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Emissions of volatile organic compounds from maize residue open burning in the northern region of Thailand
... PAHs (both in particulate and gaseous phases) are deemed the most concerning due to their carcinogenic and mutagenic potential to human health (Kaur et al., 2021;Pham et al., 2019;Samae et al., 2021). VOCs are also considerable concern because of their photochemical reactions in the troposphere to form ozone (O 3 ) and secondary organic aerosol (SOA) (Sirithian et al., 2018). Given their significant roles in forming nitrate and sulfates aerosols, gaseous pollutants such as NO x and SO 2 are comparable to PAHs and VOCs in environmental pollution caused by RSOB (Seinfeld &Pandis 2006). ...
... EFs of all 10 VOCs in this study are much lower than those in the studies in USA, Thailand and China (Andreae 2019;Li et al., 2009;Sirithian et al., 2018). This can be explained as that because EF VOCs are inversely proportional to the MCEs, the increase of MCE means that the total carbon is mainly released in the form of CO 2 (Inomata et al., 2015;Sirithian et al., 2018). ...
... EFs of all 10 VOCs in this study are much lower than those in the studies in USA, Thailand and China (Andreae 2019;Li et al., 2009;Sirithian et al., 2018). This can be explained as that because EF VOCs are inversely proportional to the MCEs, the increase of MCE means that the total carbon is mainly released in the form of CO 2 (Inomata et al., 2015;Sirithian et al., 2018). The high value of MCE (>0.9) was observed in all experiments, resulting in lower EF VOCs than that in mentioned studies. ...
This study was conducted to determine the emission factors (EF) of air pollutants from rice straw open burning (RSOB) in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam. The carbon balance method and emission ratio were applied to determine the EF from field experiments for particulate matter (PM including TSP, PM10, and PM2.5), PM-bound PAHs, VOCs, CO2, NO2, and SO2. The EFs (g.kg⁻¹) of PM and gaseous pollutants were 12.1 ± 0.3 for PM2.5, 13.6 ± 2.6 for PM10, and 15.5 ± 3.5 for TSP, 1247 ± 190 for CO2, 1.4 ± 0.3 for SO2, and 1.3 ± 0.3 for NO2. The EFs (mg.kg⁻¹) of the 16 particle-bound PAHs were 12.8 ± 2.5 for PM10, 12.5 ± 2.8 for TSP, in which, the EFs (mg.kg⁻¹) of carcinogenic PAHs were 4.1 ± 0.9 for TSP and 4.3 ± 0.8 for PM10. EFVOCs was 10.7 mg kg⁻¹, in which, the EFBTEX (mg.kg⁻¹) was the dominant contributor to the EF of the total VOCs with 7.4 ± 2.7 mg kg⁻¹ (69%). Given the EFs obtained in this study, the estimated total emission from RSOB in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam in 2019 was 79.8 Gg for PM2.5, 90 Gg for PM10, 102.6 Gg for TSP, 70.8 Mg for VOCs, 82 Mg for TSP-bound PAHs, 85 Mg for PM10-bound PAHs, 8233.8 Gg for CO2, 9.1 Gg for SO2 and 8.7 Gg for NO2. These EFs could be used for the emission inventory of air pollutants from RSOB national and regional scales.
... The biomass burning processes reported in Inomata et al. (2015) only achieved relatively more smoldering conditions, while the processes in this study were completely smoldering. The differences among the EFs of methanol, acetaldehyde, acetone, MEK, benzene and toluene emitted from corn stalk burning and those reported in the literatures were 7-165 times (Sirithian et al., 2018). The EFs of formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, acetone and MEK emitted from sugarcane leaves burning were about 2000-5000 times higher than former studies (Zhang et al., 2013). ...
... The large discrepancies in these EFs could be explained by the combustion conditions and detection methods. Sirithian et al. (2018) and Zhang et al. (2013) simulated corn stalk and sugarcane leaves open burning in the laboratory respectively, and used GC-MS to detect VOCs emissions, different from this study. ...
... The ratios of other BB were 0.28-2.67, lower than those reported in literatures (Hedberg et al., 2002;Liu et al., 2008;Zhang et al., 2013;Inomata et al., 2015;Sirithian et al., 2018;Geng et al., 2019). It indicated that combustion condition is an important factor influencing the VOCs species ratios, which may bias the source identification result. ...
The absence of emission factors (EFs) with high-time resolution primarily hinders developing high time-resolution emission inventory for air pollutants, which further restricted the accuracy of air quality modeling, especially for a pollution process. The real-time emission concentration of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the combustion process of eleven kinds of residential biomass fuels (RBFs) were studied using a high-resolution proton-transfer-reaction time-of-flight mass spectrometer (PTR-TOF-MS). The dynamic EFs for 18 types of VOCs were firstly obtained with the records of fuel consuming amounts by a balance of high precision. The RBFs burning lasted for about 3–15 min for each experiment with 53–130 g fuels burned. The VOCs concentrations of biomass combustion varied in 0–10 ppm, and exhibited single peak values at about 1–4 min for the entire burning processes. Aldoketones accounted for the largest proportion of the 18 types of VOCs (46.6%–53.6%), followed by methanol (29.2%–44.6%) and alkene (26.2%–31.7%). The real-time EFs of VOCs from RBFs burning firstly decreased to the lowest value of 0.001–3.84 mg/g, and then increased to about 0.23–148 mg/g until the end of combustion processes. The VOCs EFs of all biomass combustion in flaming (1.65 ± 1.55 mg/g) were lower than those in smoldering (16.0 ± 11.3 mg/g). The benzene to toluene (B/T) ratios peaked at 100–200 s of biomass burning processes and changed in 0.07–4.06 for different burning stages. It should be noted that isoprene which was always regarded as the marker for VOCs emitted from biogenic evaporation, can also be released from biomass fuels burning, with real time EFs of 3.16 ± 5.16 mg/g. Its emission amounts and relative importance from combustion sources should be assessed. The high time-resolution of VOCs emission concentrations, emission factors and specific species ratios provide new datasets. They would be useful for dynamic source apportionment and developing high-time resolution emission inventory of VOCs.
... In particular, populous cities in China, India, Thailand and Vietnam have been suffering from some of the highest levels of air pollution in the world (Lelieveld et al., 2015). Moreover, air pollution emissions from major biomass burning episodes have had deleterious effects such as from peat, forest, and land clearing fires in Indonesia and Malaysia (Gaveau et al., 2014;Hayasaka et al., 2014;Mahmud, 2013;Reddington et al., 2014;Vadrevu et al., 2014), agricultural fires in continental South and Southeast Asia (Kim Oanh et al., 2018;Shi et al., 2018;Streets et al., 2003;Yadav et al., 2017). ...
... Otherwise, in maritime countries, their dry seasons is at the opposite time, which is from FebruaryeMarch for Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Brunei, and JuneeOctober for Indonesia and Timor Leste. The high AODs in March and October were associated with biomass burning months in SEA (Ahmed et al., 2016;Huang et al., 2013;Mahmud, 2005;Pani et al., 2018;Punsompong and Chantara, 2018;Sirithian et al., 2018) and Vietnam (Le et al., 2014;Tran et al., 2018). ...
Satellite observations for regional air quality assessment rely on comprehensive spatial coverage, and daily monitoring with reliable, cloud-free data quality. We investigated spatiotemporal variation and data quality of two global satellite Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) products derived from MODIS and VIIRS imagery. AOD is considered an essential atmospheric parameter strongly related to ground Particulate Matter (PM) in Southeast Asia (SEA). We analyze seasonal variation, urban/rural area influence, and biomass burning effects on atmospheric pollution. Validation indicated a strong relationship between AERONET ground AOD and both MODIS AOD (R2 = 0.81) and VIIRS AOD (R2 = 0.68). The monthly variation of satellite AOD and AERONET AOD reflects two seasonal trends of air quality separately for mainland countries including Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Taiwan, Hong Kong, and for maritime countries consisting of Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore, and Timor Leste. The mainland SEA has a pattern of monthly AOD variation in which AODs peak in March/April, decreasing during wet season from May–September, and increasing to the second peak in October. However, in maritime SEA, AOD concentration peaks in October. The three countries with the highest annual satellite AODs are Singapore, Hong Kong, and Vietnam. High urban population proportions in Singapore (40.7%) and Hong Kong (21.6%) were associated with high AOD concentrations as expected. AOD values in SEA urban areas were a factor of 1.4 higher than in rural areas, with respective averages of 0.477 and 0.336. The AOD values varied proportionately to the frequency of biomass burning in which both active fires and AOD peak in March/April and September/October. Peak AOD in September/October in some countries could be related to pollutant transport of Indonesia forest fires. This study analyzed satellite aerosol product quality in relation to AERONET in SEA countries and highlighted framework of air quality assessment over a large, complicated region.
... Furthermore, neither compound showed a significant correlation with wind direction or biomass burning activity. This aligns with findings from a study in northern Thailand, which reported that biomass burning had a much stronger influence on ethylbenzene and xylenes than on benzene and toluene [58]. This suggests that the weaker biomass burning signal for benzene and toluene observed in this study may be due to their lower source specificity to biomass burning compared to other BTEX compounds. ...
Air pollution in Chiang Mai during the dry winter season is extremely severe. During this period, high levels of fine particles are primarily generated by open biomass burning in Thailand and neighboring countries. In this study, ambient VOC(Volatile Organic Compounds) samples were collected using an adsorbent tube from 13 March to 26 March 2024, with careful consideration of sampling uncertainties to ensure data reliability. Furthermore, while interannual variability exists, the findings reflect atmospheric conditions during this specific period, allowing for an in-depth VOC assessment. A comprehensive approach to VOCs was undertaken, including benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, m,p-xylene (BTEX); biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs); and carbonyl compounds. Regression analysis was performed to analyze the correlation between isoprene concentrations and wind direction. The results showed a significant variation in isoprene levels, indicating their high concentrations due to biomass burning originating from northern areas of Chiang Mai. The emission sources of BTEX and carbonyl compounds were inferred through their ratio analysis. Additionally, correlation analyses between PM2.5, BTEX, and carbonyl compounds were conducted to identify common emission pathways. The ratio of BTEX among compounds suggested that long-range pollutant transport contributed more significantly than local traffic emissions. Carbonyl compounds were higher during the episode period, which was likely due to local photochemical reactions and biological contributions. Previous studies in Chiang Mai have primarily focused on PM2.5, whereas this study examined individual VOC species, their temporal trends, and their interrelationships to identify emission sources.
... The overall results are provided, and their potential to form O 3 and secondary organic aerosols is even discussed, but no details of the measurements and specific results were included. • Direct field measurements and combustion chamber experiments have been used to determine VOC emission factors and profiles from biomass burning, both for agricultural residues (e.g., Phuong et al. 2022;Sirithian et al. 2018;Oanh et al. 2015) and peatland fires (e.g., Yokelson et al. 2022;Smith et al. 2018;Stockwell et al. 2016). Only one study has determined emission factors and profiles from passenger cars, buses, trucks, motorcycles, and three-wheeled motorcycles (Dominutti et al. 2023). ...
Scientific research is at the center of air quality management. Each of its components must be supported by scientific research to provide solid foundations for informed action. This chapter reviews the scientific achievements, challenges, needs, and gaps in the field throughout Southeast Asia. Efforts have focused on understanding the patterns, trends, and impact of particle pollution caused by biomass burning. Several studies have investigated the particles’ chemical composition and physical properties, as well as their origin and effects on public health. A growing number of studies have also focused on other aspects of air quality in large cities such as Manila, Bangkok, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Kuala Lumpur, and Singapore, but little research has been undertaken outside them. Many relevant topics have received little or no attention, including atmospheric chemistry, climate change's impacts on air quality and vice versa, boundary layer meteorology, emergent and persistent pollutants, toxicology, and ecosystem damage, among others. Similarly, there is a need to develop monitoring and analysis methods that are tailored to Southeast Asia, as well as chemical-transport models and air quality multisystem analysis to download regional air quality forecasts and satellite products that can be used for air quality regulatory and warning purposes.
