Environmental Odor Analysis

Syft instruments provide a consistent, objective measure of odor. Applications include odor source profiling, landfill and biogas analysis, and fenceline monitoring.

The high-speed analysis provided by SIFT-MS makes it ideally suited to continuous monitoring of ambient VOCs.  The SIFT-MS solution provides a robust, easily deployed and operated package for sensitive, quantitative real-time monitoring of a diverse range of VOCs and inorganic gases.

SIFT-MS provides unique capabilities for environmental applications including ambient air measurement, mobile monitoring, emissions detection, and odor assessment.  Its real-time detection of VOCs and inorganic compounds is highly sensitive, selective, chromatography-free, and easy to use. 

Syft offers a robust, field-deployable solution utilizing state-of-the-art SIFT-MS technology.  Multiple, rapidly switching reagent ions provide high selectivity, allowing for targeting of specific targets such as the epoxide ring of ethylene oxide or the aldehyde group of acetaldehyde.

This webinar discusses chemical and sensory-like analysis of wastewater treatment by SIFT-MS.  After introducing sensory and instrumental analysis of odor, it covers a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) case study in detail, critiquing both instrumental and sensory methods available to this market.

SIFT-MS provides rapid and comprehensive analysis of landfill gas, making it ideally suited to the complete range of environmental and industrial applications.

This webinar describes continuous environmental monitoring applications and presents a variety of case studies, including:

• Fenceline monitoring
• Real-time stack gas analysis
• Odor characterization at the source
• Continuous odor monitoring

Learn about direct mass spectrometry by SIFT-MS which provides real-time, quantitative analysis of volatile compounds with trace-level sensitivity.  There are also no requirements of chromatography, pre-concentration, or sample prep!  SIFT-MS is easy to use and interpret data. 

In this application note, SIFT-MS is evaluated for odor source characterization at a gelatin factory, together with benchmarking of the effectiveness of an ultraviolet (UV) photolysis technology used for odor mitigation. SIFT-MS is very effective in both applications due to its wide dynamic range, trace-level sensitivity, real-time detection, and lack of requirement for sample prep or pre-concentration.

SH-SIFT-MS provides an instrument-based odor rating technique for the analysis of diverse odor compounds – such as short-chain organic acids, aldehydes and reduced sulfur compounds. Throughput of at least 12 samples per hour can be achieved using this method.

SIFT-MS provides unique solutions to difficult analytical challenges faced within the food, flavors, and fragrances industry.  This direct mass spectrometry technique offers unmatched speed, sensitivity, and selectivity that are paired with a wide dynamic range for detecting VOCs.  This
brochure outlines several SIFT-MS based food, flavor and fragrance solutions that Syft provides.

In this fifth episode, Dr Perkins describes the novel continuous headspace analysis (CHA) technique that he developed to measure stripping of volatiles. (Note: CHA is not to be confused with dynamic headspace analysis!).  In addition, Mark describes simple, very high-throughput gas sample bag analysis and touches on other recent developments – including thermal desorption-SIFT-MS.

We asked Mike McGinley, President, St. Croix Sensory, Inc. about his experience using SIFT-MS.  Hear what he had to say about the speed of analysis and flexibility inherent to Syft's product solutions.

Automated SIFT-MS analysis coupled with multivariate statistical analysis provides rapid sensory screening of paperboard packaging, overcoming the low sample throughput of sensory panels.  The ability to use HS-SIFT-MS to achieve throughput of 12 samples per hour is demonstrated.

This app note introduces the next generation of SIFT-MS, Syft Tracer^TM, which launched at Pittcon 2023.  It revolutionizes volatile impurities analysis workflows through unparalleled speed, performance stability, and reproducibility.  Learn about how this innovation to real-time trace gas detection outpaces chromatography-based methods in the analysis of challenging analytes such as formaldehyde in a PEG excipient.

SIFT‐MS is now recognized as the most versatile analytical technique for the identification and quantification of trace gases down to the parts‐per‐trillion by volume, pptv, range. This statement is supported by the wide reach of its applications, from real‐time analysis, obviating sample collection of very humid exhaled breath, to its adoption in industrial scenarios for air quality monitoring. This review touches on the recent extensions to the underpinning ion chemistry kinetics library and the alternative challenge of using nitrogen carrier gas instead of helium. 

SIFT-MS has been widely applied to quantitative analysis of a broad range of VOCs in applications from food products to workplace safety to environmental monitoring, and most recently to pharmaceutical testing. This review surveys the applications of SIFT-MS in odor analysis and in workplace, environmental and consumer protection, with a particular focus on the complementarity of this real-time mass spectrometry analyzer to sensor technology and conventional laboratory techniques—in particular, gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC/MS).

Join us for this webinar to learn about Syft Tracer, the latest advancement of real-time, trace gas analysis by SIFT-MS which launched at Pittcon 2023. Hear how the recent product innovations unlock analytical bottlenecks and enable faster decisions to be made in critical process steps.

This application note describes a scenario in which Syft Tracer^TM analyzed the same amount of samples in 9 hours that it took 5 chromatographic systems 24 hours to complete and still had capacity to spare. Next-gen SIFT-MS provides rapid, chromatography-free workflows which revolutionize volatile compound analysis. 

