Also like maskers, olfactory saturants leave the unpleasant odor in place. Odor absorbers trap odors. Odor absorbers offer the advantage of physically dealing with the unpleasant airborne gaseous molecules by capturing them. Absorbers are disadvantageous in that all of the air bearing the unpleasant gaseous odor molecules must pass through a sufficient quantity of absorber material for the odor to be captured effectively. This requires mechanical air movement and filtration devices which require periodic and often expensive replacement of odor absorbing material.
Enzyme digestion is a biological process which acts directly on odor producing.
Of the traditional and contemporary deodorizing concepts, only enzyme digestion acts directly on odor- producing liquids and solids to eliminate odor at the source. Unfortunately, enzyme digestion is a very slow process. Further, the biological nature of enzyme digestion and its method of action limits its uses. It is most commonly used to deal with large, commercial quantities of odoriferous waste. It is important to note only one of the four deodorizer methods actually eliminates odors.