St. Croix Sensory is ISO/IEC 17025:2005 Accredited
Fecal Malodor
Reduction Efficacy Testing
Final Report – 17 November 2017
ReportPreparedfor:WashroomWizardLtdUnit1DentonWharfMarkLaneDA122QBGravesendUnitedKingdom
ReportPreparedby:St.CroixSensory,Inc.1150StillwaterBoulevardNorthStillwater,MN55082U.S.A.1‐800‐879‐[email protected]
DataReportNo.: 1731401
SamplesEvaluated:11/10/2017
KirstenWeissSensoryScientist
MichaelMcGinley,P.E.LaboratoryDirector
Fecal Malodor Reduction Efficacy Testing 17 November 2017
St. Croix Sensory, Inc. i
ExecutiveSummarySt.CroixSensory,Inc.wascontactedbyWashroomWizardLtdtoconductastudytodocumenttheperformanceoftheEcobreezeatreducingfecalmalodorsinacontrolled4‐hourtest.AlltestingwasconductedfollowingASTMInternationalstandardsandguidelinesincludingE1593‐13,StandardPracticeforAssessingtheEfficacyofAirCareProductsinReducingSensorilyPerceivedIndoorAirMalodorIntensityandprinciplesofConsumerSpecialtyProductsAssociation(CSPA)Standard,DeodorizationEfficacyAssessment–AScreeningMethod.TestingwasconductedinSt.CroixSensory’ssensorytestinglaboratoryutilizingeightstainlesssteelchambersofdimensions1.2x1.2x1.5m(2.16m3,80ft3)with0.5airexchangesperhourexhaust.Forthisstudy,fecalmalodorreductioneffectivenesswastestedwiththeEcobreezedeviceusingeitheracarbonfilteraloneorincombinationwithfragrance.Twentyassessors,trainedandexperiencedatproductandmaterialsensorytesting,evaluatedtestchambersattimezero,30‐minutes,1‐hour,2‐hours,3‐hours,and4‐hours.Theassessorscomparedthetestchamberstoareferencemalodorchamberandreportedthedegreeofdifferenceinmalodorlevelutilizingmagnitudeestimation(ASTME1697).Theyalsoreportedtheoverallodorintensity(ASTME544)andhedonictone,andcompletedodorcharacterprofilesofthetestchambers.Tocapturedifferencesinperformance,theEcobreezedeviceswerechallengedwithafecalmalodoratastrongintensitylevel,beyondthatexpectedinnormalrestroomenvironments,whichremainedinthetestchambersduringtheentire4‐hourtest.TheEcobreezedevicewithbothacarbonfilterandfragrancehadthebestperformanceoverallwithmalodorreductionscoresaslowas11.4within30‐minutes(89%reductioninthestrongfecalmalodor)andbetween1.7and3.1(morethan95%reduction)fortheremainderofthetest.Theseresultswerestatisticallydifferentfromthemalodorcontrolandthedeviceswithcarbonfiltersaloneatalltimepointswhenthedeviceswererunning.Thedevicewiththecarbonfilterandfragrancealsohadthemostchangeinodorcharactersandthemostpleasanthedonictonevalues.TheEcobreezedeviceswithcarbonfiltersalone(nofragrance)alsoprovidedasignificantreductioninthestrongfecalmalodor(10.0–23.4),adecreaseinthesulfur(fecal)character,andanimprovementinthehedonictonewhencomparedtothemalodorcontrol.
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IntroductionSt.CroixSensory,Inc.isasensoryevaluationandtrainingcenterlocatedinStillwater,Minnesotaspecializinginodorevaluationofodorousair,materials,andconsumerproducts.WashroomWizardLtdcontractedSt.CroixSensorytoconductastudytodocumenttheperformanceoftheEcobreezedeviceatreducingfecalmalodorsinacontrolled4‐hourexperimentfollowingASTMInternationalE1593‐13,StandardPracticeforAssessingtheEfficacyofAirCareProductsinReducingSensorilyPerceivedIndoorAirMalodorIntensityandprinciplesofConsumerSpecialtyProductsAssociation(CSPA)method,DeodorizationEfficacyAssessment–AScreeningMethod.MethodologyTestProceduresWashroomWizardLtdprovidedSt.CroixSensorywiththeEcobreezedevices,carbonfilters,andTropicalHeavenfragrance.StainlesssteeltestchambersatSt.CroixSensorywereutilizedforthistesting(seeFigure1).Eachidenticalchamberis1.2x1.2x1.5m(2.16m3,80ft3)withasniffingport,variousaccesstestports,anexhaustventilationsystem,andanaccesshatch.Thechambersoperatedwith0.5airexchangesperhourexhaust.
