Sensing of gaseous malodors characteristic of landfills and waste treatment plants

Abstract. We approached the problem of sensing gaseous pollutants and malodors originating as a result of decomposition of organic compounds via chemoresistive sensors. A set of four screen-printed films based on two types of mixed tin and titanium oxides, mixed tungsten and tin oxides, and zinc oxide has been tested vs. the main gaseous components of malodors. N-butanol was also considered because of its importance as a reference gas in the odorimetric intensity scale. We found that, under proper working conditions, the films can sensitively detect such gases either in dry or in wet environments, within the range of concentrations of interest for their monitoring. We also demonstrated that the array is robust under solicitation by harmful interference gases such as CO, C₆H₆, NO₂ and NO.