... VOC cũng là mối quan tâm đáng kể do các phản ứng quang hóa của chúng trong tầng đối lưu để tạo thành ôzôn (O 3 ) và sol khí hữu cơ thứ cấp. Với vai trò quan trọng của chúng trong việc hình thành sol khí nitrat và sunfat, các chất ô nhiễm dạng khí như NO x và SO 2 có thể so sánh với các PAH và các VOC trong ô nhiễm môi trường do đốt rơm rạ ngoài đồng [8]. Nhiều nghiên cứu được thực hiện ngoài đồng để xác định mức độ các chất gây ô nhiễm không khí từ việc đốt rơm rạ sau thu hoạch lúa cho thấy không khí bị ô nhiễm nghiêm trọng, hàm lượng chất ô nhiễm không khí gia tăng hàm trăm lần so với mức hiện diện của chúng trong tự nhiên và vượt tiêu chuẩn chất lượng môi trường đối với các chất gây ô nhiễm không khí. ...
Đồng bằng sông Cửu Long của Việt Nam (ĐBSCL) là khu vực sản xuất nông nghiệp quan trọng của quốc gia, trong đó lúa là cây lương thực được trồng chiếm diện tích lớn nhất trong vùng. Việc đốt rơm rạ ngoài đồng sau thu hoạch lúa là hoạt động thường xuyên của người nông dân trong vùng. Đốt rơm rạ ngoài đồng tuy có mặt tích cực nhưng tạo ra nhiều chất gây ô nhiễm môi trường không khí và gây nguy cơ đối với sức khỏe con người. Bài báo này trình bày các thành phần gây ô nhiễm không khí và ảnh hưởng của chúng đối với sức khỏe con người từ việc đốt rơm rạ ngoài đồng sau thu hoạch lúa.
... On the other hand, Highland residents contend that their farming practices have not dramatically changed over the past several decades (Mostafanezhad and Evrard 2020). Although upland and primarily ethnic minority farmers are the widely blamed culprits, recent research indicates that urban-based pollution including vehicular emissions and industrial discharge is also a major source of toxic air pollution (Sirithian et al. 2018). Additionally, despite the growing concerns among civil society about seasonal air pollution, data from the PCD reveals that PM10 has not significantly increased over the past two decades. ...
... Additionally, the time for harvesting and cleaning the field for the following planting was carried out during summertime [37]. The high value of MAIAC-AOD was observed in the east (Chiang Rai, Phayao, Nan, Phrae, and Lampang) as opposed to the west, which is consistent to our previous study's discovery of a high fire hot spot, and many maize residues burned in the field in these areas [38], which was associated to the emission of particulate matter that could be detected by the MAIAC-AOD instrument. ...
The upper northern Thailand suffers from air pollution due to open burning, which has been known for a long time. It was also found that different respiratory diseases were attributed to air pollution, especially particulate matter. This study estimated the health impacts attributed to PM10 between 2014 and 2016 using the burden of disease in terms of the disability adjusted life year (DALYs). The spatial correlation was evaluated based on applicable remote sensing data using the geographically weighted regression (GWR) model. The average measured PM10 concentrations for the summer and annual periods between 2014 and 2016 were 73 and 89 µg m-3, respectively, exceeded the national standard (50 µg m-3). In the months of March and April, when PM10 concentrations were at their highest, the maximum values of the Multi-Angle Implementation of Atmospheric Correction (MAIAC-AOD), 2.70 and 3.48, were recorded. There was a strong correlation between the MAIAC-AOD and the ground-based AOD measurements (AERONET stations), with R of 0.8468, 0.8396, and 0.8334 between 2014–2016. The correlation coefficients for the 3,208 co-located gridded of PM10 emissions vs. measured PM10, measured PM10 vs. MAIAC-AOD, and MAIAC-AOD vs. PM10 emissions were 0.6656, 0.6446, and 0.5580, respectively. The spatial correlation between the interpolated measured PM10 and 1-km MAIAC-AOD was 0.5979, 0.3741, and 0.7584 as an outcome of GWR. The total DALYs of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) attributable to PM10 in 2014–2016 were 115,930 years per 100,000 population, with the relative risk of COPD related to PM10 at a 95% confidence interval of 1.2045–1.2107.
... The indicators of source identification regarding biomass burning vary according to the targeted toxic substances. To identify the typical sources of VOCs, the biomass composition consisting of cellulose, hemicelluloses (typically 50-70% dry matter), lignin (15-35%), proteins, amino acids, metabolites, methane chloride substituted by HCN, and acetonitrile were significant parameters [67][68][69]. Studies show that biomass burning contributes most to aromatics, formaldehyde, and acetaldehyde [70]. ...
In the perspective of energy sustainability, biomass is the widely used renewable domestic energy with low cost and easy availability. Increasing studies have reported the health impacts of toxic substances from biomass burning emissions. To make proper use of biomass as residential solid energy, the evaluation of its health risks and environmental impacts is of necessity. Empirical studies on the characteristics of toxic emissions from biomass burning would provide scientific data and drive the development of advanced technologies. This review focuses on the emission of four toxic substances, including heavy metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), elemental carbon (EC), and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from biomass burning, which have received increasing attention in recent studies worldwide. We focus on the developments in empirical studies, methods of measurements, and technical factors. The influences of key technical factors on biomass burning emissions are combustion technology and the type of biomass. The methods of sampling and testing are summarized and associated with various corresponding parameters, as there are no standard sampling methods for the biomass burning sector. Integration of the findings from previous studies indicated that modern combustion technologies result in a 2–4 times reduction, compared with traditional stoves. Types of biomass burning are dominant contributors to certain toxic substances, which may help with the invention or implementation of targeted control technologies. The implications of previous studies would provide scientific evidence to push the improvements of control technologies and establish appropriate strategies to improve the prevention of health hazards.
... Biomass burning (BB) haze in Southeast Asian countries occurs seasonally, i.e. during December-April in continental countries and during June-September in maritime countries. Hazes are mainly caused by burning of biomass such as forest fires over the Southeast Asian continent Boreddy et al. 2018;Yin et al. 2019), peatland fires in Sumatra Island, Indonesia Fujii et al. 2015;Lee et al. 2017;Latif et al. 2018;Tham et al. 2019), and open burning of various types of agricultural wastes such as rice straw, maize residues or sugarcane after the harvest season (Pongpiachan et al. 2017;Popovicheva et al. 2017;Kim Oanh et al. 2018;Lasko and Vadrevu 2018;Sirithian et al. 2018;Phairuang et al. 2019). On a global scale, agricultural and forest fires contributed 23 and 18%, respectively, to the total BB aerosol emission. ...
Environmental context
Airborne particulate matter (PM) is a major public health risk in Southeast Asia. The annual average concentration of fine PM (PM2.5) in the region is significantly higher than the WHO air quality guidelines, and higher PM2.5 levels were recorded during dry seasons, primarily due to biomass burning. In this paper, we provide an overview of the seasonal variations in concentrations, chemical compositions, and sources of PM in Southeast Asian countries.
Abstract
Airborne particulate matter (PM) in Southeast Asia is the most important air pollutant, causing millions of premature deaths. This review provides an overview of the levels, chemical compositions and sources of PM and compared these with studies from megacities in other regions. Daily average PM2.5 concentrations were lower than polluted megacities such as Delhi but substantially higher than 24-h mean air quality guideline of the WHO. Levels of PM2.5 in maritime continental Southeast Asia (Indonesia, Brunei, Malaysia, Philippines and Singapore) were lower than in mainland continental countries (Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos). PM levels are usually two times higher during dry than wet seasons. Organic carbon is a key chemical component, contributing 9–52% of PM mass. SO42−EN22044_IE1.gif, NO3−EN22044_IE2.gif, and NH4+EN22044_IE3.gif are major ions and NO3−EN22044_IE4.gif/SO42−EN22044_IE5.gif ratios were notably lower than in megacities in other regions, implying lower emissions from mobile relative to stationary sources. Source apportionment indicates biomass burning is one of the most important sources, particularly during the haze (dry) seasons, followed by road traffic emission in dense-traffic cities such as Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Hanoi. The secondary aerosols contribution to PM mass is usually lower than that in cities from other regions. We suggest future PM source apportionment studies in Southeast Asia to include both inorganic and organic tracers and apply both chemical mass balance and multivariate receptor models.
... On the emission from the combustion of agricultural wastes, apart from Gadde et al. (2009) and Sirithian et al. (2017) who reported emission of VOCs from combustion of rice husk and maize residues, respectively, majority of the previously documented research on agricultural waste burning emission have focused on emission of other categories of pollutants (; Jain et al., 2014;). Literature search, therefore, revealed that quantification of the emission of VOCs from the combustion of agricultural wastes has not been extensively documented. ...
Emissions of components of VOCs from combustion of agro-waste materials were quantified. Agro-waste materials comprising corn cobs, corn husks, bean chaff and rice husks were burnt at a temperature of 400°C in a muffle furnace, and the emissions were quantified according to standard procedures. Health risk associated with exposure to the emissions, based on carcinogenicity and non-carcinogenicity, was evaluated using excess lifetime carcinogenic risk (ECLR) and hazard quotient (HQ), respectively. The results showed identification of 11 compounds comprising undecane, benzene, bromoform, ethylbenzene, styrene, toluene, p-xylene, 1,3-dimethylbenzene, o-xylene and phenol. The concentrations of the identified compounds ranged from 0.01 to 7.35 µg/m³, with chlorobenzene (emission from corn cobs) having the highest concentration and 1,3-dimethylbenzene having the lowest concentration (across all samples). The results also showed that ELCR and HQ values were below the recommended levels. The result concluded that although short-term exposures to the emission from combustion are not likely to cause health issues, prolonged exposure should be avoided as this could complicate issues for individuals with existing health challenges.
... In the past decade, corn monoculture has sharply increased in the Mae Cheam District to satisfy the higher demand for food. Mae Cheam is one of twenty-five districts of Chiang Mai, which is the biggest province for corn plantation in the Upper North of Thailand [11]. Seventy percent of corn production in Chiang Mai is from Mae Cheam. ...
... As it is well known, combustion behavior closely involves the ignition temperatures, oxidant, oxygen content (generally the oxygen from the air), and flammable materials [18,19]. After encountering a heat source, the thermic pyrolysis reaction and decomposition take place, causing a localized temperature increase and a large amount of volatile compounds [20][21][22][23]. Afterward, a violent burning reaction would happen to form a fire hazard. ...
Early-stage fire-warning systems (EFWSs) have attracted significant attention owing to their superiority in detecting fire situations occurring in the pre-combustion process. Substantial progress on EFWSs has been achieved recently, and they have presented a considerable possibility for more evacuation time to control constant unintentional fire hazards in our daily life. This review mainly makes a comprehensive summary of the current EFWSs, including the working mechanisms and their performance. According to the different working mechanisms, fire alarms can be classified into graphene oxide-based fire alarms, semiconductor-based fire alarms, thermoelectric-based fire alarms, and fire alarms on other working mechanisms. Finally, the challenge and prospect for EFWSs are briefly provided by comparing the art of state of fire alarms. This work can propose a more comprehensive understanding of EFWSs and a guideline for the cutting-edge development direction of EFWSs for readers.
... Biomass burning refers to a large class of activities involving combustion of biomass. Over the past few decades, extensive researches have been conducted to investigate VOC emissions from open biomass burning of specific fuels (e.g., Christian 2003;Yang et al. 2020); open biomass burning of crop residues, forest, shrub land, and grassland (e.g., Karl et al. 2007;Kudo et al. 2014;Sirithian et al. 2018;Mor et al. 2021); biomass fuels in residential boilers and stoves (e.g., Zhang and Smith 1999;Huy et al. 2021;Zhang et al. 2021); and biomass fuels in domestic fireplaces (e.g., McDonald et al. 2000;Evtyugina et al. 2014). However, studies on VOC emissions from biomass fuels in industrial biomass boilers (IBBs) are relatively scarce (Yan et al. 2016;Geng et al. 2019;Zhang et al. 2020). ...
