Biological Odor Control System Pilot Testing Protocol How to Test Your Patience

With the rapid advancement of odor control technologies many utilities have employed Pilot Testing as a means to evaluate equipment for future procurement. This procedure can only benefit the Utility when there are decisive results at the end of the test and often there are not clear results, leaving both the Manufacturer and the Utility frustrated with the loss of time and resources. Several factors contribute to poor Pilot Studies: the test equipment may not be mature and ends up being an operations and maintenance issue, the site of the test was not characterized sufficiently and the equipment is not well matched, or the sampling and analysis program was not defined and the data is not reliable. All of these problems indicate that there was poor planning before the equipment is delivered. The intention of this paper is to outline the main issues that should be considered in order to develop a comprehensive Pilot Test Plan. The main topics will include: Site Characterization, Pilot System Sizing, Schedule, Sampling and Analysis, Scope of Supply and Responsibilities, and Equipment. Representative Pilot projects will also be presented.