Emission rate of non-methane volatile organic compounds from biodegradable domestic waste

This study analyses the dynamics of emission of major non-methane volatile organic compounds from domestic waste of known composition, kept in containers for 25 days under different aeration conditions. The major non-oxy-genated volatile compounds identified were α- and β-pinene, limonene, γ-terpinene, p-cymene and dimethyldisulphide. An initial burst in the emission rates of these compounds was followed by a stationary phase with relatively low but constant emission, with non clear-cut dependence on storage conditions, namely the presence or absence of excess oxy-gen. The major oxygenated volatile compounds identified were n-butanol, acetic acid and ethyl n-butanoate. The time-emission curves of these compounds markedly varied with the specific compound considered, as well as with storage conditions. For n-butanol and ethyl n-butanoate, the emis-sion rates increased exponentially with the time of air ab-sence (argon atmosphere), whereas they remained almost nil in aerated containers throughout the tudy period. As a general trend, after the first few days of storage, the emission rates were about two times higher in absence of air than in well-aerated containers © by PSP.