Industrial biomass boilers (IBBs) are widely promoted in China as a type of clean energy. However, they emit large amount of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and the emission characteristics and the underlying factors are largely unknown due to the sampling difficulties. In this study, three wood pellet-fueled and two wood residue-fueled IBBs were selected to investigate the characteristics of VOC emissions and to discover their underlying impacting factors. The emission factor of VOCs varied from 21.6 ± 2.8 mg/kg to 286.2 ± 10.8 mg/kg for the IBBs. Oxygenated VOCs (OVOCs) were the largest group, contributing to 30.3 − 73.6% of the VOC emissions. Significant differences were revealed in the VOC source profiles between wood pellet-fueled and wood residue-fueled IBBs. Operating load, excess air, furnace temperature, and fuel type were identified as the primary factors influencing VOC emissions. The excess air coefficient should be limited below 3.5, roughly corresponding to the operating load of 62% and furnace temperature of 630 °C, to effectively reduce VOC emissions. VOC emissions also showed great differences in different combustion phases, with the ignition phase having much greater VOC emissions than the stable combustion and the ember phases. The ozone formation potential (OFP) ranged from 4.3 to 31.2 mg/m3 for the IBBs, and the wood residue-fueled IBBs yielded higher OFP than the wood pellet-fueled ones. This study underscored the importance of OVOCs in IBB emissions, and reducing OVOC emissions should be prioritized in formulating control measures to mitigate their impacts on the atmospheric environment and human health.
... Therefore, the amount of soil loss by the erosion of T4 and T6 in season 1 and all treatments in season 2 were within an acceptable rate. If the plant residues in this trial would have been disposed of by open burning in the fields, as frequently occurring in mountainous agricultural lands in Thailand (Sirithian et al., 2018), it may lead to potentially severe soil erosion, air pollution and N losses via gas emission equal up to 108-246 kg N ha -1 in season 1 and 31-220 kg N ha -1 in season 2 ( Table 7). ...
The increase in food demand and land scarcity in high-potential lowland areas have forced cropping intensification with a transformation of land use from subsistence to permanent agriculture in remote hillside in Southeast Asia. This change and inappropriate land use are the prime cause of soil degradation by erosion, which have negatively affected the agricultural systems productivity and sustainability in Thailand. Therefore, vulnerable land in sloping terrain is classified as unsuitable for continuous production of arable crops unless conservation measures are introduced to stabilize the landscape. Even though conservation practices can stabilize sloping land, farmers have not been widely adopted the measures due to various constraints, such as crop area loss and crop-tree competition. To improve land use management, a two-year study (2010-2011) was conducted at the Queen Sirikit research station (13°28N, 99°16E), Ratchaburi Province, Thailand, on a hillside with a slope of around 20%. The treatments consisted of (T1) maize (Zea mays L.) mono-crop under tillage and fertilization, (T2) maize intercropped with chili (Capsicum annuum L.) under tillage and fertilization, (T3) maize intercropped with chili, application of minimum tillage plus Jack bean (Canavalia ensiformis (L.) DC) relay cropping and fertilizer application, (T4) maize intercropped with chili, application of minimum tillage with Jack bean relay cropping and fertilizer application plus perennial hedges of Leucaena leucocephala (Lam.) de Wit, (T5) as T3 but without fertilization, and (T6) as T4 but without fertilization. There was an additional plot of chili sole cropping to calculate the land equivalent ratio (LER). The first part of the study evaluated yield performance and nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) of crops using the 15N isotope technique under diverse fertilized cropping systems during the first year. Maize grain yields were lower in T2 (3.1 Mg ha-1), T3 (2.6 Mg ha-1) and T4 (3.3 Mg ha-1) than in the control (T1) (6.7 Mg ha-1). The total returns from maize and chili yields were 1,914, 5,129, 3,829, 3,900, 3,494, and 2,976 USD ha-1, for T1, T2, T3, T4, T5 and T6, respectively. Higher economic returns in mixed crop systems, by selling both maize and chilies, compensated for the maize area loss by intercropping. Maize 15NUE was highest in T2 (53.5%), being significantly higher than in T1 (47.0%), T3 (45.5%), and T4 (45.7%). Overall systems NUE in T2 (56.8%) was comparable to T1 (53.8%) and T4 (54.5%) but significantly lower in T3 (48.6%). Minimum tillage and hedgerows (despite their positive filter effect) did not increase NUE but adversely affected maize growth during the establishment phase. The second part of the study examined nitrogen fertilizers fate and quantified partial nitrogen budgets at plot level over two cropping seasons for various maize-based cropping systems with or without fertilizer application. Overall plant uptake of fertilizer 15N applied to maize was 48.6-56.8% over the first season, while residual fertilizer 15N recovery of plants was only 2.3-4.9% over the subsequent season. The quantity of applied labelled N remaining in the soil at the end of season 1 and season 2 was 6.2-28.1% and 7.7-28.6%, respectively. Thus, 60.0-76.0% in season 1 and 12.7-31.3% in season 2 of the applied fertilizer 15N were accounted for within the plant-soil system. Consequently, 24.0-40.0% and 12.9-16.1% of labelled fertilizer N were not accounted for at the end of season 1 and season 2, respectively. The derived N balance over two years revealed severe soil N depletion under T1 (-202 kg N ha-1), T5 (-86 kg N ha-1) and T6 (-48 kg N ha-1), and a slightly negative N budget under T2 (-5 kg N ha-1). In contrast, T3 (87 kg N ha-1) and T4 (62 kg N ha-1) had positive N balances. The increase of N input via additional N fertilizer applied to chili and symbiotic N2 fixation of legumes, and the reduction of N losses by soil erosion and unaccounted fertilizer N (probably lost via leaching, volatilization and denitrification) were the main factors of the positive N balances under maize-chili intercropping systems with conservation measures and fertilization (T3 and T4). Maize yield decline under T1, T2, T5 and T6 in season 2 was related to negative N balances, while maize yield increase under T3 and T4 was related to positive N balances. However, maize-chili intercropping with fertilization had some advantage (LER > 1.0) relative to sole species cropping. Moreover, total returns from crop yields in season 2 of all maize-chili intercroppings (1,378-1,818 USD ha-1) were higher than chili sole cropping (1,321 USD ha-1), which pointed to its crucial role in decreasing production risk by reducing yield loss by pests and diseases observed in chili plants. The third part of the study used combined data of stable isotope discrimination and electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) to improve understanding of competition at the crop-soil-hedge interface. Hedges significantly reduced maize grain yield and aboveground biomass in rows close to hedgerows. ERT revealed water depletion was stronger in T1 than in T4 and T6, confirming time domain reflectometry (TDR) and leaf area data. In T4, water depletion was higher in maize rows close to the hedge than rows distant to hedges and maize grain δ13C was significantly less negative in rows close to the hedge ( 10.33) compared to distant ones ( 10.64). Lack of N increased grain δ13C in T6 ( 9.32, p ⤠0.001). Both methods were negatively correlated with each other (r= 0.66, p ⤠0.001). Combining ERT with grain δ13C and %N allowed identifying that maize growth close to hedges was limited by N and not by water supply. In conclusion, the results suggested a significant positive interaction between mineral N fertilizer, intercropping systems and soil conservation measures in maintaining or improving crop yields and N balances in Thailands hillside agriculture. Simultaneously, combining ERT imaging and 13C isotopic discrimination approaches improved the understanding of spatial-temporal competition patterns at the hedge-soil-crop interface and pointed out that competition in maize-based hedgerow systems was driven by nitrogen rather than water limitation. Therefore, sustainable agriculture might be achieved if farmers in Thailand combine soil conservation measures with appropriate and targeted N fertilizer use.
... The variation in the emission of NMVOCs from domestic fuels are dependent on multiple factors such as type of biofuels (Stewart and Stewart, 2008), the moisture content (Ni et al., 2015), dominance of different burning phases Andreae, 2019;Aurell and Gullett, 2013;Park et al., 2013), age of solid fuels (Nord-Larsen et al., 2011), method of burning (Fleming et al., 2018;Park et al., 2013), regional climatic condition/soil composition (Sirithian et al., 2018), the elemental composition of fuels (C, H, N and O), part of the plant burnt with cellulose, lignin, pentosane content (K. Singh et al., 2014) and the modified combustion efficiency (MCE) (Andreae, 2019;Aurell and Gullett, 2013). ...
In controlled laboratory conditions, 62 samples of domestic fuels collected from 56 grids of Delhi were burnt to quantify the emissions of 23 non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs), i.e., alkanes (11), alkenes (6), alkynes (1) and aromatic compounds (5). The domestic fuels used for residential activities were comprised of 20 unique types of fuel woods, 3 species of crop residue, dung cakes and coal. These fuels are primarily used for cooking and water/space heating during winters. The current study reports the total emission budget of NMVOCs from domestic burning over Delhi. Furthermore, this study also compares the differences in EFs of NMVOCs which are calculated for different burning cycles and sample collection methods. The EFs of NMVOCs calculated from the samples collected during the flaming stage using canisters were analysed for 23 NMVOCs and then compared with same species emitted from complete burning cycle. In addition to this, 10 consumption and emission hotspot grids were also identified in Delhi; based on the ground survey and laboratory simulated results. The total annual usage of domestic fuels for the year 2019 was found to be 0.415 Mt/yr (million tonnes) in Delhi. 12.01 Gg/yr of annual NMVOC emissions was calculated from domestic fuel burning in which the emissions from dung cake and fuel wood dominated with 6.6 Gg/yr and 5.4 Gg/yr, respectively. The EFs of NMVOCs calculated using canister and online collection method differ significantly from each other. The flaming stage presented enhanced emissions compared to the complete burning cycle by ∼7 times which suggests that the method of data analysis and the period of sample collection play a pivotal role in the preparation of an emission inventory and estimating the budget.
... [30][31][32][33][34][35][36] Notwithstanding, EC is also emitted from biomass incomplete combustion and is related to climate change because it enhances the imbalance of the earth-atmosphere radiation. 37 Recently, different authors have estimated and characterized emissions from some crop residues burning, [38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47] but, although PAHs emission factors have been determined from indoor biomass burning in cooking stoves, 30,48 the information concerning the PAHs emission factors in open field burning is very scarce, though these compounds are related with adverse effects on health. For this reason, the main objective of this investigation was to obtain the PAHs emission factors from different crop wastes burning and the PM 2.5 oxidative potential. ...
Mexico displays significant agricultural activity that, in notorious instances unfolds closely associated with undesirable burning practices of crop residues, which could rise climate change and cause adverse effects to human health, due to emission of fine particles (PM2.5). PM2.5 contain organic compounds such as quinones, soluble organic carbon and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which can be associated to carcinogenic and mutagenic diseases and in some cases to cellular oxidative stress. Presently, we carried out simulation burning of crop residues in an open burning to collect PM2.5 samples by an isokinetic methodology (Method 201a of Environmental Protection Agency). The NIOSH870 method was used to quantify organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC) fractions. PAHs from PM2.5 were extracted and analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry while the oxidative potential was measured through the dithiothreitol (DTT) consumption and PM2.5 concentration. The results showed that OC fractions concentration are associated with the modified combustion efficiency (MCE). The most abundant fractions were OC1 and OC2. Emission factors of the sum of 18 PAHs (ƩPAHs) showed a large variation between crops; from 0.49 mg kg⁻¹-fuel (for barley) to 9.16 mg kg⁻¹-fuel (for cotton), then, a single emission factor that includes the burning of all crop residues should not be considered, since the emission factor varies according with the type of biomass burned. Whereas PAHs of 4-6 rings (> 97%) were the most abundant, the concentrations of carcinogenic and mutagenic PAHs accounted for 60% of the sum of all PAHs concentrations. Some diagnostic ratios were identified, but these varied between crops. Burning of residues with low combustion efficiencies presented the highest oxidative potential, such as cotton and sorghum. Oxidative potential correlated with OC concentration, but not with PAHs, suggesting the presence of other compounds.
... Some of the main issues are that GC does not provide high time resolution measurements, and several instruments with different column configurations and detectors are required to provide information on different chemical classes. Samples can also be collected into canisters or sample bags and then analysed offline (Wang et al., 2014;Sirithian et al., 2018;Barabad et al., 2018), which can increase time resolution but can also lead to artefacts (Lerner et al., 2017). ...
