Current Status and Outlook of Odor Removal Technologies in Wastewater Treatment Plant

The ever increasing public complaints arising from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) grow since sewerage treatment has been associated with nauseous odorous on account of the anaerobic decomposition process and emission. Various physical/chemical and/or biological methods were used for abating odours worldwide. Thus, an updated comprehensive review for the WWTP odor abatement technologies is urgently required. This study reviews the new achievements of odor abatement technologies (adsorption, chemical scrubbing, biofiltration, biotrickling, bioscrubbing, activated sludge diffusion) in WWTPs and then identifies a new aspect for the future studies. Overall, hybrid technologies (physical/chemical + biotechnologies) attract increasing attention since their highly reliable removal efficiency for various odorants, however, the high costs for investment and O&M (operation & maintenance) of the adsorption part and the complexity and variability of odorants are still the major challenging for wide engineering application and technological innovation. Thus, developing the cost-effective, environmentally friendly odor control technologies, like using the alum sludge (waterworks residue) based adsorbents/media, in terms of using “waste” for waste treatment, could be a highly promising prospect.