then designed according to the analysis. After the composting plant was brought back online, the odor elimination efficiency was assessed. The main odors of the designated composting plant were ammonia and organic amines. Ammonia concentration was approximately 200-300 ppm, and the concentration of organic amines was approximately 500-600 ppm. After the bio-reactor system had been put into steady operation, the ammonia elimination efficiency improved to over 85%, and the efficiency with which organic amines were eliminated averaged over 80%. The present data attests to the success of this venture. Not only did each function of the project achieve its intended objective – but stability tests prove the system to be quite reliable as well.