Twenty-nine different fuel types used in residential dwellings in northern India were collected from across Delhi (76 samples in total). Emission factors of a wide range of non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs) (192 compounds in total) were measured during controlled burning experiments using dual-channel gas chromatography with flame ionisation detection (DC-GC-FID), two-dimensional gas chromatography (GC × GC-FID), proton-transfer-reaction time-of-flight mass spectrometry (PTR-ToF-MS) and solid-phase extraction two-dimensional gas chromatography with time-of-flight mass spectrometry (SPE-GC × GC–ToF-MS). On average, 94 % speciation of total measured NMVOC emissions was achieved across all fuel types. The largest contributors to emissions from most fuel types were small non-aromatic oxygenated species, phenolics and furanics. The emission factors (in g kg-1) for total gas-phase NMVOCs were fuelwood (18.7, 4.3–96.7), cow dung cake (62.0, 35.3–83.0), crop residue (37.9, 8.9–73.8), charcoal (5.4, 2.4–7.9), sawdust (72.4, 28.6–115.5), municipal solid waste (87.3, 56.6–119.1) and liquefied petroleum gas (5.7, 1.9–9.8).
The emission factors measured in this study allow for better characterisation, evaluation and understanding of the air quality impacts of residential solid-fuel combustion in India.
... Over the last two decades, many farmers throughout the region transitioned to commercial maize cultivation for animal feed, making it one of the most profitable boom crops in the region (Hall et al., 2011;Sirithian et al., 2018;Yap et al., 2017). Driven by broader shifts in the global political economy of agriculture, this transition contributes to an increase in the use of fire because more land must be cleared for planting and farmers typically burn the maize stalks to clear their land of accumulated agricultural waste (Arunrat et al., 2018;Bruun et al., 2016). ...
Between February and April of each year, air pollution blankets much of northern Thailand and severely impacts the livelihoods of tourism practitioners and farmers in the region. Environmental narratives among lowland, urban residents attribute haze to biomass burning among highland farmers. Highland farmers, however, contend that environmental governance regimes have lengthened and exacerbated what is now regarded as the annually recurring haze crisis. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork among urban tourism practitioners, rural farmers, and natural scientists, I demonstrate how, as a physical and symbolic entity, air pollution circulates between urban and rural spaces in ways that reshape tourism and urban-rural social relations. In doing so, I bring emerging work at the intersection of urban political ecology and new materialism to bear on tourism to reveal the more-than-human sociality of air pollution in northern Thailand.
... In spite of the fact that this paper is based on data from over 370 publications, rather than the 130 papers that formed the basis for A&M2001, Table 1 shows that there are still many species for which there are little or no field data available. For example, there are still no field measurements of the emission factors for the alkyl amines, which have recently become implicated in aerosol nucleation and new particle formation (Smith et al., 2010;Almeida et al., 2013;Kürten et al., 2014). In view of the importance of the number concentrations of aerosol particles (CN), especially cloud condensation nuclei (CCN), for climate change, it is unfortunate that there have only been a few additional measurements of their emission factors in the last two decades. ...
Since the publication of the compilation of biomass burning emission factors by Andreae and Merlet (2001), a large number of studies have greatly expanded the amount of available data on emissions from various types of biomass burning. Using essentially the same methodology as Andreae and Merlet (2001), this paper presents an updated compilation of emission factors. The data from over 370 published studies were critically evaluated and integrated into a consistent format. Several new categories of biomass burning were added, and the number of species for which emission data are presented was increased from 93 to 121. Where field data are still insufficient, estimates based on appropriate extrapolation techniques are proposed. For key species, the updated emission factors are compared with previously published values. Based on these emission factors and published global activity estimates, I have derived estimates of pyrogenic emissions for important species released by the various types of biomass burning.
... In Southeast Asia, Thailand (51.75%), followed by Timor Leste (48.75%) and the Philippines (44.99%) had the highest percentage of fires in croplands due to rice, maize and sugarcane agricultural residue burning 27,61,62 , whereas Malaysia (62.65%), Cambodia (61.94%), ...
We assessed the fire trends from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) (2003–2016) and Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) (2012–2016) in South/Southeast Asia (S/SEA) at a country level and vegetation types. We also quantified the fire frequencies, anomalies and climate drivers. MODIS data suggested India, Pakistan, Indonesia and Myanmar as having the most fires. Also, the VIIRS-detected fires were higher than MODIS (AQUA and TERRA) by a factor of 7 and 5 in S/SEA. Thirty percent of S/SEA had recurrent fires with the most in Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, and Myanmar. Statistically-significant increasing fire trends were found for India (p = 0.004), Cambodia (p = 0.001), and Vietnam (p = 0.050) whereas Timor Leste (p = 0.004) had a decreasing trend. An increasing trend in fire radiative power (FRP) were found for Cambodia (p = 0.005), India (0.039), and Pakistan (0.06) and declining trend in Afghanistan (0.041). Fire trends from VIIRS were not significant due to limited duration of data. In S/SEA, fires in croplands were equally frequent as in forests, with increasing fires in India, Pakistan, and Vietnam. Specific to climate drivers, precipitation could explain more variations in fires than the temperature with stronger correlations in Southeast Asia than South Asia. Our results on fire statistics including spatial geography, variations, frequencies, anomalies, trends, and climate drivers can be useful for fire management in S/SEA countries.
... CC BY 4.0 License. than those typical in field burns, e.g., the study by Sirithian et al. (2018), who reported a mean MCE of 0.9996 in a lab study on biofuel burning. Therefore, lab results are only used in some special cases, where little or no field data are available and where the lab data appear representative based on their MCE, e.g., Christian et al. (2003). ...
Since the publication of the compilation of biomass burning emission factors by Andreae and Merlet (2001), a large number of studies has greatly expanded the amount of available data on emissions from various types of biomass burning. Using essentially the same methodology as Andreae and Merlet (2001), this paper presents an updated compilation of emission factors. The data from over 350 published studies were critically evaluated and integrated into a consistent format. Several new categories of biomass burning have been added, and the number of species for which emission data are presented has been increased from 93 to 121. Where field data are still insufficient, estimates based on appropriate extrapolation techniques are proposed. Based on these emission factors and published global activity estimates, I have derived estimates of pyrogenic emissions for important species emitted by the various types of biomass burning.
... Samples were collected firstly in the Tedlar bags before transferring to canisters because the sampling procedure require that the air samples have to be drawn through the heated sampling line to remove moisture and control of the flow rate of the sampling from emission sources which is the limitation of canister sampling system. They were then transferred into pre-concentrator in order to remove moisture, CO 2 and other gaseous impurities prior to being analyzed [25]. The sample was analyzed for speciated VOCS concentrations by using Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometer (GC/MS) according to the U.S. EPA Method 15. ...
Emission characteristics of volatile organic compounds (VOC) emitted from the tank farm of petroleum refinery were evaluated in this study in order to analyze for the potential impacts on health and odor nuisance problems. Estimation procedures were carried out by using the U.S.EPA TANK 4.0.9d emission model in conjunction with direct measurements of gas phase of each stored liquid within aboveground storage tanks. Results revealed that about 61.12% of total VOC emitted from the tank farm by volume were alkanes, in which pentane were richest (27.4%), followed by cyclopentane (19.22%), propene (19.02%), and isobutene (14.22%). Mostly of pentane (about 80%) were emitted from the floating roof tanks contained crude oil corresponded to the largest annual throughput of crude oil as compared with other petroleum distillates. Emission data were further analyzed for their ambient concentration using the AERMOD dispersion model in order to determine the extent and magnitude of odor and health impacts caused by pentane. Results indicated that there was no health impact from inhalation of pentane. However, predicted data were higher than the odor threshold values of pentane which indicated the possibility of odor nuisance problem in the vicinity areas of the refinery. In order to solve this problem, modification of the type of crude oil storage tanks from external floating roof to domed external floating roof could be significant success in reduction of both emissions and ambient concentrations of VOC from petroleum refinery tank farm.
... In spite of the fact that this paper is based on data from over 370 publications, rather than the 130 papers that formed the basis for A&M2001, Table 1 shows that there are still many species for which there are little or no field data available. For example, there are still no field measurements of the emission factors for the alkyl amines, which have recently become implicated in aerosol nucleation and new particle formation (Smith et al., 2010;Almeida et al., 2013;Kürten et al., 2014). In view of the importance of the number concentrations of aerosol particles (CN), especially cloud condensation nuclei (CCN), for climate change, it is unfortunate that there have only been a few additional measurements of their emission factors in the last two decades. ...
A large body of information on emissions from the various types of
biomass burning has been accumulated over the past decade, to a large
extent as a result of International Geosphere-Biosphere
Programme/International Global Atmospheric Chemistry research
activities. Yet this information has not been readily accessible to the
atmospheric chemistry community because it was scattered over a large
number of publications and reported in numerous different units and
reference systems. We have critically evaluated the presently available
data and integrated these into a consistent format. On the basis of this
analysis we present a set of emission factors for a large variety of
species emitted from biomass fires. Where data were not available, we
have proposed estimates based on appropriate extrapolation techniques.
We have derived global estimates of pyrogenic emissions for important
species emitted by the various types of biomass burning and compared our
estimates with results from inverse modeling studies.
This study investigates the environmental and economic impacts of agricultural residue burning in Thailand, focusing on rice, maize, and sugarcane, which collectively occupy 96.8 million Rai annually and generate 114 million tons of residues. Open burning is a cost-effective but environmentally detrimental practice that contributes significantly to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This research aims to quantify the burned areas, estimate GHG emissions, and assess the Social Cost of Carbon (SCC) using Geographic Information System (GIS) techniques and MODIS satellite imagery combined with bottom-up approach emissions calculations. In addition, the cost of carbon emissions was estimated using the average carbon credit price in Asia as a representative benchmark. The findings reveal annual GHG emissions of approximately 800,000 tons CO ₂ e, primarily from rice (362,231 tons), maize (160,875 tons), and sugarcane (277,314 tons). The SCC is estimated at 146 million Baht, disproportionately affecting the Northern and Central Regions, which exhibit the highest prevalence of burning for rice sugarcane and maize, respectively. This spatial analysis highlights key hot-spots and provides critical insights to inform targeted policy interventions. Its findings emphasize the need for regionally tailored policies to mitigate the environmental and economic costs of open burning. Sustainable alternatives, such as composting are recommended, supported by targeted education, financial incentives, and policy measures. These strategies could substantially reduce emissions, improve air quality, and align Thailand’s agricultural sector with its climate and sustainability goals.
Fires of waste deposited in storage sites or landfills and their open burning are always a source of emission of many pollutants into the air, causing greater or lesser air pollution depending on the type and amount of burning waste, the course of the combustion process and the eventual fire-fighting action, prevailing meteorological conditions, etc. Estimation of pollutant emissions from this type of sources is necessary in the assessment of their impact on air quality performed using atmospheric dispersion models (deterministic). This emission is most often determined by the indicator method using emission factors related to the type and amount of burning waste, less frequently using other methods (balance, measurement, reverse modeling, etc.). Emission factors are usually determined based on the results of measurement experiments carried out for a given process that is a source of pollutant emissions, although sometimes it is also possible to select emission factors dedicated to other processes of a similar nature in terms of the types and amounts of air pollutants formed. This work presents a literature review of dust and gaseous pollutant emission factors that can be used in this type of assessments in the case of fires or open burning of, among others, mixed municipal waste and selected fractions of this waste, plant residues, tires and some hazardous waste. Selected conditions related to the use of this type of factors were also discussed in the context of the method of assessing the impact on air quality and other data necessary in the description of the emission field. The review showed large differences in the amount of pollutants emitted into the air during fires or open burning of various types of waste, as well as numerous missing factor data for this type of emission sources.
