Agricultural Residue Burning Research Articles

Investigations on Stubble-Burning Aerosols over a Rural Location Using Ground-Based, Model, and Spaceborne Data

Agriculture crop residue burning has become a major environmental problem facing the Indo-Gangetic plain, as well as contributing to global warming. This paper reports the results of a comprehensive study, examining the variations in aerosol optical, microphysical, and radiative properties that occur during biomass-burning events at Amity University Haryana (AUH), at a rural station in Gurugram (Latitude: 28.31° N, Longitude: 76.90° E, 285 m AMSL), employing ground-based observations of AERONET and Aethalometer, as well as satellite and model simulations during 7–16 November 2021. The smoke emissions during the burning events enhanced the aerosol optical depth (AOD) and increased the Angstrom exponent (AE), suggesting the dominance of fine-mode aerosols. A smoke event that affected the study region on 11 November 2021 is simulated using the regional NAAPS model to assess the role of smoke in regional aerosol loading that caused an atmospheric forcing of 230.4 W/m2. The higher values of BC (black carbon) and BB (biomass burning), and lower values of AAE (absorption Angstrom exponent) are also observed during the peak intensity of the smoke-event period. A notable layer of smoke has been observed, extending from the surface up to an altitude of approximately 3 km. In addition, the observations gathered from CALIPSO regarding the vertical profiles of aerosols show a qualitative agreement with the values obtained from AERONET observations. Further, the smoke plumes that arose due to transport of a wide-spread agricultural crop residue burning are observed nationwide, as shown by MODIS imagery, and HYSPLIT back trajectories. Thus, the present study highlights that the smoke aerosol emissions during crop residue burning occasions play a critical role in the local/regional aerosol microphysical and radiation properties, and hence in the climate variability.

The Prospects of Controlling Open Burning of Crop Residues in Thailand: A Quantitative Assessment of Implementation Barriers and Costs

The open burning of agricultural crop residues poses a sizable threat to Southeast Asia’s near-term prosperity and long-term sustainability. Though Southeast Asia’s policymakers have adopted burning bans and other solutions to curb this threat, few studies have systematically assessed their implementation prospects. This study offers a novel data-driven assessment of those prospects in Thailand. More concretely, it estimates how much economic, technological, institutional, and social barriers could slow the implementation of burning restrictions featured in Thailand’s PM2.5 control plan. This study finds that institutional/social barriers delay implementation more than technical/economic barriers, resulting in about twice the level of PM2.5 emissions relative to an effectively implemented policy scenario over a 10- to 20-year period. This study also demonstrates that the costs of overcoming social/institutional barriers are approximately 14 million US dollars annually over a ten-year period. This figure is equivalent to about a 70% increase on the 21 million US dollars planned for controlling burning in 2026 in Thailand. The approach employed in this study—though not free of imperfections—can also be used for finer-grained comparison of the barriers/costs of managing different crop residues in Thailand and beyond.

Different impacts of natural and anthropogenic factors on dissolved organic matter chemistry in coastal rivers: Implications for water management

The chemical composition of dissolved organic matter (DOM) exerts significant influence on aquatic energy dynamics, pollutant transportation, and carbon storage, thereby playing pivotal roles in the local water quality and regional-global biogeochemical cycling. However, the effects of natural climate change and local human activities on watershed characteristics and in-river processes have led to uncertainties regarding their contributions to DOM chemistry in coastal rivers, creating challenges for effective water management and the study of organic matter cycling. In this investigation, we employed a combination of stable isotopic analysis, optical techniques, and Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR-MS) to elucidate the sources, optical properties, and molecular composition of DOM in three South China coastal rivers. Our results suggest that terrestrial DOM entering the three rivers through natural or anthropogenic pathways is gradually diluted by in situ primary production as it moves downstream, ultimately being influenced by seawater intrusion near the estuary. Additionally, terrestrial processes influenced by temperature likely govern DOC concentration, while seawater intrusion promotes the natural production of S-containing organic compounds. In contrast, human-altered landcover significantly impacts DOM molecular composition. Increased water areas lead to the enrichment of lignins with high disinfection byproduct formation potential, and agricultural residue burning appears to be the dominant source of pyrogenic DOM in these coastal rivers. Our distinct results suggest that the development of specific water management plans that consider the combined effects of temperature, seawater intrusion, landcover changes, and agricultural practices will be essential to ensure sustainable water resource.

