Comprehensive Guide to Natural Gas Odorizers: Ensuring Safety and Efficiency
Updated: Sep 7
Natural gas odorizers introduce odorant into gas so a distinctive smell can support leak recognition under specified conditions. Odorization does not guarantee that every release will be perceived and does not replace combustible-gas detection, emergency procedures, or other required controls. This article reviews common odorizer methods and odorant categories.
Understanding Natural Gas Odorizers
Natural gas odorizers range from passive systems to controlled liquid-injection equipment. Capabilities vary by design: some systems can use gas-flow inputs, record operating data, or generate alarms, while others provide limited indication. A commanded dose or alarm does not by itself prove physical delivery or representative downstream detectability.
Types of Natural Gas Odorizers
Wick Type Odorizers:
These can be small enough to serve a single customer or large enough for a small town.
They use a wick similar to a kerosene lantern, drawing odorant into the gas stream.
Absorption Bypass Odorizers:
These systems take a portion of the gas stream and run it through a tank containing liquid odorant.
Variations may include wicks to increase vaporization.
Liquid Injection Type Odorizers:
Suitable for high-volume systems, these odorizers add small amounts of liquid odorant to the gas.
Modern versions use computer control to monitor flow rates and adjust injection rates.
Odorants Used in Natural Gas
Odorants vary by country and gas distribution regulations. They can be sulfur-containing or non-sulfur-containing.
Sulfur-Containing Odorants
tert-Butylthiol (TBM): Main ingredient in many gas odorant blends.
Tetrahydrothiophene (THT): Used in mixtures with TBM.
2-Propanethiol (IPM): Commonly used in mixtures with TBM.
Ethanethiol (EM): Used in liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), resembling the odor of leeks or cooked cabbage.
Methanethiol: Added to natural gas, reminiscent of rotten eggs or cabbage.
Dimethyl Sulfide (DMS): Found in the smell of certain vegetables and seafood.
Non-Sulfur-Containing Odorants
Methyl Acrylate (MA)
Ethyl Acrylate (EA)
Methylethyl Pyrazine: Found in foods like coffee and wines.
Odorizer selection should be based on flow range, pressure, operating states, odorant, signal and power availability, connections, monitoring, verification, alarms, documentation, and responsibility boundaries. Burgess Pipeline Services supports temporary odorization, deployment planning, field verification, and turnover documentation. Results remain project-specific, and BPS provides operational support rather than legal advice.
Related Reading
Odorizer Deployment Support
Temporary odorizer deployment should be scoped around gas flow, pressure, duration, signal availability, injection and sample points, odorant storage, monitoring, and turnover needs. See Temporary Natural Gas Odorization for project-specific field support.
Temporary Odorization Project Support
For outage, commissioning, bypass or supplemental-odorization planning, review Temporary Natural Gas Odorization. Project planning should define flow, pressure, connections, controls, odorant supply, verification locations, alarms, responsibilities and exit criteria.