Industrial biomass boilers (IBBs) are widely promoted in China as a type of clean energy. However, they emit large amount of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and the emission characteristics and the underlying factors are largely unknown due to the sampling difficulties. In this study, three wood pellet-fueled and two wood residue-fueled IBBs were selected to investigate the characteristics of VOCs emissions and to discover their underlying impacting factors. The emission factor of VOCs varied from 21.6 ± 2.8 mg/kg to 286.2 ± 10.8 mg/kg for the IBBs. Oxygenated VOCs (OVOCs) were the largest group, contributing to 30.3%-73.6% of the VOCs emissions. Significant differences were revealed in the VOCs source profiles between wood pellet-fueled and wood residue-fueled IBBs. Operating load, excess air, furnace temperature and fuel type were identified as the primary factors influencing VOCs emissions. The excess air coefficient should be limited below 3.5, roughly corresponding to the operating load of 62% and furnace temperature of 630 °C, to effectively reduce VOCs emissions. VOCs emissions also showed great differences in different combustion phases, with the ignition phase having much greater VOCs emissions than the stable combustion and the ember phases. The ozone formation potential (OFP) ranged from 4.3 mg/m ³ to 31.2 mg/m ³ for the IBBs, and the wood residue-fueled IBBs yielded higher OFP than the wood pellet-fueled ones. This study underscored the importance of OVOCs in IBB emissions, and reducing OVOCs emissions should be prioritized in formulating control measures to mitigate their impacts on the atmospheric environment and human health.
The ability of adaptation of Rhizobia in diverse environment namely, soil, rhizosphere and grown within legume roots may lead to nitrogen fixation, in a complicated process which contain a coordinated exchange of signal between plants and the symbionts. Green manures, cash and cover crops have significant role in soil fertility. Green manuring techniques also can decrease biomass burning known as main source of air pollutant in the atmosphere. Catch crops have positive effects on both physical and chemical properties of soil, subsequent crop yield, decrease nitrogen leaching into the ground water, decrease soil erosion, and decrease nitrogen losses in cropping systems. Cover crops are those crops which cover the ground and protect loss of plant nutrients, the soil from erosion, decrease rate of soil moisture by evaporation, lower ground temperature and improve weed control and nutrient recycling. Rhizobia produce Nod factors during the early development of nodules upon perception of flavonoid molecules secreted by legume roots, and Nod factor’s structure dependens on species, chemical, substitutions added which may influence legume specificity. The benefial effects of rhizobia may depend on rhizobium strain, the genotype of the legume, management practices and bio-physical environment. Rhizobium can directly promote both plant growth and plant health, and modulating root architecture and growth via the release of plant phytohormones. In this manuscript, we want to review the most important advantages and benefits of green manures, catch and cover crops with considering the positive effects of rhizobium on soil fertility and sustainable agricultural production.
Corncob is one of the major biomass sources and widely adopted as fuel in rural China. However, only few studies have discussed the emissions from corncob burning. The negligence of corncob burning emissions has resulted in biased or even unreasonable biomass burning emission results. In this study, the emission factors (EFs) of corncob burning were measured by the burning test simulation and dilution sampling system. Then, the measured EFs, field surveys, and GEOS-Chem simulation were adopted to estimate the emissions from corncob burning. The EFs of fine particles (PM2.5), carbon monoxide (CO), sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitric oxide (NO), nitric oxides (NOX), ammonia (NH3), the totally measured 13 volatile organic compounds (TVOCs), organic carbon (OC), elemental carbon (EC) and the sum of water-soluble ions (Na＋, K＋, Mg²＋, Ca²＋, NH4＋, Cl－, NO3－and SO4²－) (SWSI) for corncob were 7.95, 60.53, 0.29, 1.38, 3.46, 0.35, 3.91, 1.21, 0.19 and 0.53 g kg⁻¹, respectively. The emissions of PM2.5, CO, SO2, NO, NOX, NH3, TVOCs, OC, EC and SWSI in 2014 were 312.20, 2377.1, 11.39, 54.19, 135.87, 13.74, 153.55, 47.52, 7.46 and 20.77 Gg, respectively. These emissions have the same change tendency, wherein the emission in 2014 were approximately 0.42, 0.50, 0.64 and 0.85 times those in 1992, 2002, 2007 and 2012, respectively. The comparison with other straw highlighted the considerable emissions of corncob burning in China. The biomass burning emissions have been substantially underestimated by 2.6%–36.2% in previous studies, wherein corncob burning emissions were not considered. Additionally, the GEOS-Chem simulation results showed that corncob burning produced much higher concentration values than corn straw burning. Our study provided credible evidence to confirm the important emission contributions of corncob burning to biomass burning. It can also help improve the biomass burning estimation and air quality modeling results in the future.
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are widely recognized to affect the environment and human health. This review provides a comprehensive presentation of the types and levels of VOCs, their sources and potential effects on human health and the environment based on past and current observations made at tropical sites. Isoprene was found to be the dominant biogenic VOC in the tropics. Tropical broad leaf evergreen trees are the main emitters of isoprene, making up more than 70% of the total emissions. The VOCs found in the tropical remote marine atmosphere included isoprene (>100 ppt), dimethyl sulfide (≤100 ppt) and halocarbons, i.e. bromoform (≤8.4 ppt), dibromomethane (≤2.7 ppt) and dibromochloromethane (≤1.6 ppt). VOCs such as benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene (BTEX) are the most monitored anthropogenic VOCs and are present mainly due to motor vehicles emissions. Additionally, biomass burning contributes to anthropogenic VOCs, especially high molecular weight VOCs, e.g. methanol and acetonitrile. The relative contributions of VOC species to ozone are determined through the level of the Ozone Formation Potential (OFP) of different species with concentrations ranging from 6.5 to 145.8 μg m⁻³. Emissions of VOCs (e.g. very short-lived halogenated gases) in the tropics are capable of contributing to stratospheric ozone depletion. BTEX has been identified as the main types of VOCs that lead to a high number of cancer patients in urban areas in tropical regions. Finally, future studies related to VOCs in the tropics are needed to address these concerns.
29 different fuel types used in residential dwellings in northern India were collected from across New Delhi (76 samples in total). Emission factors of a wide range of non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs) (192 compounds in total) were measured during controlled burning experiments using dual-channel gas chromatography with flame ionisation detection (DC-GD-FID), two-dimensional gas chromatography (GC×GC-FID), proton-transfer-reaction time-of-flight mass spectrometry (PTR-ToF-MS) and solid-phase extraction two-dimensional gas chromatography with time-of-flight mass spectrometry (SPE-GC×GC-ToF-MS). 94 % quantification was achieved on average across all fuel types. The largest contributors to emissions from most fuel types were small non-aromatic oxygenated species, phenolics and furanics. The emission factors (in g kg−1) for total gas-phase NMVOCs were: fuel wood (18.7, 4.3–96.7), cow dung cake (62.0, 35.3–83.0), crop residue (37.9, 8.9–73.8), charcoal (5.4, 2.4–7.9), sawdust (72.4, 28.6–115.5), municipal solid waste (87.3, 56.6–119.1) and liquified petroleum gas (5.7, 1.9–9.8).
The emission factors measured in this study allow for better characterisation, evaluation and understanding of the air quality impacts of residential solid fuel combustion in India.
California Puff Mesoscale Dispersion Model (CALPUFF) was applied to simulate concentrations and the spatial distributions of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) emitted from open burning of maize residues in Chiang Rai, Thailand. The model was simulated during the burning season between January 1 and April 30, 2014. The 95th percentile values of 24-h average concentration of total PAHs at 117 specified ground level receptors were calculated. The spatial distribution of predicted concentration is also illustrated. The modeled results indicated that the open burning of maize residues contributed to high PAH concentration in particularly at the receptors located near the burned areas. The cancer risk of carcinogenic PAHs was evaluated using the calculation of benzo(a)pyrene equivalent (BaPeq). The results show that the calculated BaPeq values on daily basis ranged from 0.1 to 18.6 ng m⁻³. These concentrations exceeded the Chinese’s standard of 2.5 ng m⁻³ at 26 among 117 receptors. It was estimated that about 20% of the population living in Chiang Rai was exposed to PAHs at this level. This finding suggests that the open burning of maize residues could significantly contribute to high cancer risk to local population. It is expected that the outcome of this study can support the setting up an appropriate mitigation strategy for reducing their emissions and health impacts on population in the affected areas.
Biomass burning (BB) is the second largest source of trace gases and the largest source of primary fine carbonaceous particles in the global troposphere. Many recent BB studies have provided new emission factor (EF) measurements. This is especially true for non methane organic compounds (NMOC), which influence secondary organic aerosol (SOA) and ozone formation. New EF should improve regional to global BB emissions estimates and therefore, the input for atmospheric models. In this work we present an up-to-date, comprehensive tabulation of EF for known pyrogenic species based on measurements made in smoke that has cooled to ambient temperature, but not yet undergone significant photochemical processing. All the emission factors are converted to one standard form (g compound emitted per kg dry biomass burned) using the carbon mass balance method and they are categorized into 14 fuel or vegetation types. We compile a large number of measurements of biomass consumption per unit area for important fire types and summarize several recent estimates of global biomass consumption by the major types of biomass burning. Biomass burning terminology is defined to promote consistency. Post emission processes are discussed to provide a context for the emission factor concept within overall atmospheric chemistry and also highlight the potential for rapid changes relative to the scale of some models or remote sensing products. Recent work shows that individual biomass fires emit significantly more gas-phase NMOC than previously thought and that including additional NMOC can improve photochemical model performance. A detailed global estimate suggests that BB emits at least 400 Tg yr−1 of gas-phase NMOC, which is about 4 times larger than most previous estimates. Selected recent results (e.g. measurements of HONO and the BB tracers HCN and CH3CN) are highlighted and key areas requiring future research are briefly discussed.
This study developed a methodology to estimate air pollutant emissions from biomass open burning in Thailand during 2009-2011 using country specific data and the 500-meter MODIS burned area product (MCD45A1) from MODerate-resolution Imaging Spectro-radiometer (MODIS). The spatial and temporal distributions of biomass open burning emissions were analyzed and displayed in the form of a 1 km × 1 km grid density map. The MCD45A1 burned area data were validated by ground checking. The results showed that between 2009 and 2011, the total area of burning ranged from 332,723 ha in 2009, to 410,636 ha in 2010 and to 144,419 ha in 2011, respectively. Also, it was found that forests and paddy fields constituted the most burned vegetation. Most of burned forests were situated in the northern and northeastern regions, and burned paddy fields were located in the central part of the country. Additionally, the peak period of biomass open burning was found to during December to April. The estimation of emissions of open biomass burning from 2009 to 2011 indicated that the amounts of CO 2 , CO, CH 4 , N 2 O, and NO X emitted were approximately 2,150,077 tons, 163,175 tons, 7,704 tons, 221 tons and 2,841 tons, respectively. They also emitted particulate matters PM 2.5 , PM 10 , and black carbon (BC) at amounts of 10,469 tons, 16,571 tons and 1,014 tons, respectively.
Open burning in sugarcane fields is recognized as a major source of air pollution. However, the assessment of its emission intensity in many regions of the world still lacks information, especially regarding country-specific activity data including biomass fuel load and combustion factor. A site survey was conducted covering 13 sugarcane plantations subject to different farm management practices and climatic conditions. The results showed that pre-harvest and post-harvest burnings are the two main practices followed in Thailand. In 2012, the total production of sugarcane biomass fuel, i.e., dead, dry and fresh leaves, amounted to 10.15 million tonnes, which is equivalent to a fuel density of 0.79 kg∙m⁻². The average combustion factor for the pre-harvest and post-harvest burning systems was determined to be 0.64 and 0.83, respectively. Emissions from sugarcane field burning were estimated using the bottom-up country-specific values from the site survey of this study and the results compared with those obtained using default values from the 2006 IPCC Guidelines. The comparison showed that the use of default values lead to underestimating the overall emissions by up to 30% as emissions from post-harvest burning are not accounted for, but it is the second most common practice followed in Thailand.
