Advancing The Science Of Odor Control

What does a 53-foot semi-trailer have to do with odor control? BioAir Solutions discusses R&D breakthroughs and their repercussions for wastewater and industrial odor control.

Louis le Roux, president of BioAir Solutions, tells Todd and Kelly of Water Online Radio about the new mobile R&D station the company has invested in – and why.

“In order to become great, you just don’t get great by accident. You have to work for it, you have to do R&D,” he explained. “We’ve decided to basically purchase a big semi-trailer; we installed eight reactors in it, and through it we can actually change the process variables, different media types, [and] different bacteria to come up with a biotechnology process that fits the particular application very well.

“The goal is to elevate volatile organic compound removal – organic odor removal – to a much higher level … through biological means. We are a strong believer in sustainable technologies. …We try and steer away from the carbons and the chemical scrubbers and so on, and focus primarily on biotechnology and how it could be applied to make air emissions control much more cost-effective and efficient.”

The focus on R&D has led to significant advancements, as described by le Roux:

“We’re working in collaboration with some of the leading universities in North America, like North Carolina State University … where we do gene probing [and] actually extract DNA from the bacteria so that we can match it up with the odorous compound, so that we can truly know what bacteria consumes what compounds.

“That’s really the ultimate goal – focus on total air emissions control, but use bacteria to do the work for you. Then you have a very sustainable and cost-effective solution.”

Learn more about advanced odor control solutions by tuning in to the full interview.