Olores.org Newsletter February 2026

   The 24h‑MOM organization would like to remind the odour research community that the call for the 2026–2027 Travel Awards for Odour Conferences is still open. These grants aim to support PhD students wishing to attend odour‑related conferences, workshops, or advanced courses during 2026 and 2027, fostering participation and knowledge exchange among young researchers.

   A total of four (4) individual awards of 1,100 € each are available to help cover travel, registration, accommodation, and other related expenses. Candidates should be pursuing doctoral studies in fields such as environmental, chemical, or electronic engineering, environmental sciences, chemistry, biotechnology, microbiology, air quality, or water and waste management.

   The Air & Waste Management Association (A&WMA) has recently published the provisional program for its second specialty Odor Management Conference: Principles, Policy, and Public Impacts. Scheduled for May 12-14, 2026, at the Radisson Blu Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota, the event builds on the success of the 2024 Toronto conference and covers key topics like odor science, chemical forensics, field assessments, electronic sensing, sampling methods, policy, modeling, controls, mitigation, community impacts, and best practices.

   This conference promises new insights into odor management from global experts. Read on for details on webinars, tours, and sessions that could expand your odor knowledge.

   The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) has issued an open call for experts to take part in the development of a new IEEE P2520.2.2 Standard on Landfill Odor Monitoring Devices and Systems. This new Working Group will be chaired by Susan Schiffman, Adjunct Professor in Biomedical Engineering at UNC/NCSU, and a very well-known odor expert. The organization seeks volunteers for this new standard.

   Landfills smell. A lot. And sometimes they produce an impact on the people living nearby. For any odor manager, this type of facility is always challenging. But can we monitor their odor impact electronically? Is methane an adequate surrogate? Are MOX sensors adequate for the task? 

   VDI/VDE 3518 Part 4 is a new technical guideline that defines standardized test procedures and test-gas mixtures for VOC detectors used in indoor air quality (IAQ) measurements. Titled "Multigas sensors – Standardized test instructions and test gases for VOC detectors for indoor air quality measurement" it was published in April 2025 under ICS 71.040.40. This 42-page guideline aims to ensure that VOC-detector measurements are comparable and reproducible across different sensor technologies and manufacturers.

   The guideline is primarily aimed at manufacturers of VOC detectors and multi-gas sensors, testing laboratories, certification bodies, and experts in indoor air hygiene and building services engineering. It provides a framework for evaluating sensor performance, including sensitivity, selectivity, response time, and long-term stability. By defining standardized environmental conditions, gas mixture compositions, and test sequences, VDI/VDE 3518 Part 4 establishes a methodology designed to enable more reliable assessments of indoor air quality. Does it succeed? Read on to find out.

   The 11th IWA Conference on Odours and Air Emissions, themed “Where Scent Meets Science: Malaysia Hosts the IWA Odour World Conference,” will take place from November 2-5, 2026, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This (usually) biennial event, organized under the International Water Association, continues a legacy started in 2001 in Sydney, bringing together global experts to tackle odour measurement, regulation, mitigation technologies, and air emission challenges in wastewater, industry, agriculture, and biosolids management.

   For more on the conference details and how to get involved...

  Sponsored Content  

GC-IMS is no longer “just” an interesting technique for odour work – it is becoming the reference backbone for serious, defensible environmental odour analysis. Around the world, leading labs and consultants are quietly adding it to their toolbox and discovering how much more robust, fast and objective their odour assessments can become. GC-IMS (Gas Chromatography – Ion Mobility Spectrometry) delivers 2D separation, sub‑ppbv sensitivity and rugged, portable hardware that goes where the odour problem really is: at the stack, on the boundary, in the plant. With IMS operating at ambient pressure using a Tritium beta source (IAEA/EURATOM exempt, no licence required) and water-based reagent ions, you avoid vacuum systems, fragmentation and the associated dilution effects, while still obtaining direct, high‑quality VOC fingerprints you can correlate with sensory data.​

   For years, odour units have been accepted but often questioned by operators, regulators and neighbours because they lack chemical transparency. GC-IMS changes that equation by measuring real VOC fingerprints in gas samples at sub‑ppm level with orthogonal GC+IMS separation, providing high selectivity across a wide range of volatiles. The instruments are compact and rugged, can be integrated in mobile labs or vans with an on‑board nitrogen generator, and need only mains power on‑site. Instead of discussing “odour annoyance” in abstract terms, you can present two‑dimensional plots, peaks and fingerprints that clearly differentiate sources and operating conditions.​