Drivers of PM2.5 Episodes and Exceedance in India: A Synthesis From the COALESCE Network

AbstractEmission sources influencing high particulate air pollution levels and related mortality in India have been studied earlier on country‐wide and sub‐national scales. Here, we use novel data sets of emissions (for 2019) and observations created under the Carbonaceous Aerosol Emissions, Source Apportionment, and Climate Impacts network in India (Venkataraman et al., 2020, https://doi.org/10.1175/bams‐d‐19‐0030.1) in WRF‐Chem simulations to evaluate drivers of high PM2.5 levels during episodes and in airsheds with different pollution levels. We identify airsheds in “extreme” (110–140 μg/m3), “severe” (80–110 μg/m3) and “significant” (40–80 μg/m3) exceedance of the Indian annual ambient air quality standard (National Ambient Air Quality Standards [NAAQS]) of 40 μg/m3 for PM2.5. We find that primary organic matter and anthropogenic mineral matter (largely coal fly‐ash) drive high PM2.5 levels, both annually and during high PM2.5 episodes. PM2.5 episodes are driven by organic aerosol in north India (Mohali) in wintertime but are additionally influenced by mineral matter and secondary inorganics in central (Bhopal), south India (Mysuru) and eastern India (Shyamnagar). Across airsheds in exceedance of the NAAQS and during high PM2.5 episodes, primary PM2.5 emissions arise largely from the residential sector (50%–75%). Formal sector emissions (industry, thermal power and transport; 40%–55%) drive airshed and episode scale PM2.5 exceedance in northern and eastern India. Agricultural residue burning emissions predominate (50%–75%) on episode scales, both in northern and central India, but not on annual scales. Interestingly, residential sector emissions strongly influence (60%–90%) airsheds in compliance with the NAAQS (annual mean PM2.5 < 40 μg/m3), implying the need for modern residential energy transitions for the reduction of ambient air pollution across India.

Alternative crop residue management practices to mitigate the environmental and economic impacts of open burning of agricultural residues

Deliberate open burning of crop residues emits greenhouse gases and toxic pollutants into the atmosphere. This study investigates the environmental impacts (global warming potential, GWP) and economic impacts (net cash flow) of nine agricultural residue management schemes, including open burning, fertilizer production, and biochar production for corn residue, rice straw, and sugarcane leaves. The environmental assessment shows that, except the open burning schemes, fossil fuel consumption is the main contributor of the GWP impact. The fertilizer and biochar schemes reduce the GWP impact including black carbon by 1.88–1.96 and 2.46–3.22 times compared to open burning. The biochar schemes have the lowest GWP (− 1833.19 to − 1473.21 kg CO2-eq/ton). The economic assessment outcomes reveal that the biochar schemes have the highest net cash flow (222.72—889.31 US$2022/ton or 1258.15–13409.16 US$2022/ha). The expenditures of open burning are practically zero, while the biochar schemes are the most costly to operate. The most preferable agricultural residue management type is the biochar production, given the lowest GWP impact and the highest net cash flow. To discourage open burning, the government should tailor the government assistance programs to the needs of the farmers and make the financial assistance more accessible.

Association between Air Pollution Relating to Agricultural Residue Burning and Morbidity of Acute Cardiopulmonary Diseases in Upper Northern Thailand

