Manchester's electronic nose sniffs out the methane

Air is sucked into the device at regular intervals and profiled by four sensors that analyse the composition of gases. This chemical profile is then transmitted directly via a built in modem to a remote computer. Currently, gases and odours are analysed manually using hand-held detectors, and there is no instrumentation sensitive enough to detect them at low concentrations.

The inventor of the device, Krishna Persaud, a veteran in the field of odour sensing and measurement, noted that current methods mean odours and gases are monitored weekly. “In that time bad odours can build up. What this device offers is the ability to monitor these levels in real time, enabling waste companies to act before levels reach an unacceptable level.”

In the UK 20.9 million tones per annum of household waste, representing 72 percent of the total, is disposed of in landfill sites. There are currently over 4,000 licensed sites in the UK, and 80 per cent of the population lives within 2 kilometres of a site.

The device has been tested successfully at the Brookhurst Wood Waste Landfill site, near Gatwick airport in London, where five of the devices have been positioned around the perimeter since May 2005.

Another application is in odour sensing at water treatment plants, where emission of odours may be an indication that the plant treatment processes are not working correctly, or that there has been an unexpected event, such as illegal dumping of agricultural or industrial waste.

The first prototypes have been demonstrated successfully at sewage and water plants owned by two UK water utilities, showing the device can identify specified substances and operate in the exacting environment of a sewage plant.

The university’s technology transfer arm, The University of Manchester Intellectual Property Ltd is looking for partners to help commercialise the system.