Use Of Electronic Noses For Continuous Monitoring And Recognition Of Environmental Odours In Presence Of Multiple Sources

This paper describes an experimental monitoring conducted in order to study the olfactory impact on a small town located in the North of Italy, where the coexistence of more different factories is the cause of an olfactory nuisance problem. Three electronic noses were first trained to recognize the characteristic odours of the plants considered as the major sources of odour emissions in the studied area, then installed on the territory with the aim of continuously analyzing the ambient air in order to detect the presence of odours and to identify their origin. The results of the study demonstrate how specific electronic noses developed for environmental applications, once suitably trained, can successfully be applied for the continuous monitoring of odours and their identification in presence of multiple sources. In this specific case, the continuous odour monitoring at the first receptor, i.e. the nearest dwelling to the industrial zone, resulted in the detection of odours for 11.6% of the total monitori...