Preventing odour formation in sludge and organic effluents
Enviro-Chem Cx is a very-low-dose liquid solution for sludge from wastewater treatment plants, industrial effluents and organic waste. It is not a masking agent: it acts within the material, before the odour forms.
In these media, odours come mainly from the breakdown of proteins, which releases sulphur (H₂S, mercaptans) and nitrogen (ammonia, amines). Cx slows the formation of these sulphur and nitrogen compounds.
Masking agents and conventional treatments deal with an odour that has already formed. Enviro-Chem Cx acts upstream, within the material, on the reactions that release the odorous compounds.
2. Protein breakdown is slowed
The active components of Cx act on proteins and amino acids as they break down: they slow that breakdown. The sulphur and nitrogen these carry are therefore not released as H₂S, mercaptans, ammonia or amines: these compounds do not form.
3. A contact product
Cx is brought to where the breakdown takes place: flocs, deposits, the surfaces of the material. It must be mixed intimately with all of the material to be treated.
4. Effective at a very low dose
Cx acts on the rate of a reaction, not on a mass of pollutant to be consumed. The dose is based on dry solids: in the order of 1 litre per tonne of dry solids.
Typical applications
Municipal and industrial wastewater treatment plant sludge: thickening, storage, dewatering
Addition to the dewatering polymer
Dewatered sludge: storage sheds, skips, solar drying greenhouses
After dewatering, sludge keeps changing. Stored in a shed, a skip or a solar drying greenhouse, it remains the site of protein breakdown, which releases sulphur compounds and ammonia. Odours appear during storage, and even more each time the sludge is handled: turning, loading trucks.
The iron salts used at the plant bind sulphides, but do not act on this pathway. Enviro-Chem Cx deals with it at the source: added to the dewatering polymer, it is spread throughout the sludge before it goes into storage. A simple dosing pump is enough.
The dose is based on dry solids, in the order of 1 litre per tonne. For each site, we define a trial with the operator, with measurements before and after treatment.
Solar drying greenhouses
The odours of a greenhouse form largely in the sludge itself, in the days following dewatering. Enviro-Chem Cx acts at this stage: added to the polymer, it is spread throughout the sludge and slows the formation of malodorous sulphur and nitrogen compounds (H₂S, mercaptans, ammonia, amines) before the sludge enters the greenhouse. No equipment in the greenhouse, no modification of the line: a dosing pump at the polymer unit is enough. Contact us to define a trial on your site.
Example: addition to the polymer at a wastewater treatment plant in Italy
Polymer preparation unit
The dosing pump and the product drum are simply placed at the foot of the unit, next to the control cabinet.
Injection point
A thin tube fixed to the existing pipe delivers the product directly into the polymer solution, inside the tank.
Dewatering room
Decanter centrifuges and cake removal by screw conveyor. The product arrives here with the polymer, without any modification of the line.
The product must reach all of the material before the odour is released. Addition to the dewatering polymer is a preferred route: the polymer is already spread throughout the sludge, and Cx with it. In other cases, it is injected upstream of the area where the odour appears, at a point of good mixing.
Effectiveness at low dose
Cx does not chemically consume the odorous compounds: it slows the reaction that releases them. This is what explains its effectiveness at very low doses, and volumes to store, transport and handle that are out of all proportion to those of conventional treatments.
Comparison with conventional treatments
Conventional treatments (iron salts, oxidants, masking agents) act on an odour or sulphide that has already formed, at doses proportional to the quantity to be treated. Cx acts upstream, on odours arising from organic matter. H₂S arising from sulphates is a matter for other treatments: we identify the origin of the odours before making any recommendation.
Benefits for the operator
Reduction of sulphur and nitrogen odours
Action at the source, before release
Very small volumes to store and handle
Compatible with cationic dewatering polymers
Field support and dose adjustment
Useful data for a first assessment
To assess dosing and injection point, SARGO can analyse the following information:
site type: wastewater treatment plant, industry, storage, waste platform
nature of the material (sludge, effluent, waste) and dry solids content
volume or tonnage per day
location and timing of nuisances
storage duration
treatment currently used
possible injection point: polymer, tank, pit, spraying
objective: odours on site, neighbour complaints, optimisation of the existing treatment
On-site implementation
Enviro-Chem Cx integrates simply into existing installations: dosing pump, addition to the dewatering polymer or spraying onto solid waste.
IBC dosing installation
Field installation with IBC for regular on-site treatment.
Injection upstream of a sensitive area
Injection upstream of the area where the odour is released, to treat the material before release.
Proportional dosing
Proportional dosing system adapted to flow variations and operational constraints.
Dispersion in the effluent
Good dispersion improves contact with the effluent and treatment effectiveness.
Compact dosing cabinet
Dosing pump installed in a cabinet for controlled and regular product injection.
Simple field installation
Implementation possible with a dosing cabinet, diluted product container and site-adapted injection.
References
More than twenty years of use in wastewater treatment, at several plants across Europe, for the treatment of plant odours and of sludge; the oldest reference, the Córdoba plant (Spain), has used the product continuously since 2003. In anaerobic digestion, the same formulation reduces H₂S in the biogas at some thirty sites.
Request a technical Cx assessment
Send us the data on your plant, your sludge or your effluents. We will propose an initial orientation for dosing and injection point.
