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Modeling of volatile organic compounds dispersion from open crop residue burning
Abstract
Burning of maize residues has been considered as a significant source of air pollution in the northern region of Thailand during the dry season. This study applied CALPUFF air dispersion model to predict ambient VOC concentrations released from maize residue open burning in the study area. VOC emission data in 2014 coupled with the meteorological data from the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model were used as model input data. The model was simulated during January-April to predict 24-h average VOC concentrations and dispersions over the modeling domain of 100 × 100 km ² with 1 km grid resolution. Four VOCs including benzene, acrylonitrile, xylene, and acetaldehyde were evaluated for different burned area scenarios (100% or worst-case, 75%, 50%, and 25% maize acreage areas being burned at the same time). Predicted concentrations were compared to Thailand surveillance standards and the international ambient VOC guidelines on the 24-h average basis. The results revealed that VOC concentrations from the worst-case scenario exceeded the guidelines. Reducing burned areas could decrease the maximum VOC concentrations; however, the levels of some VOCs were still higher than the guideline values. The highest value was predicted in January due to its lower wind speed as compared to other months. Therefore, we suggested that the intermittent control scheme of zero burning should be more stringent in the study area during the burning season for reducing the impacts on air quality and public health.
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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.