The collaboration between CNR-IIA and the Pollution company was financed in the ROMEO project (Creation of an Online System for Odor Emission Monitoring), as part of the “Ingenuity” program of the Calabria Region. The project will validate a prototype system for monitoring odor emissions, applicable in landfills and other contexts. The prototype will be integrated with algorithms based on artificial intelligence and machine learning to identify the sources of these “olfactory nuisances” starting from the profile of the chemical species identified.
The central idea of the project is focused on the creation of a new product, based on miniaturized gas chromatographic analysis, capable of operating in the absence of a carrier gas, at high levels of precision, even in the presence of sulfur molecules, which are generally not identified by the solutions on the market and which consequently could enter a sector in which all the competitors present have not had the opportunity to develop this technology. The integration of artificial intelligence is a further innovative character also within the market, as it is applied for the first time to a chromatographic pattern, with the aim of “mapping” odorigens in this way.
The potential customer of ROMEO's result is represented by institutional actors who manage landfills or waste management plants. Future developments of the same technology can also be envisaged for the management of water purification plants or in industrial sectors particularly characterized by odor emissions, such as for example oil, or even for the monitoring of odor emissions related to urban vehicular traffic. The importance of monitoring these compounds is highlighted by the growing interest at national and European level, also represented by the legislation currently in force, such as article 272-bis contained in the Consolidated Environmental Act of Legislative Decree 183/2017.
The main objectives of the project are:
- The development of miniaturized and integrated solutions based on gas chromatography analysis;
- The creation of a platform that can be consulted online with results in real time;
- The optimization of the system response through artificial intelligence and machine learning.
The implementation of this system, initially in a relevant site and subsequently potentially on a larger scale, will help institutional and private decision makers in the timely monitoring of odor emissions from waste management plants, as well as in the identification of disturbance phenomena. of the normal operation of the plant, such as for example unauthorized spills or process problems, thanks to the support of artificial intelligence.
Not secondary to the project are also the sensitization of citizenship and the increase of awareness about the problems related to odor emissions, and for local administrations, the demonstrated technical and economic feasibility of a timely and precise monitoring of the chemical species most annoying for citizens. .