PathoSans’ Answer to Industrial Facilities’ Odors

Industrial facilities, whether wastewater treatment plants, food manufacturers or other, are forever chasing odors. Treating these pungent molecules can be complex as they are an elaborate mix of organic compounds. 
Illinois-based PathoSans is among tech companies offering industrial solutions; its product kills 99.9 percent of bacteria and other pathogens in seconds, the company says. Its arsenal is an electrochemical process that produces two chemical compounds that work together. One is sodium hydroxide, which cleans the surface and removes harbors where pathogens may hide. The other mixture is hypochlorous acid to kill the now-exposed pathogens.

PathoSans sells its electrochemically activated technology to the food service, education, hospitality, and industrial manufacturing industries.

The original business plan was simply to roll out a heavy-duty but nontoxic disinfectant to sanitize any hard, nonporous surface. Odor control turned out to be a value-add.

“We realized that facilities had success with hypochlorous acid, not only to sanitize, but to neutralize the molecular source of odors,” says Ken Campbell, director of sales, PathoSans Technologies.

The technology, installed at operators’ sites, applies the chemicals as a mist, and is turning out to be a substantially cheaper alternative than shipping in chemicals to treat exhaust stacks that release odor-containing emissions into the atmosphere.

Customers, whether commercial composters, meat rendering facilities, or other, are all looking for the same result – being good neighbors and reducing the odor they experience. 

Though facilities do have different circumstances. Think about a composting operation; it’s impacted by natural outdoor elements, like the wind’s direction, rain, and fluctuating temperatures; while operations housed completely indoors have the luxury of a more stable and controllable environment.

“But we give a consistent solution to treat the medium that is potentially causing the odor, which we customize to clients’ needs based on the load they produce,” Campbell says.

“We design systems to manage the worst-case scenario. It’s understanding maximum usage load needed so we can size storage tanks and generators to keep up with capacity.”

The cleaning and disinfecting solutions are produced using only electricity, water, and salt. 

How the process works is a generator creates pressure that moves saltwater through an electrolytic cell. Ion-exchange membranes separate the chemicals from the salt, converting them to the two products – the solution that cleans and the one that kills pathogens. At the same time, the membranes capture the salt, preventing it from passing through—ultimately creating a purer product that leaves no residue.

The technology enables the application of lower concentrations with less chemicals, Campbells says, explaining it like this: “With an electrically activated system you are giving the chemicals a shot in the backside so they can work harder for a shorter period. So, we are not creating more chemistry than is needed that sits on a shelf for 30-plus days.”

Customers have two investment options: they can buy the equipment that comes with a service agreement, or they can lease it.

Either way, PathSans’ tech team monitors operations remotely, watching for chemistry quality and various trends in real time.

“Say we see pH going up or down; we have the ability to remotely manipulate the voltage on the cell to bring the generator in line to produce consistent chemistry,” Campbell says.

PathoSans tells customers who buy the equipment they will typically realize a payback in three to five years.

With a lease agreement the entire operation is managed remotely unless a situation arises where field service techs need to come in.

Operators first looking into technologies like these should expect service providers to ask a lot of questions to understand their day-to-day processes and to understand the cause of odors. 

“We look at the byproducts created and have tools to measure the root cause. There may be parts in [a plant’s] current process that we’ll recognize could be done a little differently, such as a two-step cleaning and disinfecting step before and / or after their product runs,” Campbell says.

PathoSan’s products have been shown to destroy and remove six major odor molecules: ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, methyl mercaptan, ethyl mercaptan, propylamines, and styrene.

Simply stated, the technology is proven effective against ammonia compounds, sulfur compounds, and volatile organic compounds, says Tyler Williams, director of Scientific Services at PathoSans.

Gregory Wilcox, president of Winston Engineering, has tested the technology at wastewater treatment plants and composting facilities.

One recent trial entailed setting up the system 10 feet downwind from shredded, rotting yard waste with pungent ammonia and organic acid odors.  During the 30-minute test run, overall odor was reduced significantly, and the ammonia smell was eliminated altogether.

“What we found somewhat unique is that this process uses chemicals approved as organic; so even if sprayed on compost it will not jeopardize the final product’s organic status,” Wilcox says.

Two big questions for operators looking to squash odors is, what’s the difference between masking them and eliminating them? And do both approaches have value? Here’s what to consider in reaching a verdict:

Masking involves covering up the smell with a fragrance, usually a chemical that blocks the olfactory receptors in the nose, but it does not address the source of the odor.

Key advantages of odor masking are it’s immediate; there are multiple options; and those options can be tailored to specific end users. But because they do not remove the source, the odor remains.

Tyler Williams, director of Scientific Services at PathoSans, cautions that smell can be an important defense mechanism.  

“Masking agents can block dangerous odors, exposing someone to [toxic] gases, possibly causing allergic reactions or respiratory issues in some individuals,” he says.

Odor elimination is a much more engineered approach. Examples are chemical treatments to destroy odors; ventilation to capture and remove them; and prevention through cleaning programs and moisture control.

Odor elimination is a long-lasting solution; it improves air quality; and it handles large-scale applications. But it’s a time-consuming endeavor, Williams says.

It requires investments to understand what the odor is, where it is coming from, and what combination of technologies will best remove it.

“All in all, it makes sense that both approaches exist. But for a true solution, odor elimination is always preferred,” he says.