Odors and Emissions

The Odor Assessment Laboratory studies air emissions for the development of improved agricultural management strategies.

Two people using olfactometry equipment for odor assessment

Odors and Agriculture

Agriculture is a key industry in Pennsylvania.
Odors are an unavoidable consequence of animal agriculture.
Rural population growth and expanding animal operations are increasing nuisance odor complaints.
Agricultural odors are a complex mixture of many compounds (odorants).
The human nose, the ultimate odor sensor, is capable of detecting thousands of odorants.
Selected odor characteristics can be objectively quantified.
International protocols assure that odor study results are reproducible.
Odor mitigation practices can be used to reduce off-site nuisance situations.
Odor research strives to assess the effectiveness of alternative odor mitigation practices.

Adheres to rigorous international protocols for human odor panel testing.
Specializes in human sensory methods to characterize and quantify odors.
Employs state-of-the-art dynamic olfactometry equipment for odor panel assessment.
Employs the only university-based forced-choice dynamic olfactometer in the Mid-Atlantic region dedicated to the study of agricultural odors.
Employs portable olfactometry equipment for field odor measurements.
Uses a variety of laboratory-based and field gas collection techniques.
Offers supplimental gas measurement methods for quantification of ammonia and greenhouse gas emissions.