Air pollution treatment in modern segregated waste treatment facilities

The integrated waste management systems are designed to organize their waste streams, methods of collection, treatment and disposal, with the goal of achieving environmental benefits, economic optimization and social acceptability. In this perspective and in order to match European requirement, an integrated approach to environmental impact related to waste management must be implemented, taking into account every possible impact factor and, therefore, air quality and odor control should be regarded as a major concern, as directly affecting quality of life of both workers and people living in the surroundings of waste treatment facilities. A modern segregated waste treatment plant was taken as a case study to prove the effectiveness of a biotechnological treatment constituted of stand-alone immobilized cell bioreactors working on motion of contaminant for concentration gradient and not through ventilation, providing a sustainable alternative to traditional air treatment techniques. The preliminary phase of application for the system, presented into this paper, was preceded by a completion of analysis of air quality baseline, collected by a Wireless Sensor Network, which have been compared to the following three months of system activity, showing a consistent effectiveness in air pollutant containment and abatement.