Environmental Odor Analysis

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

Real-time SIFT-MS analysis enables comprehensive characterization of odor sources

SIFT-MS is an ideal instrument for simply and quantitatively characterizing odor sources in diverse industries and applications. Once characterized, odor issues can be detected immediately and traced back to the source, leading to faster issue resolution. The figure shows odor compounds identified from the emission sources at a gelatin factory. The odor sources have very different emission profiles, facilitating remote identification of each odor source when odor issues arise.

Odorants arising from odor different sources in a gelatin factory (notice that the concentration axis is logarithmic).

Odor Analysis benefits

Comprehensive analysis of inorganics and chromatographically challenging compounds

High sensitivity and wide linearity range for all odor compounds

Mobile instrument solutions

Real-time and high-throughput analysis options

Appropriate for laboratory, on-site, and mobile applications

Sample Customers


Odor Analysis resources

Application Note

Real-Time Ambient Air Monitoring Campaigns Using SIFT-MS

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.

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Brochure

Environmental Solutions Utilizing SIFT-MS

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. 

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Brochure

Measure Ethylene OxIde In Real-Time

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.

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Webinar

Sensory Analysis of Wastewater Odor with SIFT-MS

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.

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Application Note

Rapid, Comprehensive Landfill Gas Analysis Using SIFT-MS

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

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Webinar

Enhanced Environmental Monitoring 1: Fenceline and Odor 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
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Brochure

SIFT-MS Selected Ion Flow Tube Mass Spectrometry

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. 

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Application Note

Odor Characterization at a Gelatin Factory Using SIFT-MS

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.

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Application Note

Paperboard Volatiles 3 - Odor Rating

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.

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Brochure

Food, Flavor & Fragrance Solutions

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.

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Webinar

The SIFT-MS Automation Series: Episode 5 Continuous Headspace Analysis… and Beyond and R&D laboratories.

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.

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Webinar

A Sensory Expert Shares His Experience with 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.

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Application Note

Rapid Odor Screening of Paperboard Using Static Headspace-SIFT-MS

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.

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Application Note

Syft Tracer: The Next Generation of Volatile Impurities Analysis for Enhanced Workflows

This app note introduces the next generation of SIFT-MS, Syft TracerTM, 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.

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Document

Recent developments and applications of selected ion flow tube mass spectrometry (SIFT‐MS)

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. 

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Document

SIFT-MS: Quantifying the Volatiles You Smell . . . and the Toxics You Don’t

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).

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Webinar

The Latest Innovation of Real-Time, High-Throughput Volatile Impurities Analysis by SIFT-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.

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Application Note

Revolutionary Productivity For Volatile Residue and Impurity Analysis

This application note describes a scenario in which Syft TracerTM replaces five chromatography systems and still has significant available sample capacity. SIFT-MS provides rapid, chromatography-free analysis that revolutionizes multiple workflows.

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Application Note

Wastewater Odor Analysis by SIFT-MS

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.

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Application Note

Rapid Sensory Analysis of Paper Packaging Using SIFT-MS

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.

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Whitepaper

Revolutionizing Volatile Impurities Analysis Through Next Gen SIFT-MS

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. 

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Webinar

Fast, Simple Quantitation of Odors by SIFT-MS

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.

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Application Note

Improved MHE-SIFT-MS Workflows - Concentration Independent MHE Calibration

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.

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Application Note

Rapid Untargeted Screening of Food and Ingredient Aroma Using SIFT-MS

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.

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Application Note

Odor Analysis at Gelatin Factory Using SIFT-MS

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.

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Webinar

Syft Contributes Real-Time VOC Data to Aeroparts VOC Ozone Converter Bleed Air Study

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.

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