Figure 1. Four of the stainless steel chambers utilized for malodor reduction efficacy testing at St. Croix Sensory, Inc. The chambers are all identical 1.2x1.2x1.5m boxes with a sniffing port in the center on the front, multiple testing ports also on the front, two access and exhaust ports on the top, and an access hatch on the front. An exhaust system on top of the chambers is used to purge the chambers at the end of each test.
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Areferencechamberwaspreparedwiththefecalmalodor.Additionalchamberswerepreparedwithmalodoralone(control)ormalodorplustheEcobreezedevicewitheitheracarbonfilteroracarbonfilterandfragrance.Thefollowingwasthechamberdesignforthetest: Chamber1:MalodorReference Chamber2:MalodorControl Chamber3:Malodor+DevicewithCarbonFilterA Chamber4:Malodor+DevicewithCarbonFilterB(replicate) Chamber5:Malodor+DevicewithCarbonFilter+FragranceFecalMalodorSyntheticbathroommalodorusedforthistestingisarecipeoriginallypublishedbytheU.S.GovernmentServicesAdministrationasSpecificationFA200‐5,commonlyreferredtoas“GSABathroom”.ThisGSAbathroommalodorwasdilutedto5%dipropyleneglycolsolutionforthistest.Approximately2.5gramsofthemalodorsolutionwaspipettedonto5‐cmx5‐cmcellulosepads.Eachpadwasplacedinanaluminumweighboatandset,uncovered,inthecenterofeachtestchambertwohoursbeforetheteststarttime.Themalodorremainedinthechambersfortheentiretestperiod.Notethismalodorsourceisintendedtocreateastrongintensityfecalmalodor.Thelevelisstrongerthanexpectedinanormalbathroominordertoallowdifferentiationinproducttrials(i.e.carbononlyvscarbonwithfragrance).ProductApplicationTheEcobreezedevices,settorunconstantlyonamediumfanspeed,werehunginthecenterofasidewallintheirassignedtestchambersimmediatelyuponcompletionoftheodorevaluationsattimezero.Thedeviceswerepluggedinanditwasdeterminedthatthegreenlightcameonbeforeclosingthechamberaccesshatches.Thechamberaccesshatcheswerealsoopenedonthereferenceandmalodorcontrolchambersforasimilartime(20‐seconds)forconsistency.Assessorsevaluatedthechambers30minutesafteralldeviceswereplacedinthetestchambersandagainat1‐hour,2‐hours,3‐hours,and4‐hours.OdorEvaluationsThisodorstudywasconductedfollowingASTMInternationalE1593‐13,StandardPracticeforAssessingtheEfficacyofAirCareProductsinReducingSensorilyPerceivedIndoorAirMalodorIntensityalongwithbasicprinciplesofCSPA,DeodorizationEfficacyAssessment–AScreeningMethod.TheASTMStandardisageneralpractice,whichallowsforcustomizingprocedurestothespecificproductbeingtested.TheCSPAstandardprovidesamoredetailedprocedurebasedontheASTMmethod,however,specificparametersarestilldeterminedbasedonthegoalsofthetesting.Alltestchamberswereevaluatedbyapaneloftwentyassessorswhodeterminedthelevelofmalodorrelativetothereferencechamber,theoverallodorintensityofthechamber,and
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odorcharacterizationparameters.Allassessorsaretrainedandexperiencedinthetechniquesandproceduresofodorevaluation.Assessorsarenotgivenanyinformationabouttheodorsamplesbeingpresentedincludingthetreatmenttypeorproperties.ThechamberswerepresentedtoassessorsfollowingaLatinSquaredesign.Thisdesignalternatestheorderofsamplepresentationsochambersareobservedinvaryingsequence.Assessorspauseatleast30‐secondsbetweentheevaluationofthereferencechamberandanyofthetestchambers.MalodorIntensityMalodorintensitywasevaluatedfollowingaprocedurecalled“MagnitudeEstimation.”ThismethodisdetailedinASTMInternationalE1697‐05,StandardTestMethodforUnipolarMagnitudeEstimationofSensoryAttributes.Magnitudeestimationisaprocedurewheretheintensityofoneodorsampleiscomparedtoanothersample.Forexample,theassessorwouldbepresentedodorsampleA.Theassessorwouldgivetheintensityofthisodoranarbitraryvaluesuchas“100.”TheassessorwouldthenbepresentedwithsampleB,andtheywouldprovidearatingbasedonsampleA.Therefore,ifsampleBwereperceivedashalfasintenseassampleA,theassessorwouldgivesampleBanintensityof“50.”Thismethodisdifficulttocompareacrossmanyodors.Itisbestsuitedforcomparingsimilarodors.Forthisstudy,theassessorsevaluatedareferencemalodoronlychamberandwereinstructedthatthisreferencesamplehadamalodorintensityof“100.”Theassessorsthenevaluatedtheothersamplesbasedonthisreference.Theassessorshadpreviouslybeentrainedtoignoreotherodorspresent,suchasthefragrance,andonlyevaluatetheintensityofthemalodorpresent.Iftheythoughtaspecificodorsamplehadamalodorintensitythatwashalfasintenseasthereference,thentheygavethesampleavalueof“50,”regardlessoftheintensityofotherodorspresent.WholeOdorIntensityWholeodorintensityevaluations(suprathresholdintensity)utilizen‐butanolasareferenceodorantfollowingASTMInternationalE544‐10,StandardPracticeforReferencingSuprathresholdOdorIntensity.Aneight(8)levelintensityscaleisutilizedandispresentedtotheassessorswiththeIITRIDynamicDilutionBinaryOlfactometer(“ButanolWheel”).Theeightlevelsoftheintensityscaleare:
1. 12ppmn‐butanol2. 24ppmn‐butanol3. 48ppmn‐butanol4. 97ppmn‐butanol5. 194ppmn‐butanol6. 388ppmn‐butanol7. 775ppmn‐butanol8. 1,550ppmn‐butanol
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Theassessorsassesstheodorfromthetestchamberandcomparedthispresentationtothe8‐pointn‐butanolscale.Theodorintensityisreportedasthen‐butanolconcentrationequivalentinpartspermillion.Forthistypeoftesting,wholeodorintensitycanhelptoconfirmtheperformanceofanaircareproduct.Areductioninmalodorwithoutanyfragranceshouldcoincidewithareductioninthewholeodorintensity.However,ifafragranceisintroducedfromtheaircareproduct,theodorintensitymayincrease.Itcanthenhelptoreviewodorcharacterprofilingresultsinordertounderstandthecompletepicture.OdorCharacterizationDescriptiveanalysisisasensorysciencetermusedtodescribetheactionofapanelofassessorsdescribingattributesaboutaproductorsample(qualitative)andscalingtheintensityoftheseattributes(quantitative).Odorcharacter,oftencalledodorquality,isdefinedusingreferencevocabulary.Standardpracticeistoprovideassessorswithastandardlistofdescriptorterms.OneexampleofsuchlistsistheASTMInternationalpublicationD‐61,AtlasofOdorCharacterProfiles.Forthistesting,thefollowingodorcharacterdescriptorswereutilized:
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Whenanodordescriptorisassignedtoanodor,theyareratedbyassessorsforrelativeintensityona0to5,fainttostrong,scale(0=notpresent).Theodortestingdescriptordataarethenplottedonaspiderplot(radarplot)withthedistancealongeachaxisrepresentingthe0‐5scaleforeachofthecategories.Theplotcreatesapatternthatcanbereadilycomparedtospiderplotsforothersamples.Specificodordescriptorsarealsopresentedinahistogramwhereeachreporteddescriptorislistedwiththepercentofreportingassessors.HedonicToneHedonicToneisasubjectiveparameterofodorevaluations.Assessorsratethepleasantness/unpleasantnessoftheodorsamplebasedonascaleof–10(mostunpleasantodortheyhaveexperienced)to+10(mostpleasantodortheyhaveexperienced).Azerorepresentsaneutralodorwheretheassessorhasnoopinionabouttheodorbeingeitherpleasantorunpleasant.Morevariabilitywillexistinhedonictoneresultsbetweenteststhanforotherodorparameterssincetheresultsdependdirectlyonthespecificassessorsmakingtheobservationsandtheirpersonalexperienceswithodorsintheirlifetime.Furthermore,thehedonictonevaluesprovidedbythetrainedassessorsfromthisprojectshouldnotbeconsideredtorepresenttheopinionsofthegeneralpopulation,theyshouldsimplybeusedforcomparingthechangeinunpleasantnessofthemalodorinthetestchambers.ResultsandDiscussionFecalMalodorResultsTable1providesalistingofthemagnitudeestimationmalodorratingsattimezero,30‐minutes,1‐hour,2‐hours,3‐hours,and4‐hoursforallproducts.Ananalysisofvariance(ANOVA)wasruntocompareperformancealongwithapost‐hocFisher’sLeastSignificantDifference(LSD)test.Superscriptsandcolorareusedtodisplaystatisticalsignificance.Figure2displaystheseresultsingraphicalform.Themagnitudeestimationvaluecanbeviewedasapercentperceivedreductionrelativetothemalodorlevelatthegiventimeperiod,soavalueof25wouldrepresentaperceivedmalodorlevelapproximately75%lessthanthemalodorchamberatthattime.AttimezerowithnoEcobreezedevicesrunning,themalodorscoresrangedfrom78.3to88.3andwerenotsignificantlydifferent.Oncethedeviceswerestarted,theEcobreezedevicewithbothacarbonfilterandfragrancehadthelowestmalodorscoresacrossalltimepoints,withscoresrangingfrom1.7at1‐hourto11.4at30‐minutes.Themalodorscoresforthereplicatesofadevicewithacarbonfilteronlyrangedfrom10.0at2‐hoursto23.4at30‐minutesandwereallsignificantlylowerthanthemalodorcontrolchamber.
