CupriDyne Clean Tackles the Toughest Odors

Odor may be the most onerous challenge facing the waste industry. It is the most common cause of adverse publicity, regulatory pressures and facility closures. Landfill operators, composters and others handling waste sometimes invest millions for robust odor management programs yet still deal with foul odors because the availability of high-quality products is limited. Many have reached a point where they simply don’t believe any product exists that can sufficiently control odors related to municipal solid waste (MSW) and putrescible organics.

After a decade of solving odor issues in livestock facilities and pet applications, the company Odor-No-More was recruited by a waste industry leader to help solve odor issues related to MSW and organic residuals. As a result, the company developed an aggressive yet nontoxic, safe solution.

Odor No More’s patented product line features CupriDyne Clean, an odor control solution tailored to integrate within a site’s operations, whether it is a landfill, composting facility, materials recovery facility (MRF), transfer station, or wastewater treatment plant. Scientifically-proven and eco-friendly, CupriDyne Clean can be dispensed through misting systems, portable sprayers and/or water trucks to accommodate current infrastructure, each available in varied sizes.

Joe Provenzano, president of Odor-No-More, discusses the product choices that work best for each market need, as well as one of the company’s toughest cases and how it was tackled. He focuses on CupriDyne Clean’s most unique offering, a technology for large open-air sites.

Waste360: Describe the CupriDyne Clean products and which is most effective for the various facility scenarios.

Joe Provenzano: The CupriDyne Clean line includes both powders and liquids. The powder is especially effective for large, open-air sites like landfills and large composting facilities. It’s more cost-effective and efficient than misting for targeting odor on large properties because the powders are added to existing water trucks, allowing rapid, easy treatment of very large areas while requiring no high capital expenditures.

Sites with more confined target areas, such as wastewater treatment plants, MRFs and transfer stations, can use our liquids through misting systems. These facilities often have misting systems already installed, so our product is easily integrated into the current system and cost-effective.

Waste360: What odors do your products work on and what makes them effective?

Joe Provenzano: CupriDyne Clean oxidizes all volatile organic compounds (VOCs), including amines, sulfur compounds, fatty acids and mercaptans, prevalent at sites that process organics. Our products are broad spectrum and work indiscriminately on all organically derived odors.

They eliminate odors rather than cover them. Most other industry products use fragrance to mask odors, often exacerbating the problem. Our products are not masking agents. Rather, this green technology breaks down odorous compounds through oxidation. Odor reduction is immediate.

Waste360: The powder product sounds unique. Can you describe how it works?

Joe Provenzano: We add our powder to a site’s water truck.

You can broadcast over large areas, as the truck can shoot greater distances than a misting system. There is no additional labor, no additional equipment, or maintenance, as operators already have the truck, which is all they need. So the system is efficient, cost-effective and fits with operators’ current practices.

Powders are packaged in 6-inch by 9-inch pouches, in cases of 12. Each pouch is designed for the water volume the user’s water truck holds, in gallons.

Waste360: What are cost savings using powder versus misting for large sites?

Joe Provenzano: The only feasible way to mist large sites is with large portable water cannons, which can cost up to $100,000 each, (excluding ongoing maintenance and operational costs). One site was spending $7 per gallon for a competing product and $10 per gallon when factoring in maintenance costs. While $7 per gallon is much more than the cost of CupriDyne Clean, the additional maintenance associated with repairing and/or replacing fouled nozzles (as a result of the product they were using) drove the price even higher. Unlike many products, ours are non-corrosive and don’t crystallize inside nozzles.

Depending on the facility size and water truck’s capacity, the powder system costs $50 to $150 per application.

Waste360: How many powder applications are typically required?

Joe Provenzano: This typically ranges from one treatment per day to one treatment every three to five days. The rate, however, depends on environmental conditions, facility size, type and volume of waste materials, population density and proximity of neighboring communities.

Waste360: Can you describe an especially tough case and how you dealt with it?

Joe Provenzano: We recently tackled our greatest challenge thus far at a Florida landfill receiving wastewater treatment sludge. Sludge creates one of the most offensive odors you will encounter. The customer spread the sludge and allowed it to dry on the site’s working face. One powder application, dispensed through the water truck targeting that area, reduced odors immediately. The customer ordered on the spot.

Waste 360: How much powder is required?

Joe Provenzano: We formulate powder volume to match the water truck’s volume. Pouches accommodate 2,000-gallon to 8,000-gallon capacities, although we can accommodate larger trucks.

Waste360: How effective is the powder at dealing with compost stench?

Joe Provenzano: We recently conducted a trial at a 24-acre windrow-style facility in the heart of New York City. That facility was using a 5,000-gallon water truck, and one application managed the odor sufficiently for five days.

Particularly beneficial at compost sites is that the technology helps prevent nitrogen loss, enhancing fertilizer value.

Waste360: Can you speak to CupriDyne products’ safety to humans and the environment?

Joe Provenzano: Our products do not contain hazardous air pollutants. They are nontoxic, noncarcinogenic, and proven in independent laboratories. They do not cause skin, eye, or nose irritation and leave no residues or lingering scents. In fact, the core technology is also used in advanced wound care products for humans and animals and is in the process of FDA registration. So its safety has been tested to human wound care standards.

Waste360: Can you elaborate on the liquid versions in cases where this would be a good solution?

Joe Provenzano: It works well in wastewater treatment plants, MRFs, transfer stations, and any enclosed or partially enclosed space containing waste. We have ready-to-use, 32-ounce handheld spray bottles and concentrated liquids for dilution. We offer concentrates in one-gallon jugs, five-gallon buckets, 55-gallon drums and 250-gallon totes. Dilutions range from 10-1, up to 100-1 depending on severity and concentration of odor. It is an especially good option for facilities and locations that must keep waste as dry as possible; with the correct misting system and product the treated area will not get wet.