In Northern Thailand, increasing seasonal agricultural residue burning has led to public concern about health risks. This study aimed to examine the associations between air pollutants related to agricultural residue burning and morbidity from acute cardiopulmonary diseases in upper Northern Thailand in 2018. An ecological study was conducted. Emergency room visits and hospitalizations for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), stroke, myocardial infarction (MI), and asthma were extracted from the National Electronic Health Record database. We interpolated air pollution data to estimate weekly pollutant concentrations, including PM10, PM2.5, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide and ozone from 1 Jan to 31 Dec 2018. Associations between air pollution and health outcomes were analyzed using a mixed effect model incorporating different lag structures. Overall pollutant concentrations exceeded WHO air quality standard levels throughout March and April, which is the end of forest burning prohibition campaign. Morbidity from COPD, stroke, MI and asthma slightly increased over March–April. For every increase in PM2.5 level of 10 μg/m3, the relative risk of COPD, stroke, MI and asthma 1 week later was 1.10 (95% CI 1.09–1.12), 1.06 (1.05–1.08), 1.06 (1.04–1.08) and 1.06 (1.01–1.12), respectively. The effects of agricultural residue burning should be highlighted and policies should be developed to deter this practice.

Assessing the impact of alkali pretreatment of rice husk on its composition and product portfolio: Tradeoff between biogas and valuable materials recovery for sustainability

The burning of agricultural crop residues has evolved into a significant global issue with far-reaching implications for public health and environmental integrity. Utilizing biochemical methodologies to valorize these residues presents a dual advantage, mitigating disposal challenges while concurrently fostering wealth generation through bioenergy production and the creation of value-added materials. Nevertheless, the biodegradation of residues faces impediments due to the presence of recalcitrant silica and lignin. To assess the efficacy and elucidate the performance of biochemical approaches, this study investigates the impact of NaOH treatment (2%, 4%, 6%, 8%, and 10% w/v) on rice husk (RH) at 90 °C for 2 h initially followed by anaerobic digestion (AD) for biogas generation. This recovers silica, yielding residual pulp devoid of lignin, a raw material for biogas generation. Analytical investigation through FE-SEM reveals mild fissures and surface ruptures in 4% NaOH-treated RH, while XRD shows a crystallinity index increase from 43.3% (untreated RH) to 69.4% (NaOH-treated RH). The optimal NaOH concentration, yielding 0.16 g/g of silica and 0.206 L/g VSadded of biogas is 4%. These results highlight tailored NaOH's potential for enhancing silica recovery and biogas production from RH. Spearman's correlation analysis reveals a strong correlation (0.9–1.0) among the reduction in volatile solids (VS %), total solids (TS %), methane yield (mL/g VSadded), and biogas yield (mL/g VSadded). P values for artificial neural network (ANN) and fuzzy models consistently range from 10−4 to 10−19. Achieving sustainability necessitates balancing the trade-off between maximizing biogas production and optimizing silica recovery for an environmentally sound and efficient system.

Mitigating agricultural residue burning: challenges and solutions across land classes in Punjab, India

Abstract India faces significant air quality challenges, contributing to local health and global climate concerns. Despite a national ban on agricultural residue burning and various incentive schemes, farmers in northern India continue to face difficulties in curbing open-field burning. Using data from 1021 farming households in rural Punjab in India, we examine the patterns and drivers of the adoption of no-burn agriculture, particularly for farmers who mulch instead of burning crop residue. We find a growing trend in no-burn farming practices among farmers between 2015 and 2017, with the highest adoption rates among large farmers compared to medium and small farmers. Our findings suggest that access to equipment and learning opportunities may increase the likelihood of farmers using straw as mulch instead of burning it. Specifically, social learning appears to increase the likelihood of farmers embracing no-burn practices relative to learning from extension agencies. Furthermore, the form of learning depends on farm size. While large and medium farmers exhibit a variety of learning strategies, small farmers primarily self-learn. These results underscore the importance of a multiprong policy that provides sufficient access to equipment and a combination of learning platforms that enabling farmers from different land classes to adopt no-burn technologies.

Agricultural production and air pollution: An investigation on crop straw fires.

In numerous developing nations, the pervasive practice of crop residue incineration is a principal contributor to atmospheric contamination in agricultural operations. This study examines the repercussions of such biomass combustion on air quality during the autumnal harvest season, utilizing data acquired from satellite-based remote sensing of fire events and air pollution measurements. Employing wind direction information alongside difference-in-difference and fixed-effects methodologies, this investigation rectifies estimation inaccuracies stemming from the non-random distribution of combustion occurrences. The empirical findings reveal that agricultural residue burning precipitates an elevation in average PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations by approximately 27 and 22 μg/m3 during the autumnal incineration period, respectively. Furthermore, air pollution attributed to residue burning in prominent grain-producing regions exceeds the national average by approximately 40%. By integrating economic paradigms into agri-environmental inquiries, this study offers novel insights and substantiation of the environmental expenditures engendered by crop residue burning, juxtaposed with extant meteorological and ecological research findings.