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Table 1. Average assessor ratings of perceived malodor compared to reference chamber (100) for products tested with fecal malodor. Each time period was compared to malodor reference at that time.
abcdthesamelettersuperscriptandcolorcodingwithinacolumnarenotsignificantlydifferentasdeterminedbyaFisher'sleastsignificantdifference(LSD)test.
Figure 2. Fecal malodor reduction from all products based on magnitude estimation evaluation over the 4-hour testing time. Each time period is compared to the malodor reference at that given time.
WholeOdorIntensityResultsTable2providesthewholeodorintensityratingsattimezero,30‐minutes,1‐hour,2‐hours,3‐hours,and4‐hoursforallproducts.Ananalysisofvariance(ANOVA)wasruntocompareperformancealongwithapost‐hocFisher’sLeastSignificantDifference(LSD)test.Superscriptsandcolorareusedtodisplaystatisticalsignificance.Figure3providesagraphicalsummaryofthewholeodorintensityevaluationsoverthe4‐hourtestingtime.Figure3displaystheseresultsingraphicalform.AttimezerowithnoEcobreezedevicesrunning,theoverallintensityscoresrangedfrom70.3to114.2ppmn‐butanolandwerenotsignificantlydifferent.Theintensityscores
0‐hour 30‐Min 1‐hour 2‐hour 3‐hour 4‐hourMalodorControl 88.3a 90.2a 90.5a 90.7a 91.0a 92.5a
CarbonA 78.6a 18.6b 15.1b 20.6b 21.8b 18.5b
CarbonB 78.3a 23.4bc 17.5b 10.0c 16.1b 11.2bc
Carbon+Fragrance 85.1a 11.4c 1.7c 2.7d 2.4c 3.1c
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rangedfrom83.9to102.6ppmn‐butanolforthemalodorcontroland125.4to189.1fortheEcobreezedevicewithbothacarbonfilterandfragrance.Thesescoreswerenotsignificantlydifferentatanytimepointwiththeexceptionof3‐hours.Thescoresforthereplicatecarbononlychambersweresignificantlylowerthanboththemalodorcontrolandthedevicewithacarbonfilterandfragranceatalltimepoints.Table 2. Average perceived whole odor intensity of chamber odors.
abcthesamelettersuperscriptandcolorcodingwithinacolumnarenotsignificantlydifferentasdeterminedbyaFisher'sleastsignificantdifference(LSD)test.
Figure 3. Perceived whole odor intensity (ppm n-butanol) of test chambers during the 4-hour fecal malodor reduction test.
0‐hour 30‐Min 1‐hour 2‐hour 3‐hour 4‐hourMalodorControl 114.2a 95.2a 102.6a 93.9a 83.9b 92.7a
CarbonA 75.4a 21.1b 19.9b 23.5b 19.0c 16.6b
CarbonB 70.3a 26.0b 23.6b 14.6b 16.6c 12.1b
Carbon+Fragrance 108.0a 125.4a 174.4a 189.1a 183.0a 140.0a
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HedonicToneResultsFigure4summarizesthehedonictoneresultsassociatedwiththefecalmalodorevaluationswithallproducts.Thehedonictonescoresrangedfrom+0.3to‐5.2duringthe4‐hourtest.TheEcobreezedevicewithbothacarbonfilterandfragrancehadthemostneutralhedonictonevaluesbetween30‐minutesand4‐hours(+0.3to‐0.2).Figure 4. Hedonic tone values reported for the test chambers during the 4-hour fecal malodor reduction test.
