Once upon a time there where bad smells...
But now they are no longer there, at least in the composting plant of Caìscio Compost Sagl in the Canton Ticino. The solution adopted by this company? The V12so machine by EmiControls, designed to reduce odors through water mist.
Once upon a time there was a company active in the composting sector, which had a problem linked to the reduction of odors. Despite the correct management of the entire supply chain, some phases of the work, such as turning over and removing the compost soil, caused strong odor emissions and, therefore, the protests of the inhabitants of the neighbouring areas. After a critical period, when it became impossible for the company to turn the compost if the wind blew in the direction of the neighbouring houses, the happy ending came when the Caìscio Compost Sagl managers came to know of the existence of a machine able to remove even the more persistent odors thanks to a mist of water and biological substances sprayed on the composting pile. The plot – a problem, a stasis moment in which there is no possibility of a positive solution and where a positive conclusion can’t be seen - is that of a fairy tale, but the story is absolutely true: the protagonists are the Caìscio Compost Sagl of Taverne (Canton Ticino, Switzerland) and the EmiControls of Bolzano. The Caìscio Compost Sagl, owned by Sergio Benicchio, has been dealing with composting for about 30 years. In 2016, due to the odor problems we mentioned, the company contacted EmiControls that, following an accurate assessment of the situation, proposed the V12so machine, an advanced misting system for odor control. How does it work? What are its peculiarities? Well, let’s take a closer look.
The V12so machine
EmiControls has been developing solutions all over the world for dust control using water mist. The idea of creating a machine to solve the age-old question of odors came about a few years ago at the request of a French recycling company. Since there was still no adequate solution on the market, EmiControls decided to develop an ad hoc device, starting from a machine to remove dust, which was equipped with a high-pressure pump and that’s how the V12so was born. This machine, as demonstrated by the results of the tests carried out in 2014 by the “Politecnico di Milano” University, manages to eliminate even 79% of bad smells How does odor control work? The V12so is a turbine device, in which the water is mixed together with an additive, made up of biological substances, and finely atomized using the nozzles: “This water mist binds with the unpleasant-smelling molecules and neutralizes the odor. The solution used is organic and harmless to humans and the environment,” explained Alverman Soster, EmiControls Sales Director.
The system is effective on both solid and liquid waste. Odor neutralization can include the atomization of chemical nebulizers (to block the perception of odor), or completely natural neutralizers that modify the decomposition process, accelerating it and preventing the formation of malodorous molecules. The V12so turbine – particularly quiet at 63 db (A) - is combined with a 4 l/ min high-pressure pump unit which pressurizes the water at 70 bar; the neutralizing product is injected into the pressurization circuit using a metering pump. The solution released in the form of very fine mist, with droplets size of a diameter of about 10/20 microns, remains suspended in the air and then evaporates without creating any puddles. Thanks to a casting distance of 50m, unpleasant odors can also be bound to large-scale plants. The V12so machine is suitable not only for composting plants and recycling sites but it could be used in all those sites where there are problems related to unpleasant odorous emissions.
Meanwhile Caìscio Compost Sagl ...
Thanks to the purchase of the V12so Caìscio Compost Sagl can now turn on and move the compost soil when needed without having to worry about the wind direction and the problems with the residents of nearby areas are definitively finished.
The success of the V12so was such that, one year after purchasing the first machine, having increased its work area, the company bought a second one. And not only that: even another company from the same district that operates in the same sector, impressed by the results obtained by Caìscio Compost SAGL, has decided to purchase one V12so machine.
This is a well-deserved success for a machine that responds to a problem that has long been considered almost insoluble.
