This study investigated the correlation between compound malodor and total hydrocarbons (THC) to evaluate the potential use of THC as a predictor of compound malodor. A total of 87 samples were analyzed from five target facilities: two petrochemical manufacturing facilities (A, B), a wastewater treatment facility (C), a recycled plastic injection molding facility (D), and a surfactant manufacturing facility (E). The correlation coefficients of compound malodor and THC for each facility were as follows: A: 0.6698, B: 0.8068, C: –0.2767, D: 0.2071, and E: 0.7695. The correlation coefficient for all facilities was 0.5634, indicating a weak correlation. The coefficients of determination for the regression analysis to predict the compound malodor for facilities A, B, and E were 0.4093, 0.6316, and 0.5695, respectively, which validated the results of the correlation analysis. These values improved to 0.8394, 0.6941, and 0.7476 in the multiple regression analysis with the VOC analysis results added as independent variables. Therefore, it is expected that THC measurement that considers the characteristics of the facility can be used to establish a systematic odor management plan.

In this study, a THC removal system was developed using an oxidation catalyst to solve the problems of the existing thermal oxidation methods, RTO and RCO. In addition, this system was applied to industrial sites to confirm the VOCs removal efficiency. As a result of testing to remove THC and VOCs by applying the reaction system for THC removal in industrial sites, the THC removal efficiency range is between 99.5% and 99.9%. The treatment efficiency of individual VOCs treated through this system was the lowest at 79.0% for methylethylketone and the highest at 91.3% for acetaldehyde, and the average treatment efficiency was about 85.4%. From these numbers, the performance was superior to the existing RTO and RCO systems that showed THC removal performance. This is due to the fact that the oxidation reaction of the oxidation catalyst is a very fast catalyst surface reaction, and the characteristics of the catalytic oxidation reaction are complete oxidation and oxidation reaction under rarefied conditions. In this study, the catalyst role in the reaction system for THC removal is to process THC simultaneously with the system heat source. This is believed to be because the reaction of the oxidation catalyst is a strongly exothermic reaction and can sufficiently provide the amount of heat necessary for the system. At the same time, an oxidation reaction that breaks the bonds of the THC component also occurs. This reaction is a strong exothermic reaction, which can help the system maintain a high temperature during the reaction, and is considered an effective system for processing high concentrations of THC in actual industrial sites where THC concentrations are high, as in this study.