OdorCharacterizationResultsFigures5through10providesummariesoftheodorcharacterizationofthefecalmalodorreductiontestwithallproductsattimezero,30‐minutes,1‐hour,2‐hours,3‐hours,and4‐hours.ThegraphicsdisplaythemeanvalueofthereportedrelativestrengthforthetworeplicatesoftheEcobreezedevicewithacarbonfilteronly.Sulfur(includingfecal)wasthepredominantcharacterdescriptorforallchambersattimezero(withnodevicesrunning),andforthemalodorcontrolatalltimes.Sulfur(fecal)wasstillpresentbutreducedfortheEcobreezedeviceswithcarbonfiltersonlybetween30minutesand4‐hours.FruitbecamethepredominantcharacterdescriptorfortheEcobreezedevicewithbothacarbonfilterandfragranceduringthesametimepoints.
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Figure 5. Odor character profile at time zero for all samples during fecal malodor reduction test. The results of the Ecobreeze device with carbon are the means of two replicate samples.
Figure 6. Odor character profile at 30-minutes for all samples during fecal malodor reduction test. The results of the Ecobreeze device with carbon are the means of two replicate samples.
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Figure 7. Odor character profile at 1-hours for all samples during fecal malodor reduction test. The results of the Ecobreeze device with carbon are the means of two replicate samples.
Figure 8. Odor character profile at 2-hours for all samples during fecal malodor reduction test. The results of the Ecobreeze device with carbon are the means of two replicate samples.
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Figure 9. Odor character profile at 3-hours for all samples during fecal malodor reduction test. The results of the Ecobreeze device with carbon are the means of two replicate samples.
Figure 10. Odor character profile at 4-hours for all samples during fecal malodor reduction test. The results of the Ecobreeze device with carbon are the means of two replicate samples.
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SummaryandConclusionsSt.CroixSensory,Inc.wascontactedbyWashroomWizardLtdtoconductastudytodocumenttheperformanceoftheEcobreezeatreducingfecalmalodorsinacontrolled4‐hourtest.AlltestingwasconductedfollowingASTMInternationalstandardsandguidelinesincludingE1593‐13,StandardPracticeforAssessingtheEfficacyofAirCareProductsinReducingSensorilyPerceivedIndoorAirMalodorIntensityandprinciplesofConsumerSpecialtyProductsAssociation(CSPA)Standard,DeodorizationEfficacyAssessment–AScreeningMethod.TestingwasconductedinSt.CroixSensory’ssensorytestinglaboratoryutilizingeightstainlesssteelchambersofdimensions1.2x1.2x1.5m(2.16m3,80ft3)with0.5airexchangesperhourexhaust.Forthisstudy,fecalmalodorreductioneffectivenesswastestedwiththeEcobreezedeviceusingeitheracarbonfilteraloneorincombinationwithfragrance.Twentyassessors,trainedandexperiencedatproductandmaterialsensorytesting,evaluatedtestchambersattimezero,30‐minutes,1‐hour,2‐hours,3‐hours,and4‐hours.Theassessorscomparedthetestchamberstoareferencemalodorchamberandreportedthedegreeofdifferenceinmalodorlevelutilizingmagnitudeestimation(ASTME1697).Theyalsoreportedtheoverallodorintensity(ASTME544)andhedonictone,andcompletedodorcharacterprofilesofthetestchambers.Tocapturedifferencesinperformance,theEcobreezedeviceswerechallengedwithafecalmalodoratastrongintensitylevel,beyondthatexpectedinnormalrestroomenvironments,whichremainedinthetestchambersduringtheentire4‐hourtest.TheEcobreezedevicewithbothacarbonfilterandfragrancehadthebestperformanceoverallwithmalodorreductionscoresaslowas11.4within30‐minutes(89%reductioninthestrongfecalmalodor)andbetween1.7and3.1(morethan95%reduction)fortheremainderofthetest.Theseresultswerestatisticallydifferentfromthemalodorcontrolandthedeviceswithcarbonfiltersaloneatalltimepointswhenthedeviceswererunning.Thedevicewiththecarbonfilterandfragrancealsohadthemostchangeinodorcharactersandthemostpleasanthedonictonevalues.TheEcobreezedeviceswithcarbonfiltersalone(nofragrance)alsoprovidedasignificantreductioninthestrongfecalmalodor(10.0–23.4),adecreaseinthesulfur(fecal)character,andanimprovementinthehedonictonewhencomparedtothemalodorcontrol.ThisreportisintendedtoprovideresultsandinterpretationofthefecalmalodorreductionperformancetestingworkperformedbySt.CroixSensoryon10November2017.PleasecontactSt.CroixSensorywithanyadditionalquestionsabouttestingandrelatedresults.
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