In this application note, the performance of SIFT-MS is evaluated for analysis of odors from diverse sources at a modern wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). SIFT-MS provides comprehensive, quantitative profiling of odor sources and can identify operational abnormalities.  In particular, the results presented demonstrate that methyl mercaptan is almost always a more significant odorant at this WWTP than hydrogen sulfide and confirm that the relative abundances of these odorants vary significantly.

This application note demonstrates that SIFT-MS effectively classifies paper samples by odor intensity rating and odor descriptor, in addition to distinguishing paper composition and mill of origin. When integrated with autosamplers, SIFT-MS provides throughputs of over 220 samples per day, supporting significantly enhanced quality assurance compared to conventional human sensory panels and gas chromatography-based analyses.

This E-book describes how next gen SIFT-MS enables rapid, continuous screening of toxic volatile impurities in pharmaceutical and consumer products. This advancement to SIFT-MS delivers trace-level detection sensitivity, unparalleled performance stability, superior selectivity, and highly reproducible, quantitative data. Never miss a contamination event again. 

In this on-demand webinar, Michael McGinley, President, St. Croix Sensory, describes how SIFT-MS has advanced their ability to rapidly perform odor analysis. A variety of SIFT-MS-based odor applications correlated with conventional sensory panel assessment are presented.  Learn how Syft is Simply. Faster. for the analysis of odor compounds.

This application note investigates concentration dependence of MHE calibration in sample matrix.  Across the full range of analytes investigated in this study, MHE calibration holds for at least one order of magnitude change in sample concentration.  For analytes in the C7–C9 range, the MHE calibration applies over two orders of magnitude analyte concentration. These results mean that the MHE workflow can be applied to a wider range of samples in the matrix, further reducing calibration demand.

This application note surveys the application of headspace-SIFT-MS to untargeted screening of food products and ingredients, such as beer, olive oil, Parmesan cheese, and strawberry flavor mixes. Rapid quality assurance (QA) and quality control (QC) screening of up to 250 samples/day can be conducted using an untargeted approach.

In this application note, the SIFT-MS is evaluated for odor analysis at a gelatin factory, together with benchmarking of the effectiveness of an ultraviolet (UV) photolysis technology used for odor mitigation. SIFT-MS is very effective in both applications.  The high-sensitivity, direct analysis eliminates preconcentration, derivatization, and the need for analysis on multiple chromatographic columns that complicate odor analysis in gas and liquid chromatography methods.

This video describes the bleed air study led by AeroParts in Oct 2023 to understand the differences in VOC ozone converter performance.   VOC ozone converters have the potential for preventing airplane cabin smoke odor fume events.  Learn how SIFT-MS enabled this important study by providing real-time VOC analysis of simulated engine bleed air.

Download this cover story article in the June 2024 issue of Dairy which examines the effectiveness of yogurt in deodorizing garlic breath.  Learn how SIFT-MS was used in breath (in vivo) and headspace (in vitro) analyses of garlic sulfur volatiles to determine the effect of yogurt on sulfur garlic volatiles.

Syft Explorer is a comprehensive solution for making real-time mass spec measurements anywhere on-site.  It includes next-gen SIFT-MS, onboard clean dry air, and automatic power management bundled in a mobile format.  Never miss a contamination event again!

We asked Geraint Morgan, Research Fellow at The Open University, about his experience using SIFT-MS.  He discusses how his Syft Tracer has opened up new ways of looking at samples that are difficult to analyze by traditional methods such as formaldehyde and other aldehydes. 

View the plenary talk given on August 23rd at IMSC 2024 in Melbourne, Australia by Dr. Vaughan Langford entitled, "SIFT-MS: Ion-Molecule Chemistry Coupled with Mass Spectrometry for Real-World Applications." Learn about the history of SIFT-MS and the ion chemistry that makes real-time trace gas analysis possible.

Read about Syft's latest developments, applications, product releases and events over the past quarter.  Learn about our real-time solutions for environmental monitoring, detecting nitrosamines in aqueous solutions, and much more!

This app note describes how SIFT-MS was used to measure short-lived odor species given off by a blooming titan arum flower during the spring of 2024. Seven odorous VOCs were identified from full-scan data taken from within the blooming flower and compared with air surrounding the flower from three days prior to bloom. Results suggest that dimethyl disulfide is responsible for the constant mild stink that the flower gives off, while the other VOCs that were elevated only when in bloom are responsible for the rotting flesh characteristic commonly described with this type of flower.

This application note describes how SIFT-MS was used to simultaneously detect 26 VOCs during coffee bean roasting from three locations: the roasting room air, the exhaust stack (pre-filtration), and the exhaust exit (post-filtration). The results showed significant reductions (3-62-fold) in emissions following the wet-scrubber filtration and demonstrate SIFT-MS as a reliable solution for real-time emissions testing.

This application note showcases SIFT-MS for mobile monitoring of odor pollutants using SyftEnviro software for simple, reliable data collection. Aligning with China’s T/ACEF 156 – 2024 guidelines, it bridges the gap between objective chemical analysis and human odor perception for better odor impact assessment and regulatory compliance.