Agrowaste-generated biochar for the sustainable remediation of refractory pollutants.

The rapid growth of various industries has led to a significant, alarming increase in recalcitrant pollutants in the environment. Hazardous dyes, heavy metals, pesticides, pharmaceutical products, and other associated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (such as acenaphthene, fluorene, fluoranthene, phenanthrene, and pyrene) have posed a significant threat to the surroundings due to their refractory nature. Although activated carbon has been reported to be an adsorbent for removing contaminants from wastewater, it has its limitations. Hence, this review provides an elaborate account of converting agricultural waste into biochar with nanotextured surfaces that can serve as low-cost adsorbents with promising pollutant-removing properties. A detailed mechanism rationalized that this strategy involves the conversion of agrowaste to promising adsorbents that can be reduced, reused, and recycled. The potential of biowaste-derived biochar can be exploited for developing biofuel for renewable energy and also for improving soil fertility. This strategy can provide a solution to control greenhouse gas emissions by preventing the open burning of agricultural residues in fields. Furthermore, this serves a dual purpose for environmental remediation as well as effective management of agricultural waste rich in both organic and inorganic components that are generated during various agricultural operations. In this manner, this review provides recent advances in the use of agrowaste-generated biochar for cleaning the environment.

Soil Carbon and Biochemical Indicators of Soil Quality as Affected by Different Conservation Agricultural and Weed Management Options

Burning of agricultural residues, cultivation of single crop varieties such as rice (Oryza sativa L.) and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), and traditional soil tillage practices collectively contribute to the degradation of environmental quality, water systems, and soil resources. To address these issues, conservation agriculture (CA)-based crop management practice has emerged as one of the viable options. The current study was conducted with the aim to evaluate the effect of CA and weed management (WM) practices on carbon dynamics and biochemical properties of soil. The experiment included two factors, viz., CA and WM practices. The CA levels vary from conventional agriculture to partial CA (pCA1, pCA2, and pCA3) and full CA, while WM had three levels consisting of chemical control, integrated weed management, and weedy check. The results demonstrated that soil organic carbon (SOC) under the full CA treatment, was 30.6, 23.5, and 20.6 percent higher than conventional agriculture (T1), partial CA1, and partial CA2 practices, respectively. Similarly, labile fractions of carbon, KMnO4-C MBC, WSOC, and POC, in full CA increased by 46.3, 52.3, 152.4, and 15.6 percent, respectively, over conventional agriculture. Nonetheless, the total organic carbon exhibited no significant impact. The highest SOC stock was sequestered under full CA treatment, which was higher by 26.5 to 40.6 per cent than the rest of the CA treatments. Among biological properties, full CA resulted in 104.3 and 40.6 percent higher dehydrogenase and alkaline phosphatase activity than conventional agriculture. The impact of weed management practices was significant for KMnO4-C, with very labile carbon and alkaline phosphatase activity only in the surface soil layer. Soil quality index (SQI) followed the decreasing order as full CA (0.94) > partial CA3 (0.88) > partial CA2 (0.78) partial CA1 (0.77) > conventional agriculture (0.67) under different CA treatments, whereas WM followed herbicide (0.82) > weedy check (0.81) > IWM (0.80). The current study offered incredible information on soil carbon and biological indicators to monitor soil quality changes in rice–wheat cropping systems in response to conservation agriculture practices.

Greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural residue burning have increased by 75 % since 2011 across India

Quantifying crop residue burning across India is imperative, owing to its adverse impacts on public health, the environment, and agricultural productivity. Specific information about the extent and characteristics of agricultural crop burning can verify the emission potential of agricultural systems and thereby facilitate targeted dissemination of agricultural innovations and support policymakers in mitigating the harmful effects. With a focus on district-level burning estimates, our study provides a comprehensive seasonal analysis of agricultural burning in India, including burned area, dry matter burned, and gaseous emissions for seven major crops from 2011 to 2020. To quantify the actual residues burned, we developed a remote sensing-based approach that incorporates the monitoring of agricultural burned area to quantify the actual residues burned. Including this satellite measure of the burned area greatly improves emissions estimates and minimizes error compared to typical approaches, which instead use an assumed fraction of total residues that are burned for each crop type. We estimated that emissions have increased by approximately 75 % for CO and Greenhouse gasses - CO2, CH4 and N2O - from 2011 to 2020. Total CO2e emissions increased from ~19,340 Gg.yr−1 in 2011 to ~33,834 Gg.yr−1 in 2020. Most emissions occurred during end of the Kharif season, followed by Rabi, caused by the burning of rice and wheat residues. Among the Indian states, Punjab has the highest burning activity, with 27 % (2.0 million hectares) of its total cultivated area burned in 2020. Interestingly, Madhya Pradesh has emerged as the second-largest contributor, accounting for 30 % of the total burned area across India in 2020. Our study demonstrates how satellite data can be used to map agricultural residue burning at scale, and this information can provide crucial insights for policy framing, targeting, and interventions to manage agricultural residues without compromising air quality and climate.

Solar-assisted gasification of agriculture residues for green hydrogen production

The present study proposes a novel way of green hydrogen (H2) synthesis by steam – air biomass gasification assisted by solar energy. In view of environmental problems arising due to stubble burning of agricultural residues in India, bagasse, rice straw and wheat straw are selected as biomass samples. Biomass gasification process is simulated in ASPEN Plus software and then effects of gasification temperature (Tg), equivalence ratio (ER) and steam – to – air mass ratio (S/A) on molar H2 content of producer gas (MHC), higher heating value of producer gas (HHV) and cold gas efficiency (CGE) are studied. The process is optimized using Response Surface Methodology (RSM). It is found that Tg=800 °C – 900 °C, ER=0.2 and S/A=1.8–2.2 are optimum ranges to maximize MHC, HHV and CGE, yielding about 40 % MHC, 6 MJ/kg HHV with 80 % CGE. At optimum operational conditions, steam required for steam-air gasification of a 15 kWth gasifier is calculated. This steam is superheated by solar tower. Total heliostat area requirement is calculated to be 40 m2–65 m2 for different input temperatures of superheated steam (Ts) during steam-air gasification.

Estimation of agricultural burned affected area using NDVI and dNBR satellite-based empirical models

One of the major crucial issues that need worldwide attention is open stubble burning, which imposes a variety of adverse impacts on nature and human society, destroying the world's biodiversity. Many earth observation satellites render information to monitor and assess agricultural burning activities. In this study, different remotely sensed data (Sentinel-2A, VIIRS) has been employed to estimate the quantitative measurements of agricultural burned areas of the Purba Bardhaman district from October–December 2018. The multi-temporal image differencing techniques and indices (NDVI, NBR, and dNBR) and VIIRS active fires data (VNP14IMGT) have been utilized to spot agricultural burned areas. In the case of the NDVI technique, a prominent area, 184.82 km2 of agricultural burned area (7.85% of the total agriculture), was observed. The highest (23.04 km2) burned area was observed in the Bhatar block, located in the middle part of the district, and the lowest (0.11 km2) burned area was observed in the Purbasthali-II block, which is located in the eastern part of the district. On the other hand, the dNBR technique revealed that the agricultural burned areas enwrap 8.18% of the total agricultural area, which is 192.45 km2. As per the earlier NDVI technique, the highest agricultural burned areas (24.82 km2) were observed in the Bhatar block, and the lowest (0.13 km2) burn area occurred in the Purbashthali-II block. In both cases, it is observed that agricultural residue burning is high in the western part of the Satgachia block and the adjacent areas of the Bhatar block, which is in the middle part of Purba Bardhaman. The agricultural burned area was extracted using different spectral separability analyses, and the performance of dNBR was the most effective in spectral discrimination of burned and unburned surfaces. This study manifested that agricultural residue burning started in the central part of Purba Bardhaman. Later it spread all over the district due to the trend of early harvesting rice crops in this region. The performance of different indices for mapping the burned areas was evaluated and compared, revealing a strong correlation (R2) = 0.98. To estimate the campaign's effectiveness against the dangerous practice and plan the control of the menace, regular monitoring of crop stubble burning using satellite data is required.

