Investigation on Designated Odor Substances Emitted in Livestock Facility

Odor is a phenomenon that generates unpleasant smells, mainly occurring in various environments such as industrial facilities, waste treatment, and livestock farming. The commonly used method for measuring such odors in most cases involves a time-consuming separate sampling and analysis procedure, including some drawbacks such as available personnel needs and potential safety issues during the sampling process. To address these issues, this study installed a device capable of measuring 22 designated odor substances at 20 minute intervals on-site at a specific livestock facility located in the Gangwon Province. Based on filed data collected over one year, we analyzed monthly and seasonal trends in odor activity value. Also, the substances contributing to odors in the livestock facility was assessed through odor contribution analysis. The research results identified substances with high odor activity value in the target facility, namely trimethylamine (3.24~159.46), n-valeric acid (0~40.74), n-butyric acid (0.38~36.21), iso-valeric acid (0.23~30.49), hydrogen sulfide (0.002~14.79), and methyl mercaptan (0.096~14.64). Particularly, these substances exhibited higher concentrations during summer and fall seasons. Additionally, the evaluation of odor contribution revealed that trimethylamine was the main odor compound throughout all seasons.