Maize production in Thailand has moved to the highlands, where residues of crop and weeds are burned to prepare land for the new crop. This study was done to compare relay cropping of maize with legumes to reduce burning in the highlands at Pang-da Royal Agriculture Station. The experiment was conducted with 3 maize-legume relay treatments (maize + lablab, maize + ricebean and maize + cowpea) and maize monoculture (farmer's practice) with 3 replicates in the wet season of 2012 and 2013. The maize grain yield was 5.19 Mg/ha in maize-mono, but 24-53% higher in the maize-legume relays. There was additional legume grain yield of 0.13 Mg/ha in maize + lablab, 0.30 Mg/ha in maize + ricebean and 0.73 Mg/ha in maize + cowpea. Contribution from biological N2 fixation in legumes is most likely to have contributed to the total above ground nitrogen of 288 kg N/ha in maize + lablab, 177 kg N/ha in maize + ricebean and 186 kg N/ha in maize + cowpea, compared with 101 kg N/ha in maize-mono. While the maize-mono residue was lost in burning, 136 kg N/ha was retained in the maize+lablab bean residue, 68 kg N/ha in maize + ricebean residue and 36 kg N/ha in maize + cowpea residue. These maize + legume relay cropping systems are promising as a means to reduce burning in the highlands while increasing maize yield at the same time.
This paper presents the PCDD/Fs emissions measured from a coal-fired power plant in Malaysia. The study discusses partitioning of PCDD/Fs in particle and gas phase, effects of coal quality to PCDD/Fs formation, effects of air pollution control device (APCD) configuration to PCDD/Fs formation and establishment of emission factors of PCDD/Fs from the studied coal-fired power plant. The results presented in this study were mostly in good agreement with the previous works on PCDD/Fs emissions conducted in other countries. Laboratory analysis results showed that PCDFs were the dominant congeners. The emissions of PCDD/Fs were low which most probably due to the high combustion efficiency. The PCDFs/PCDDs ratio was more than 1 and PCDD/Fs were detected in fly ash, hence speculating that the formation of PCDD/Fs during coal combustion was mainly through de novo synthesis. Analysis on partitioning of PCDD/Fs showed that the compounds were mainly emitted in gas phase. This study also indicated that type of coal influenced the formation of PCDD/Fs during coal combustion where bituminous coal with high sulfur (S) content resulted in slightly lower PCDD/Fs emissions compared to sub-bituminous coal. It was also found that operation of flue gas desulfurization (FGD) reduced the emission of PCDD/Fs. The established emission factors for PCDD/Fs were in the range of 0.08 to 0.11 ng I-TEQ/kg.
The volatile organic compounds (VOCs) associated with biomass burning were characterized in the Yangtze River Delta of China, including two types of burning conditions (stove burning and field burning) and five typical kinds of biomass (straws of rice, wheat, bean and rape, and wood). According to the results, the VOC emission factors of straw burning ranged from 2.08 g/kg to 6.99 g/kg with an average of (4.89 ± 1.70) g/kg, compared to 0.98 g/kg for wood burning. Some differences in VOC composition were observed with the burning of different biomasses. Oxygenated VOC (o-VOC) were the largest contributors to the mass concentration of measured VOCs from straw burning, with a proportion of 49.4%, followed by alkenes 21.4%, aromatics 13.5%, alkanes 10.6% and halogenated VOC (x-VOC) 5.0%. More aromatics and x-VOC were emitted from wood burning compared with straw burning. Field burning emitted more o-VOC due to more air being supplied during the burning test compared with stove burning. Further examination of the detailed VOC species showed the most abundant VOC species from biomass burning were o-VOC, C2–C3 alkenes and C6–C7 aromatics. The ozone formation potential (OFP) of VOCs from straw burning was in the range of 13.92–33.24 g/kg, which was much higher than that of wood burning (4.30 g/kg). Alkenes and o-VOC were the largest contributors to OFP of VOCs from biomass burning. The top five contributors of OFP were ethene, n-hexanal, propylene, acetaldehyde and methyl vinyl ketone, the sum of which accounted for 77% of total OFP. The ratio of ethylbenzene to m,p-xylenes from biomass burning was significantly higher than those from other VOC sources, and thus this could be seen as the fingerprint of biomass burning.
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and particulate matter (PM) emission were monitored for three common fuel-stove systems in Southeast Asia, namely, Eucalyptus wood sticks open burning, charcoal stove, and coal briquette stove. Smoke samples were taken isokinetically from the flue pipe of a hood and analyzed for PAH using HPLC/FLD and UV. Wood fuel burning produced the highest emission of 18 PAH and 11 genotoxic PAH in terms of the emission factor on energy basis (mg/MJ), emission rate, and pollutant concentration in smoke, while the charcoal
produced the least. On a fuel-weight basis, wood fuel produced almost the same emission factor of the total of
18 PAH (110 mg/kg) as coal briquettes but twice as much as genotoxic PAH, 13.4 vs 6.5 mg/kg. The wood fuel high
burning rate, however, resulted in the highest total 18 PAH emission rate (208 mg/h) and concentration (957íg/m3),
leading to a high exposure to toxic pollutants .....
Field measurements were conducted to determine the characteristics of non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHCs) emitted from open burning of wheat straw and maize stover, two major agricultural residues in China. The headfire ignition technique was used with sampling downwind from the agricultural fire. Fifty-two NMHC species were quantified using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. A carbon mass balance method was used to determine NMHC emission factors. The emission factors of the total speciated NMHCs from wheat straw and maize stover are 1690 ± 580 mg kg−1 and 1590 ± 430 mg kg−1, respectively. Propane, n-pentane, 2,3-dimethylbutane, 2-methylpentane, propene, benzene and toluene are the main species, together accounting for 55.3%–68.0% of the total NMHCs. On the basis of measured emission factors and the published maximum incremental reactivity values for NMHCs, we estimated the ozone forming potential (OFP) of speciated NMHCs. The results indicate that propene, 1-butene, isoprene, toluene and m,p-xylene have high OFP values and account for about 50% of the total OFP. Alkenes played the most important role in potential ozone formation, followed by aromatics and alkanes.
Estimates of biomass burning in Asia are developed to facilitate the
modeling of Asian and global air quality. A survey of national,
regional, and international publications on biomass burning is conducted
to yield consensus estimates of "typical" (i.e., non-year-specific)
estimates of open burning (excluding biofuels). We conclude that 730 Tg
of biomass are burned in a typical year from both anthropogenic and
natural causes. Forest burning comprises 45% of the total, the burning
of crop residues in the field comprises 34%, and 20% comes from the
burning of grassland and savanna. China contributes 25% of the total,
India 18%, Indonesia 13%, and Myanmar 8%. Regionally, forest burning in
Southeast Asia dominates. National, annual totals are converted to daily
and monthly estimates at 1° × 1° spatial resolution using
distributions based on AVHRR fire counts for 1999-2000. Several
adjustment schemes are applied to correct for the deficiencies of AVHRR
data, including the use of moving averages, normalization, TOMS Aerosol
Index, and masks for dust, clouds, landcover, and other fire sources.
Good agreement between the national estimates of biomass burning and
adjusted fire counts is obtained (R2 = 0.71-0.78). Biomass
burning amounts are converted to atmospheric emissions, yielding the
following estimates: 0.37 Tg of SO2, 2.8 Tg of
NOx, 1100 Tg of CO2, 67 Tg of CO, 3.1 Tg of
CH4, 12 Tg of NMVOC, 0.45 Tg of BC, 3.3 Tg of OC, and 0.92 Tg
of NH3. Uncertainties in the emission estimates, measured as
95% confidence intervals, range from a low of ±65% for
CO2 emissions in Japan to a high of ±700% for BC
emissions in India.
Accurate emission inventory (EI) is the foremost requirement for air quality management. Specifically, air quality modeling
requires EI with adequate spatial and temporal distributions. The development of such EI is always challenging, especially
for sporadic emission sources such as biomass open burning. The country of Thailand produces a large amount of various crops
annually, of which rough (unmilled) rice alone accounted for over 30 million tonnes in 2007. The crop residues are normally
burned in the field that generates large emissions of air pollutants and climate forcers. We present here an attempt at a
multipollutant EI for crop residue field burning in Thailand. Available country-specific and regional primary data were thoroughly
scrutinized to select the most realistic values for the best, low and high emission estimates. In the base year of 2007, the
best emission estimates in Gigagrams were as follows: particulate matter as PM2.5, 128; particulate matter as PM10, 143; sulfur dioxide (SO2), 4; carbon dioxide (CO2), 21,400; carbon monoxide (CO), 1,453; oxides of nitrogen (NOx), 42; ammonia (NH3), 59; methane (CH4), 132; non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOC), 108; elemental carbon (EC), 10; and organic carbon (OC), 54. Rice
straw burning was by far the largest contributor to the total emissions, especially during the dry season and in the central
part of the country. Only a limited number of EIs for crop residue open burning were reported for Thailand but with significant
discrepancies. Our best estimates were comparable but generally higher than other studies. Analysis for emission uncertainty,
taking into account possible variations in activity data and emission factors, shows considerable gaps between low and high
estimates. The difference between the low and high EI estimates for particulate matter and for particulate EC and OC varied
between −80% and +80% while those for CO2 and CO varied between −60% and +230%. Further, the crop production data of Thailand were used as a proxy to disaggregate
the emissions to obtain spatial (76 provinces) and temporal (monthly) distribution. The provincial emissions were also disaggregated
on a 0.1° × 0.1° grid net and to hourly profiles that can be directly used for dispersion modeling.
KeywordsCrop residue–Open burning–Air pollution–Gridded emission–Hourly emission–Thailand
The aggregate potential health impact due to ambient volatile organic compounds on the population living in the area nearby the petrochemical industrial complex in Thailand was evaluated using measured air contaminants concentration. Airborne volatile organic compounds were collected using canisters and were analyzed by gas chromatography/mass spectrophotometer following the US.EPA TO 15 procedure. Composite samples taken over a 24-h period were collected monthly. Concentrations of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were analyzed for a suite of 24 compounds covering both carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic substances. Results were determined and analyzed in order to evaluate their spatial variability and their potential health risk. Comparison of data from each monitoring site indicated that patterns of VOCs across sites were different from their major species and their concentrations which might be influenced by nearest potential emission sources. Carcinogenic VOCs such as benzene, 1,3butadiene, and 1,2 dichloroethane were found to be higher than their annual national standards. A potential cancer risk map was drawn based on benzene concentration in order to illustrate the zone of impact and the number in the population likely to be exposed. Results indicated that 82% of the total area, and 89.6% of the total population were within the impact area. It was suspected that high concentrations of benzene and 1,3 butadiene might be attributed by both the mobile source and the point source of emissions while 1,2 dichloroethane was suspected to be emitted from factories located upwind from the monitoring sites. Hazard quotients and hazard indexes were applied to determine chronic health effects with non-cancer endpoints. Calculated values of hazard indexes for each of the target organ systems were lower than 1, which indicated that the non-cancer chronic risk due to level of volatile organic compounds in the study area was less.
A large body of information on emissions from the various types of
biomass burning has been accumulated over the past decade, to a large
extent as a result of International Geosphere-Biosphere
Programme/International Global Atmospheric Chemistry research
activities. Yet this information has not been readily accessible to the
atmospheric chemistry community because it was scattered over a large
number of publications and reported in numerous different units and
reference systems. We have critically evaluated the presently available
data and integrated these into a consistent format. On the basis of this
analysis we present a set of emission factors for a large variety of
species emitted from biomass fires. Where data were not available, we
have proposed estimates based on appropriate extrapolation techniques.
We have derived global estimates of pyrogenic emissions for important
species emitted by the various types of biomass burning and compared our
estimates with results from inverse modeling studies.
The last decade has seen tremendous advances in atmospheric aerosol particle research that is often performed in the context of climate and global change science. Biomass burning, one of the largest sources of accumulation mode particles globally, has been closely studied for its radiative, geochemical, and dynamic impacts. These studies have taken many forms including laboratory burns, in situ experiments, remote sensing, and modeling. While the differing perspectives of these studies have ultimately improved our qualitative understanding of biomass-burning issues, the varied nature of the work make inter-comparisons and resolutions of some specific issues difficult. In short, the literature base has become a milieu of small pieces of the biomass-burning puzzle. This manuscript, the second part of four, examines the properties of biomass-burning particle emissions. Here we review and discuss the literature concerning the measurement of smoke particle size, chemistry, thermodynamic properties, and emission factors. Where appropriate, critiques of measurement techniques are presented. We show that very large differences in measured particle properties have appeared in the literature, in particular with regards to particle carbon budgets. We investigate emissions uncertainties using scale analyses, which shows that while emission factors for grass and brush are relatively well known, very large uncertainties still exist in emission factors of boreal, temperate and some tropical forests. Based on an uncertainty analysis of the community data set of biomass burning measurements, we present simplified models for particle size and emission factors. We close this review paper with a discussion of the community experimental data, point to lapses in the data set, and prioritize future research topics.
