Sensenet can determine the performance of an air filtration technology designed to remove common odours experienced within a household environment.
The Challenge
- The client required a standardised and repeatable test design, using a malodour mixture containing odourants that are representative of real-life conditions.
- The study involved assessing odour levels from test enclosures under standardised conditions. A range of sample preparation and analysis tools are available including ISO 17299 assessments and test designs based on ISO 16000:28 compliant chambers, as well as bespoke tests designs tailored to product use.
Our strategy
- Testing was undertaken using both sensory and molecular analysis tools to demonstrate product performance.
- A proprietary synthetic malodour was introduced into a test enclosure of standard volume, in this case 40 litres. A range of other enclosure can be used, including e.g. 3 m3
- The testing used garbage, washroom (faecal) and ashtray based malodours. These were developed in house by Sensenet to include a mixture of key odourants that represent such situations.
- Air samples from control and test enclosures were assessed. The test enclosure contained both malodour and product, the control enclosure contained malodour only. Results below are for theashtray malodour, containing 4 key odourants.
- Odour concentration analysis through dynamic dilution olfactometry [BS EN 13725 ] was chosen as an objective form of sensory assessment to determine products sensory odour reduction performance.
- A molecular assessment of performance (as a comparison of the concentration of specified odourants in the test and control conditions) was performed via GC-MS-ToF. The use of Time of Flight analyser allows the measurement of odourants at sub ppb levels, this high sensitivity is important in terms of human sensory detection levels.
Results
Figure 2: Chemical concentration results for the 4 key odourants included in the ashtray malodour mix
The results were used to calculate an odour removal efficiency of the product, in comparison to the untreated control samples. Sensory analysis indicated a >98% odour reduction, and chemical analysis indicated an average 98.7% reduction in terms of the concentration of key odourants in the malodour mixture.
[1] ISO 17299:2014 – Textiles. Determination of deodorant property.
[1] ISO 16000-28:2012 – Indoor air. Determination of odour emissions from building products.
[1] BS EN 13725:2003 – Air quality. Determination of odour concentration by dynamic olfactometry.
[1] The samples were analysed at the specialist Odournet GC-MS laboratory in Barcelona, using a state of the art GC-MS/Time of Flight (ToF) instrument which provides high sensitivity and detection for odourous compounds.
