If you are ambitious to find a new science, measure a smell.
Alexander Graham Bell
Dynamic olfacctometry allows the objective and repeatable determination of the odour concentration of a gaseous sample. This technique is used for the determination of odour concentration from different types of sources (point, areal and diffuse).
The Laboratorio Olfattometrico is equipped with advanced equipment and technology and performs olfactometric sampling in accordance with the requirements of EN 13725:2022.
Emission source characterisation is one of the laboratory’s strengths. Moreover, thanks to continuous research and development of new solutions, we have designed and built highly innovative, state-of-the-art equipment in the olfactometric field, which is currently also used by other Italian laboratories.
The technique
The analysis method is based on the use of a group of individuals (also called olfactometric panellists) who act as “sensors”. Each examiner is trained and selected, using sensory and behavioural criteria, according to precise standardised prescriptions.
The method is based on the identification by the test group of the odour detection threshold of the sample, i.e. the boundary at which the sample, after being diluted, tends to be perceived by 50% of the examiners taking part in the measurement. During a measurement, the odour sample is presented to the test group according to a series of decreasing dilutions: each examiner must indicate, by pressing a button, when he/she perceives an odour and when he/she perceives none. The test group’s responses are recorded and processed. The result of the olfactometric test is the odour concentration value, expressed in European odorimetric units per cubic metre of air (ouE/m3), cwhich expresses the number of dilutions with neutral air required for the odorous air sample to reach its olfactory perception threshold.
The Laboratorio Olfattometricois included in an international ring test circuit to assess the accuracy and repeatability of the data provided.