On 25 September 2014, Singapore’s new Transboundary Haze Pollution Act came into operation. The Act is a dramatic piece of legislation that creates extra-territorial liability for entities engaging in setting fires abroad that cause transboundary smoke or "haze" pollution in Singapore. The impetus for the Act’s enactment can be traced to the serious haze pollution that hit Singapore in June 2013.
Annual and monthly-based emission inventories in northern, central and north-eastern provinces in Thailand, where agriculture and related agro-industries are very intensive, were estimated to evaluate the contribution of agricultural activity, including crop residue burning, forest fires and related agro-industries on air quality monitored in corresponding provinces. The monthly-based emission inventories of air pollutants, or, particulate matter (PM), NOx and SO2, for various agricultural crops were estimated based on information on the level of production of typical crops: rice, corn, sugarcane, cassava, soybeans and potatoes using emission factors and other parameters related to country-specific values taking into account crop type and the local residue burning period. The estimated monthly emission inventory was compared with air monitoring data obtained at monitoring stations operated by the Pollution Control Department, Thailand (PCD) for validating the estimated emission inventory. The agro-industry that has the greatest impact on the regions being evaluated, is the sugar processing industry, which uses sugarcane as a raw material and its residue as fuel for the boiler. The backward trajectory analysis of the air mass arriving at the PCD station was calculated to confirm this influence. For the provinces being evaluated which are located in the upper northern, lower northern and northeast in Thailand, agricultural activities and forest fires were shown to be closely correlated to the ambient PM concentration while their contribution to the production of gaseous pollutants is much less.
Thousands of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the Earth's atmosphere exist which play an important role in various photochemical processes. However, the global model simulations of tropospheric chemistry deal with limited data of speciated VOCs. In the present study, we have used the Global Fire Emission s Database inventory of VOCs emitted from biomass burning in India during the period from 1997 to 2009. We have also analysed data of some VOCs measured in the upper troposphere over India for the year 2008. In this study, the major species analysed are C2H4, C2H4O, C2H6, C2H6S, C3H6, C3H6S, C3H8, C5H8, CH3OH, higher alkanes, higher alkenes, terpenes and toluene lumps. The biomass burning emissions of VOCs show large inter-annual variation. For example, the annual emission estimates of non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHCs) and CH3OH varied in the range 100-470 and 46-211 Gg yr-1 respectively. The major biomass sources were broadly categorized as deforestation, fuel-wood, forest and agricultural residues. The agricultural residue burning is the most dominant among the several biomass burning sources contributing to the emissions of CH3OH (59%), isoprene (80%) and toluene (72%). On the other hand, the major sources for NMHCs emission were agricultural residues and deforestation during all the years. The fire count data detected using the satellite-based Along Track Scanning Radiometer have been used to directly refer to the seasonal and inter -annual variations of biomass burning activities. We have estimated the propylene-equivalent concentrations of different light NMHCs measured in the upper troposphere over India. Role of stratospheric intrusion in the distribution of NMHCs has been analysed using the potential vorticity data.
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The emission factors (EFs) of nonmethane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs) emitted during the burning of Chinese crop residue were investigated as a function of modified combustion efficiency in laboratory experiments. NMVOCs, including acetonitrile, aldehydes/ketones, furan, and aromatic hydrocarbons, were monitored by proton-transfer-reaction mass spectrometry. Rape plant was burned in dry conditions and wheat straw was burned in both wet and dry conditions to simulate the possible burning of damp crop residue in regions of high temperature and humidity. We compared the present data to field data reported by Kudo et al. (2014). Good agreement between field and laboratory data was obtained for aromatics under relatively more smoldering combustion of dry samples, but laboratory data were slightly overestimated compared to field data for oxygenated VOC (OVOC). When EFs from the burning of wet samples were investigated, the consistency between the field and laboratory data for OVOCs was stronger than for dry samples. This may be caused by residual moisture in crop residue that has been stockpiled in humid regions. Comparison of the wet laboratory data with field data suggests that Kudo et al. (2014) observed the biomass burning plumes under relatively more smoldering conditions in which approximately a few tens of percentages of burned fuel materials were wet.
Open crop residue burning is one of the major sources of air pollutants including the precursors of photo-oxidants like ozone and secondary organic aerosol. We made measurements of trace gases including non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs) in a rural area in Central East China, in June 2010. During the campaign we identified six biomass burning events in total through the simultaneous enhancement of carbon monoxide and acetonitrile. Four cases represented fresh plumes (<2 hours after emission), and two cases represented aged plumes (>3 hours after emission), as determined by photochemical age. While we were not able to quantify formic acid, we identified an enhancement of major oxygenated volatile organic compounds (OVOCs) as well as low-molecular alkanes and alkenes, and aromatic hydrocarbons in these plumes. The observed normalized excess mixing ratios (NEMRs) of OVOCs and alkenes showed dependence on air mass age, even in fresh smoke plumes, supporting the view that these species are rapidly produced and destructed, respectively, during plume evolution. Based on the NEMR data in the fresh plumes, we calculated the emission factors (EFs) of individual NMVOCs. The comparison to previous reports suggests that the EFs of formaldehyde and acetic acid have been overestimated, while those of alkenes have been underestimated. Finally we suggest that open burning of wheat residue in China releases about 0.34 Tg NMVOCs annually. If we applied the same EFs to all crops, the annual NMVOC emissions would be 2.33 Tg. The EFs of speciated NMVOCs can be used to improve the existing inventories.
Emissions from burning major agricultural residue were measured through laboratory simulations using a self-designed dilution chamber system. Emission factors of CO2, CO, non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHCs), oxygenated volatile organic compounds (OVOCs), PM10, PM2.5, OC and EC in PM2.5 were measured for burning rice straw in flaming and smoldering combustion, and for burning of sugarcane leaves. NMHCs emitted from crop straw open burning were dominated by C2 hydrocarbons (ethene, ethane, ethyne), contributing (53.4 ± 4.6)% in volume in rice straw burning emissions and 41.8% in sugarcane burning emissions, respectively. Acetone and aldehyde were major OVOCs species in open straw burning emissions. A survey was conducted to determine the fraction of field crop biomass burned during harvesting season and the amounts of household firewood and crop residue consumption in 2008. Information obtained from the survey, together with measured EFs for field burning of rice straw and sugarcane, and EFs from literatures for field burning of other agricultural residues, biofuel combustion and forest fires, were used in developing the source inventories of carbonaceous pollutants in the PRD region. The annual emissions of CO, VOCs (including NMHCs and OVOCs), NOx, PM2.5, OC and EC from burning biomass were estimated to be 186.38, 15.94, 4.93, 15.56, 7.10, 2.25 kt in the year 2008, respectively. These estimates are lower than previously published estimates by 23–63%. Open burning patterns (flaming and smoldering) and rural biofuel use contribute to the differences. Field burning of straw contributed mainly to VOCs, PM2.5 and OC emissions while the residential sector was the dominant source of EC, CO and NOx. The contributions of biomass burning to entire PRD emissions are estimated as 3.37–6.53%, respectively, for PM, and 1.82–3.17%, respectively, for VOCs, and 0.52–2.77%, respectively, for NOx.
Particulate matter emitted from wind tunnel simulations of biomass burning for five herbaceous crop residues (rice, wheat and barley straws, corn stover, and sugar cane trash) and four wood fuels (walnut and almond prunings and ponderosa pine and Douglas fir slash) was collected and analyzed for mojor elements and water soluble species. Primary constituents of the particulate matter were C, K, C1, and S. Carbon accounted for roughly 50% of the herbaceous fuel PM and about 70% for the wood fuels. For the herbaceous fuels, particulate matter from rice straw in the size range below 10 gm aerodynamic diameter (PM10) had the highest concentrations of both K (24%) and C1, (17%) and barley straw PM10 contained the highest sulfur content (4%). , , and S were present in '' ns of ' wood c,, ot ,-,a .... a lc,,7o1 with maximum concentrations of 6.5% (almond prunings), 3% (walnut prunings), and 2% (almond prunings), respectively. Analysis of water soluble species indicated that ionic forms of K, C1, and S made up the majority of these elements from all fuels. Element balances showed K, C1, S, and N to have the highest recovery factors (fraction of fuel element found in the particulate matter) in the PM of the elements analyzed. In general, chlorine was the most efficiently recovered element for the herbaceous fuels (10 to 35%), whereas sulfur recovery was greatest for the wood fuels (25 o 45%). Unique potassium to elemental carbon ratios of 0.20 and 0.95 were computed for particulate matter (PM10 K/C(e)) from herbaceous and wood fuels, respectively. Similarly, in the size class below 2.5 gm, high-temperature elemental carbon to bromine (PM2.5 C(eht)/Br) ratios of-7.5, 43, and 150 were found for the herbaceous fuels, orchard prunings, and forest slash, respectively. The molar ratios of particulate phase bromine to gas phase CO2 (PM10 Br/CO2) are of the same order of magnitude as gas phase CH3Br/CO2 reported by others.
Emissions from household stoves, especially those using solid fuels, can contribute signi"cantly to greenhouse gas (GHG) inventories and have adverse health impacts. Few data are available on emissions from the numerous types of cookstoves used in developing countries. We have systematically measured emissions from 56 fuel/stove combinations in India and China, a large fraction of the combinations in use world-wide. A database was generated containing emission factors of direct and indirect GHGs and other airborne pollutants such as CO , CO, CH , TNMHC, N O, SO , NO V , TSP, etc. In this paper, we report on the 28 fuel/stove combinations tested in China. Since fuel and stove parameters were measured simultaneously along with the emissions, the database allows construction of complete carbon balances and analyses of the trade-o! of emissions per unit fuel mass and emissions per delivered energy. Results from the analyses show that the total emissions per unit delivered energy were substantially greater from burning the solid fuels than from burning the liquid or gaseous fuels, due to lower thermal and combustion eciency tends to increase emissions of products of incomplete combustion. Biomass fuels are typically burned with substantial production of non-CO GHGs with greater radiative forcing, indicating that biomass fuels have the potential to produce net global warming commitments even when grown renewably.
a b s t r a c t The burning of agricultural crop residue represents a major source of trace gases (CO, CO 2 , NO, NO 2 , and NO x) and particulate matter on a regional and global scale. This study investigates the gaseous and particulate emissions from the burning of rice, wheat and corn straws, which are three major agricultural crop residues in China, using a self-built burning stove and an aerosol chamber. Emission factors of CO 2 , CO, NO, NO 2 and NO x were measured to be 791.3, 64.2, 1.02, 0.79 and 1.81 g kg À1 for rice straw, 1557.9, 141.2, 0.79, 0.32 and 1.12 g kg À1 for wheat straw, and 1261.5, 114.7, 0.85, 0.43 and 1.28 g kg À1 for corn straw, respectively. The corresponding emission factors of particle number are 1.8 Â 10 13 , 1.0 Â 10 13 , and 1.7 Â 10 13 particles kg À1 , respectively. The total emissions of CO, CO 2 , and NO x from rice, wheat and corn straw burnings in China for the year 2004 were estimated to be 22.59, 252.92, and 0.28 Tg, respectively. The percentages of CO, CO 2 , and NO x to the total emissions were 13.9%, 15.3%, and 31.4% for rice straw, 32.9%, 32.5%, and 20.9% for wheat straw, and 53.2%, 52.2%, and 47.6% for corn straw, respectively. In addition, the emission allocations of agricultural crop residue burning were also plotted in different regions of China using a simple geographic information system (GIS).
