[thuanh]

I usually throwed the banana skin into my paper-dustbin( it doesn't have a lid) everything was alright.But once, I throwed corncob into the same dustbin, the corncob gave out a bad smell. Can anybody tell me the difference in chemical component between bananaskin and corncob , because of which, two things smell differently like that.
And by the way , please tell me some gases that have stinking smell ( something like H2S)

[enahs]

http://mc2.cchem.berkeley.edu/Smells/

That is for your second question.

the gas products were 27–40.96% (wt%)

...

The gas products were analyzed by gas chromatography (GC) as CO2, CO, H2, CH4, C2H4, C3H6, C3H8, etc.

Long URL

This all makes sense, as corn is most likely composed of mostly cellulose.


So I am not sure what you smelled. It might not have anything to do with the decomposition of the corn cob and the chemicals produced, but with the bacteria responsible for it, or critters munchin' down on it. There also might have been some trace amounts of alcohols produced, depending on what exactly was causing the decomposition, and that might have been what you smelled.


This was hardly a scientific "experiment"  and as such no empirical definitive conclusions can really be made.

Plus, I know so little about corn and bananas beside that they taste good, to come up with anything better! Anybody else?

[thuanh]

The smell of the corncob is putrid.
I saw the list of some smelly substance  in the first web you introduced to me ,
It doesn't seem to be anything smell like the rotting corncob .

[profmsg]

most of the odours are due to the microbial species. different species gorw well in different medias. obviously banan decaying species is different that with corn. so why dont you take it to micro lab and carry out some identification test

[Sam (NG)]

I have a few more to add to the smelly gases (or liquid vapours) list:

Ammonia
Nitrogen Dioxide
Benzeneselenol (Selenaphenol)
And from recent experience 4-(pyridin-4-yl)-1,3-dithiol-2-one (more often abbreviated to 4-pedt) (yay working in a sulfur lab).

[constant thinker]

I didn't see butanoic acid (butyric acid) in that list.
         Smells like... Rancid cheese and vomit.

Or how about methanethiol commonly called methyl mercaptan(something like that).
         Smells like... Rotting cabbage.
(methanethiol probably isn't the proper chemical name)

[profmsg]

hey Sam (UoN)  ! why dont you add hydrogen sulfide in your list which smells fart 

[thuanh]

I didn't see butanoic acid (butyric acid) in that list.
         Smells like... Rancid cheese and vomit.

Or how about methanethiol commonly called methyl mercaptan(something like that).
         Smells like... Rotting cabbage.
(methanethiol probably isn't the proper chemical name)

rotting cabbage smells like rotting corncob, doesn't it?

[Sam (NG)]

hey Sam (UoN)  ! why dont you add hydrogen sulfide in your list which smells fart 

Because it was in enahs' link.

[thuanh]

I have a few more to add to the smelly gases (or liquid vapours) list:

Ammonia
Nitrogen Dioxide
Benzeneselenol (Selenaphenol)
And from recent experience 4-(pyridin-4-yl)-1,3-dithiol-2-one (more often abbreviated to 4-pedt) (yay working in a sulfur lab).

Can you tell me how do they smell , or what do they smell like . I knew how ammonia and nitrogen dioxide smell.

[Sam (NG)]

I don't have first hand experience of Benzeneselenol, but a spillage caused evacuation of the chemistry department.

4-pedt smells like rotting garlic.

[profmsg]

why no one put the acetic acid which has very very storng pugent smell.

[Sam (NG)]

why no one put the acetic acid which has very very storng pugent smell.

Because it was in enahs' link.