For the safety and health of people in various situations, it’s necessary to take measures against and monitor odor components. For instance, monitoring odor pollution from factories or livestock facilities, measuring the smell of decay to check food freshness during food management, and addressing the foul smells generated during sewage treatment processes are essential.
Malodors arise from various causes, and deodorizing equipment is indispensable for addressing them. Several methods are available for deodorization, including ozone oxidation and adsorbents, but it’s also possible to remove odor components using separation membranes.
Typical malodorous components include hydrogen sulfide emanating from decayed materials and ammonia from sewage.
These odor components have higher permeability to the separation membrane Nagasep compared to atmospheric components like nitrogen and oxygen. This difference in permeability with the atmosphere can be exploited for separation.
Odor sensors are used to detect and monitor the concentration of odor components in the air. These sensors work by utilizing the change in electrical resistance when odor molecules attach to the sensor’s surface. However, in real-world environments, the target gas may require preprocessing. Separation membranes can be used for the preprocessing of gases for odor measurement.
For instance, when there are many gas molecules other than the odor components, the presence of these extraneous gas molecules can make it difficult to accurately detect the target odor components. By using a separation membrane to remove unwanted gas molecules from the sample gas before measurement, the accuracy of the sensor can be improved.
Moreover, if the concentration of odor components is too high, it may not be measurable by the sensor. This is because contact with odor molecules at concentrations exceeding the detectable limit can saturate the sensor, preventing accurate measurement. In such cases, using a separation membrane to dilute the concentration of odor components to a measurable range can make measurement possible.