Biostabilization of soils as sustainable pathway for anti-desertification: Present and future perspectives

Desertification is a growing concern worldwide; mainly in drylands, arid/semi-arid regions, sloping terrains and the coastal areas. It poses significant threat for developing resilient rural, urban and coastal infrastructure, and preserving land/forest/coastal biodiversity and ecosystem. Desertification could result from loss of soil fertility, soil erosion due to heavy and variable rainfall events, salinization, wind erosion, deforestation, overgrazing of vegetation, burning of agricultural residue, natural disasters such as floods, droughts, landslides and forest fires, or changes in land use patterns. Anti-desertification (viz., controlling further desertification and in some cases reversal of desertification process) can be achieved by construction of bunds across water flow (erosion control), underground cutoff walls (control of salinization), afforestation activities, providing grass turfs, coupled with soil stabilization techniques. Anti-desertification on a large scale would require implementation of sustainable and natural strategies to prevent land degradation due to erosion, water logging, or salinization. In this context, the present paper reviews in detail the existing state-of-the-art and discusses the different proven and emerging biostabilization strategies/approaches/methods, that can be combined to serve as sustainable pathways for achieving anti-desertification, an important step towards developing resilient infrastructure.

Urban air pollution anxieties, forest conservation, and farmland expropriation: State territorialization in the uplands and highlands of northern Thailand

The burning of agricultural residue during the dry season in rural northern Thailand has been identified as an important source of air pollution at the heart of an ongoing haze crisis particularly felt in the region’s urban areas. Public outcry in Chiang Mai over poor air quality pressured the government into developing fire management and prevention efforts in areas with high numbers of open-air fires, such as Mae Chaem district. Nevertheless, the haze situation deteriorated, prompting the 2014–2019 military-led government to develop a pilot fire-reduction project known as the Mae Chaem Model, whose original design to mitigate and prevent fires in the district evolved into a series of sustainable development objectives. Given optimistic discourses surrounding the project’s novel and participatory nature, this paper offers a critical analysis of initial project results. The project claims to offer prized benefits such as tenure security in exchange for the collaboration of villagers in the project. Interviews with villagers and other stakeholders reveal a series of concerns regarding 1) the production of land use history maps for 2002, 2011 and 2016, and 2) substantial expropriation of farmland and other severe land use restrictions. Our calculations suggest that, under a likely scenario, an average of 66% of farmland would be expropriated in the process (88% in one community). In accordance with villagers interviewed in two villages of Mae Chaem district, we are concerned about the capacity of local villagers to sufficiently intensify their production or otherwise limit the negative impact of such drastic land use restrictions on their livelihood. The paper also outlines other problems related to the temporary and revocable nature of the benefits offered and the rather dubious claims of coercion-free ‘participation’.

A Study of Real-Time and Satellite Data of Atmospheric Pollutants during Agricultural Crop Residue Burning at a Downwind Site in the Indo-Gangetic Plain

Crop residue burning emits a variety of air pollutants that drastically affect air quality, both locally and regionally. To study the impact of crop residue burning, in the present study, concentrations of particulate matter (PM2.5), trace gases (tropospheric ozone (O3), nitrogen oxides (NOx), carbon monoxide (CO), and volatile organic compounds (VOCs)) were recorded in Agra, a suburban downwind site. The study was conducted during the pre-harvest (15 September to 5 October 2021) and post-harvest periods (6 October to 10 November 2021). During the post-harvest period, PM2.5 concentrations were recorded to be three to four times higher than the NAAQ Standards (35 µg/m3), while O3 and VOC concentrations showed an increment of 16% and 30.4%, respectively. NOx and CO concentrations also showed higher levels (19.7 ± 7.5 ppb and 1498.5 ± 1077.5 ppb) during this period. Moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS), along with air mass backward trajectory analysis (HYSPLIT Model), were used to detect fire hotspots that suggested that the enhanced pollutant levels may be due to the burning of crop residue in agricultural fields over the northwest Indo-Gangetic Plain (NW-IGP). Field emission scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (FESEM-EDX) analysis showed high K concentrations during the post-harvest period, which may be attributed to crop residue burning or biomass combustion.