There is increasing interest in Zimbabwe in the use of renewable energy sources as a means of meeting the country's energy requirements. Biomass provides 47% of the gross energy consumption in Zimbabwe. Energy can be derived from various forms of biomass using various available conversion technologies. Crop residues constitute a large part of the biomass available from the country's agriculture-based economy. The potential for energy production of crop residues is examined using data such as estimates of the quantities of the residues and their energy content. The major crops considered are maize, sugarcane, cotton, soyabeans, groundnuts, wheat, sorghum, fruits and forestry plantations. Quantities of residues are estimated from crop yields by using conversion coefficients for the various crops. Long-term crop yields data from 1970 to 1999 were used. Total annual residue yields for crops, fruits and forestry plantations are 7.805 Mt, 378 kt and 3.05 Mt, respectively. The crops, fruits and forestry residues have energy potential of 81.5, 4.9 and 44.3 PJ per year, respectively. This represents about 44% of the gross energy consumption in Zimbabwe. The need to balance use of crop residues for both energy purposes and other purposes such as animal feeding and soil fertility improvement is also highlighted.
Characteristics and availability of biomass waste streams and residues for power production by means of integrated gasification/combined cycle technology (BIG/CC), are evaluated for The Netherlands. Four main categories are investigated: streams from agriculture; organic waste; wood; and sludges. Altogether 18 different streams are distinguished. Gross availability and net availability are inventorized. Various properties (composition, heating value, supply patterns) are analysed and the suitability of these streams for conversion in a BIG/CC unit is studied. The costs at which various streams are likely to be available are assessed. The gross energetic availability amounts annually to approximately 190 PJ (HHV) primary energy. Because of competing useful and higher value applications than fuel of various streams, such as fodder and fertilizer, the net availability is slightly less than 90 PJ (HHV). For a number of streams the costs are negative due to present waste-treatment costs. Costs of waste streams vary from — 10-5 ECU/GJ. For a small fraction the costs are higher than for energy crops (estimated to be approximately 4.5 ECU/GJ). Because there are large variations in properties and contaminants between various streams, the conversion system needs to flexible when a diversity of streams is treated in one installation. Some streams require mixing with cleaner fuels to make them suitable for use in a direct atmospheric biomass integrated gasifier/combined cycle system. Important technical limits for the use of biomass fuels in the system studied, are the moisture content (maximum 70% of wet fuel) and ash content (maximum 20% dry matter content) of the fuel.
Gaseous and particulate emissions from vegetation fires substantially modify the atmospheric chemical composition, degrade air quality and can alter weather and climate. The impact of vegetation fire emissions on air pollution and climate has been recognised in the late 1970s. The application of satellite data for fire-related studies in the beginning of the 21th century represented a major break through in our understanding of the global importance of fires. Today the location and extent of vegetation fires, burned area and emissions released from fires are determined from satellite products even though many uncertainties persist. Numerous dedicated experimental and modeling studies contributed to improve the current knowledge of the atmospheric impact of vegetation fires. The motivation of this paper is to give an overview of vegetation fire emissions, their environmental and climate impact, and what improvements can be expected in the near future.
The research team analyzed the emission characteristics of gaseous pollutants, including volatile organic compounds (VOCs), from biomass combustion in improved stoves in rural China. The research included measurements from five biofuels and two stove types in the months of January, April, and September. The measurements were conducted according to U.S. EPA Method 25 using a collection system with a cooling device and two-level filters. CO, CO2, NOx, CH4 and THC analyzers were used for in-field, real-time emission measurements. The emission data indicate that gaseous pollutants were emitted at higher concentrations in the early combustion stage and lower concentrations in the later stage. CH4 and THC, as well as CO and CO2, presented positive relationships during the whole entire combustion process for all tests. The chemical profiles of flue gas samples were analyzed by GC/MS and GC/FID/ECD. Aromatics, carbonyls, and alkenes & alkynes dominated the VOC emissions, respectively accounting for 37%, 33%, and 23% of total VOC emissions by volume. Benzene was the most abundant VOC species, consisting of 17.3 ± 8.1% of VOCs, followed by propylene (11.3 ± 3.5%), acetone (10.8 ± 8.2%), toluene (7.3 ± 5.7%) and acetaldehyde (6.5 ± 7.3%). Carbon mass balance approach was applied to calculate CO, CO2, CH4, NOx, and VOC species emission factors. This analysis includes a discussion of the differences among VOC emission factors of different biofuel-stove combinations.
Observations regarding emissions of organic air toxics from open burning sources were made. The studies show that biomass open burning sources emit less volatile organic compounds (VOC) than anthropogenic sources. Biomass open burning sources also emit less semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOC) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH). Burning pools of crude oil and diesel fuel produce significant amounts of PAHs relative to other types of open burning. PAH emissions are highest when combustion of polymers is involved.
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from fires of biomass commonly found in the southeast and southwest U.S. were investigated with PTR-MS and PIT-MS, which are capable of fast measurements of a large number of VOCs. Both instruments were calibrated with gas standards and mass dependent calibration curves are determined. The sensitivity of the PIT-MS linearly increases with mass, because the ion trap mass spectrometer used in PIT-MS is more efficient for higher masses, whereas the quadrupole in PTR-MS is most efficient around 70amu. The identification of VOCs in the complicated mix of the fire emissions was done by gas chromatographic pre separation and inter-comparison with other instrumentation: GC–MS, FTIR, and NI-PT-CIMS. With these state of the art identification methods only 50–75% of the mass detectable by PTR-MS or PIT-MS could be identified. The amount of identified material was dependent on the type of fuel used and the phase of the burns, more can be identified in the flaming stage of the fire. Compounds with masses above 100amu contributed the largest fraction of the unidentified mass. Emission ratios with CO for all identified and unidentified compounds were determined. Small oxygenated VOCs had the highest emission ratios of the observed compounds.
Thermal emissions from vegetation fires in Peninsular Malaysia as monitored by the National Oceanic Atmosphere Administration (NOAA) satellite during the burning season from February to March 2002 had showed that the states of Perak, Selangor and Pahang exhibited higher burning activities compared to other states. The hotspots displayed patterns of clusters that were variable temporally and spatially. Incomplete and uncontrolled vegetation burning can be a potential polluter to the surrounding atmosphere. Estimates of the emissions and dispersion of pollutants such as particulates, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide and non-methane hydrocarbons were investigated. The emission estimates showed that comparatively, carbon monoxide ranked as the highest polluter, followed by particulate matter and non-methane hydrocarbons. Estimates of the greenhouse gases showed that carbon dioxide was much higher than either the emissions of nitrous oxides or methane.
Ambient VOCs were measured by a proton transfer reaction-mass spectrometer (PTR-MS) at a receptor site in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) during October 19-November 18, 2008. Biomass burning plumes are identified by using acetonitrile as tracer, and enhancement ratios (ERs) of nine VOCs species relative to acetonitrile are obtained from linear regression analysis and the source-tracer-ratio method. Enhancement ratios determined by the two different methods show good agreement for most VOCs species. Biomass burning contributions are investigated by using the source-tracer-ratio method. Biomass burning contributed 9.5%-17.7% to mixing ratios of the nine VOCs. The estimated biomass burning contributions are compared with local emission inventories. Large discrepancies are observed between our results and the estimates in two emission inventories. Though biomass burning emissions in TRACE-P inventory agree well with our results, the VOCs speciation for aromatic compounds may be not appropriate for Guangdong.
Biomass consumption and CO2, CO and hydrocarbon gas emissions in an Amazonian forest clearing fire are presented and discussed. The experiment was conducted in the arc of deforestation, near the city of Alta Floresta, state of Mato Grosso, Brazil. The average carbon content of dry biomass was 48% and the estimated average moisture content of fresh biomass was 42% on wet weight basis. The fresh biomass and the amount of carbon on the ground before burning were estimated as 528 t ha−1 and 147 t ha−1, respectively. The overall biomass consumption for the experiment was estimated as 23.9%. A series of experiment in the same region resulted in average efficiency of 40% for areas of same size and 50% for larger areas. The lower efficiency obtained in the burn reported here occurred possibly due to rain before the experiment. Excess mixing ratios were measured for CO2, CO, CH4, C2C3 aliphatic hydrocarbons, and PM2.5. Excess mixing ratios of CH4 and C2C3 hydrocarbons were linearly correlated with those of CO. The average emission factors of CO2, CO, CH4, NMHC, and PM2.5 were 1,599, 111.3, 9.2, 5.6, and 4.8 g kg−1 of burned dry biomass, respectively. One hectare of burned forest released about 117,000 kg of CO2, 8100 kg of CO, 675 kg of CH4, 407 kg of NMHC and 354 kg of PM2.5. Pages: 438-446
Rice is a widely grown crop in Asia. China (30%) and India (21%) contribute to about half of the world's total rice production. In this study, three major rice-producing countries in Asia are considered, India, Thailand and the Philippines (the later two contributing 4% and 2% of the world's rice production). Rice straw is one of the main field based residues produced along with this commodity and its applications vary widely in the region. Although rice production practises vary from one country to another, open burning of straw is a common practice in these countries. In this study, an approach was followed aiming at (a) determining the quantity of rice straw being subject to open field burning in those countries, (b) congregating pollutant specific emissions factors for rice straw burning, and (c) quantifying the resulting air pollutant emissions. Uncertainties in the results obtained as compared to a global approach are also discussed.
Emission contributions from cookstoves to indoor, regional, and global air pollution largely depend on stove and fuel types. This paper presents a database on emission factors of speciated non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHCs) for 16 fuel/stove combinations burning 2 types of crop residue, wood, 4 types of coal, kerosene, and 3 types of gaseous fuels. The emission factors are presented both on a fuel mass basis (compound mass per fuel mass) and on a cooking task basis (compound mass per unit energy delivered to the pot). These fuel/stove combinations cover a large spectrum of the cookstoves used in both urban and rural households in China. Up to 54 hydrocarbons were identified, some of which are reactive precursors of photochemical smog. Based on published maximum incremental reactivity (MIR) values for NMHCs, we estimated stove-specific and fuel-specific ozone forming potentials (OFPs). The results indicate that raw coal powder, wood, and crop residues have higher OFP values than the other types of fuels tested. Strikingly, burning the coal briquette and honeycomb coal briquette produced OFP values more than 2 orders of magnitude lower than burning unprocessed (raw) coal, even in the same vented metal stove, for every 1 MJ delivered to the pot.
- A P C Faaij
Faaij, A.P.C., 2004. Biomass combustion. Encycl. Energy 1, 175-191.
Estimation of air pollutant emission from open biomass burning in Thailand
- S Garivait
- S Bonnet
- V Sorapipith
- U Chaiyo
Garivait, S., Bonnet, S., Sorapipith, V., Chaiyo, U., 2004. Estimation of air pollutant
emission from open biomass burning in Thailand. In: Proceedings of the Joint
International Conference on "Sustainable Energy and Environment (SEE)", December
1-3, 2004, Hua Hin, Thailand.
Physical and chemical properties of Thai biomass fuels from agricultural residues
- S Garivait
- U Chaiyo
- S Patumsawad
- J Deakhuntod
Garivait, S., Chaiyo, U., Patumsawad, S., Deakhuntod, J., 2006. Physical and chemical
properties of Thai biomass fuels from agricultural residues. In: Proceedings of the the
Joint International Conference on "Sustainable Energy and Environment (SEE)",
2006, Bangkok, Thailand.
Characterization of gaseous and semi-volatile organic compounds emitted from field burning of rice straw
- Kim Oanh
- N T Tipayarom
- A Bich
- T L Tipayarom
- D Simpson
- C D Hardie
- D Liu
Kim Oanh, N.T., Tipayarom, A., Bich, T.L., Tipayarom, D., Simpson, C.D., Hardie, D., Liu,
S.L.J., 2015. Characterization of gaseous and semi-volatile organic compounds
emitted from field burning of rice straw. Atmos. Environ. 119, 182-191.
Biomass Burning in Thailand. Inventory, Modeling and Climate Impacts of Greenhouse Gas Emissions (GHG's) and Aerosols in the Asian Region
- N Thongboonchoo
Thongboonchoo, N., 2013. Biomass Burning in Thailand. Inventory, Modeling and
Climate Impacts of Greenhouse Gas Emissions (GHG's) and Aerosols in the Asian
Region. 26-28 June 2013, Tsukuba, Japan.