Investigation of the Odours Emitted from Chemical Plants by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry†

Abstract

Odour escaping from the chemical, dye manufacturing and steel industries
are a continual source of complaints by locals of nearly a decade.
Although several precautions such as filtering system have been introduced
by these industries, noxious smells still escape frequently whenever the
filter system is saturated: Since the removal and regeneration of these filter
systems is an expensive task, very little is done in this regard. Hence an
attempt has been made in the present work to examine the compounds
adsorbed on the filters using gas-chromatography with a mass-spectrometer
detector. The components identified in the process are hydrocarbons, sulphur
containing species, various arnines and arnides, aldehydes and
ketones, aliphatic acids and esters, aliphatic alcohols, aromatic alcohols
and phenol.