{"id":64014,"date":"2021-06-01T17:04:44","date_gmt":"2021-06-01T16:04:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pcb.ub.edu\/dam-and-ibec-develop-a-drone-that-improves-odor-management-in-water-treatment-plants\/"},"modified":"2021-07-01T13:54:02","modified_gmt":"2021-07-01T12:54:02","slug":"dam-and-ibec-develop-a-drone-that-improves-odor-management-in-water-treatment-plants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pcb.ub.edu\/en\/dam-and-ibec-develop-a-drone-that-improves-odor-management-in-water-treatment-plants\/","title":{"rendered":"DAM and IBEC develop a drone that improves odor management in water treatment plants"},"content":{"rendered":"

The company Depuraci\u00f3n de Aguas del Mediterr\u00e1neo (DAM)<\/a> and the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC)<\/a> develop a system equipped with chemical sensors that provides information, in real time, on the intensity and location of odor sources in the Waste Water Treatment Plants (WWTP). Specifically, a drone has been created capable of predicting the odor concentration from the readings of chemical sensors and providing measurements that help to locate the sources of origin.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The bad odors produced by the Waste Water Treatment Plants, known as WWTPs, have become a growing concern in the cities and towns that host these facilities and are considered by citizens to be the main cause of the perception of pollution, along with the dust and noise. Now, and thanks to a collaboration between the company\u00a0Depuraci\u00f3n\u00a0de\u00a0Aguas\u00a0del\u00a0Mediterr\u00e1neo\u00a0(DAM) and the Institute\u00a0for\u00a0Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC), a new way is being opened to detect and treat these\u00a0odors.<\/p>\n

According to the researchers, \u201cthe results obtained in the\u00a0SNIFFDRONE project <\/a>(Odor\u00a0monitoring by drones for environmental purposes)<\/a>\u00a0are very positive and represent a significant advance in the field of\u00a0odor\u00a0management in the WWTP. The new system will help to take appropriate control actions and therefore improve the management of the plant compared to current\u00a0practices \u201c<\/p>\n

This is how the technicians of the\u00a0DAM R&D&i Department<\/a>\u00a0express themselves, when assessing the work carried out in this European research that ended on October 31st. Specifically, a drone has been developed capable of predicting \u201cthe\u00a0odor\u00a0concentration from the readings of chemical sensors and providing measurements that help to locate the sources of origin\u201c, indicate from DAM.<\/p>\n

The study, carried out together with the\u00a0IBEC (Institute\u00a0for\u00a0Bioengineering of Catalonia)<\/a>\u00a0and which is part of the\u00a0ATTRACT initiative<\/a>\u00a0(GA 777222, Horizon 2020 program of the European Union), starts from the reality that\u00a0current\u00a0odor\u00a0evaluation\u00a0methodologies\u00a0use\u00a0measurements infrequent olfactometric measurements that do not allow a precise characterization,\u00a0so an effective monitoring of the plant cannot be carried out.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe system provides\u00a0odor\u00a0concentration maps\u00a0that help to take appropriate control actions and therefore improve plant management compared to current practices,\u201d explain the researchers from DAM\u2019s R+D+i department.<\/p>\n

Investigation details<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The drone is configured with an electronic nose made up of 21 chemical sensors, plus temperature, humidity and pressure sensors, in a miniature sensor chamber. It also contains a sampling system, GPS positioning, and connects to a base station for signal processing and data analysis in real time.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe system has been calibrated and validated in real operating conditions through several measurement campaigns at the Molina de Segura WWTP (Murcia). The results obtained allow us to obtain a prototype capable of predicting the intensity of the odor of ambient air samples in real time and simultaneously collecting samples for analysis in the laboratory after the flight, which allows us to calibrate and validate the operation of the system\u201d , stand out from the Valencian water purification company.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe developed drone allows, thanks to a combination of chemical sensors and artificial intelligence,\u00a0to quickly assess the intensity of the\u00a0odor\u00a0emitted by a waste management plant in large areas\u00a0that are sometimes difficult to access. This information is relevant for the plant operators with the\u00a0ultimate goal\u00a0of minimizing the impact on\u00a0neighboring\u00a0communities \u201d, declares Santi Marco<\/strong>, Head of the\u00a0Group of Signal and Information\u00a0Processing\u00a0for Sensing\u00a0Systems<\/a>\u00a0at IBEC and Professor at the University of\u00a0Barcelona .<\/p>\n

For all these reasons, the DAM Innovation department technicians consider that\u00a0the results of SNIFFDRONE represent a significant advance in the field of\u00a0odor\u00a0management in WWTP, since until now \u201cthe\u00a0odor\u00a0detection robots had been tested with Single-odor\u00a0chemical sources in relatively simple controlled scenarios and in most cases using ground-based\u00a0robots \u201d, they conclude.<\/p>\n