Odour and emissions | analysis
Odour testing gets analytical
Modern materials, and most especially plastics, provide a whole range of benefits in terms of performance, cost and design flexibility. One of the less desirable aspects they can bring with them, however, are unfamiliar and sometimes unpleasant odours. And, as pressure to use more recycled materials grows, this is likely to become a challenge in an ever wider range of applications. “Today, mankind is increasingly exposed to smells
that have not been met by our ancestors,” says Andrea Buettner, Head of the Sensory Analytics department at the Fraunhofer IVV Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging in Germany, which provides research and development, testing and consultancy services and is a leading authority on the chemical analysis, monitoring and control of emissions and odours in plastics. “Modern articles of daily use may be associated with
characteristic smells. These can be present in plastic products as diverse as food packaging, functional clothing, footwear or children’s toys. Compared with other factors in product safety, such as mechanical stability, the odour of a product is immediately per- ceived by a prospective consumer and therefore plays an important role in the final purchasing decision,” she says. “In addition, there have been recent scandals regarding children’s toys manufactured with contami- nated materials. Consequently, consumers have become more sceptical and concerned about product safety. Moreover, an incident in 2008 prompted the
www.compoundingworld.com
Demand for plastics with tightly regulated emissions and odour is
growing fast. However, the first step in effective odour management may be accurate identification and
analysis. Mark Holmes reports on the latest initiatives
German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment to advise consumers not to buy products bearing a strong odour.” Buettner says these changes in consumer prefer-
ences are driving the need for improved control of odour from plastics. “This is generating a demand for a targeted approach to identify and prevent the sources and processes of emissions from plastic compounds. However, the main challenge is that analysis of odorants requires highly sophisticated and targeted analytics as potent odorants are often present as trace constituents in materials and do not necessarily correlate with general emission of VOCs [volatile organic compounds]. As extremes, materials might be close to being ‘VOC- free’ yet still have an odour problem. Elucidation of such
Main image: Identification and measure- ment of odour is a challenging task for users and formula- tors of plastics
January 2017 | COMPOUNDING WORLD 19
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