Airborne particulate matter from biomass burning in Thailand: Recent issues, challenges, and options

Many of the current atmospheric environmental problems facing Thailand are linked to air pollution that is largely derived from biomass burning. Different parts of Thailand have distinctive sources of biomass emissions that affect air quality. The main contributors to atmospheric particulate matter (PM), especially the PM2.5 fraction in Thailand, were highlighted in a recent study of PM derived from biomass burning. This review is divided into six sections. Section one is an introduction to biomass burning in Thailand. Section two covers issues related to biomass burning for each of the four main regions in Thailand, including Northern, Northeastern, Central, and Southern Thailand. In northern Thailand, forest fires and the burning of crop residues have contributed to air quality in the past decade. The northeast region is mainly affected by the burning of agricultural residues. However, the main contributor to PM in the Bangkok Metropolitan Region is motor vehicles and crop burning. In Southern Thailand, the impact of agoindustries, biomass combustion, and possible agricultural residue burning are the primary sources, and cross-border pollution is also important. The third section concerns the effect of biomass burning on human health. Finally, perspectives, new challenges, and policy recommendations are made concerning improving air quality in Thailand, e.g., forest fuel management and biomass utilization. The overall conclusions point to issues that will have a long-term impact on achieving a blue sky over Thailand through the development of coherent policies and the management of air pollution and sharing this knowledge with a broader audience.

Combustion of Agricultural Residues in India Problems with Regulation and Possible Alternatives

Abstract: With very planting, India is the second-most agriculturally industry and produces a lot of biomass residues, especially compost. Around 92 appear to be a tiny amount of million tons of agricultural residues in the lack of appropriate sustainability operating procedures are consumed annually in India, contributing pollutes the air including particle pollutants. Soil amendment soldering has grown to be a significant economic issue that impacts human health and contributes to global climate change. Increased automation, burning, and indeed the creation of pyrolysis are just a few success and growth methods that can assist to address the problem without preserving the macronutrients in agricultural by - products inside the ground. The Indian government has undertaken several initiatives and initiatives to encourage environmentally friendly methodologies, including turning agricultural waste into electricity, in an effort to address this issue. Nevertheless, the worrisome increase in air pollutant emissions brought on by agricultural stubble combustion that has been recorded in past few years, particularly after and during each year 2015, in India as well as other northeaster districts of India, suggests that perhaps the problem is still not completely addressed. Carbon sequestration combustion can be prevented by adopting sustainability managing techniques in conjunction using activities and initiatives of the government. This paper examines the fundamental technological and economic problems which have now hindered India form finding a long-term resolution in addition to the ignored give reasonable. Furthermore, in order to apply these methods effectively, we also need to investigate more closely at additional sociodemographic variables that weren't previously taken into account.

Bioprospecting of aqueous phase from pyrolysis of plant waste residues to disrupt MRSA biofilms

Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections have increased at an alarming rate, recently. In India, stubble burning and air pollution due to the burning of agricultural and forest residues have also increased over the past decade causing environmental and health hazards. This work evaluates the anti-biofilm property of the aqueous phase obtained from pyrolysis of wheat straw (WS AQ) and pine cone (PC AQ) against an MRSA isolate. The WS AQ and PC AQ compositions were determined by GC-MS analysis. The minimum inhibitory concentration was found to be 8% (v v−1) and 5% (v v−1) for WS AQ and PC AQ, respectively. The eradication of biofilms was performed on hospital contact surfaces namely, stainless steel and polypropylene and found to be 51% and 52% for WS AQ and PC AQ, respectively. Compounds identified from the aqueous phase of WS and PC docked against AgrA protein showed good binding scores.