Crop residue burning was banned in the UK in 1993 but is still widespread in other parts of the world; either in the field or after processing. These fires are small but highly numerous in eastern China where they occur over several 1000 km2 and have been shown to contribute to regional haze events. Evaluating the impact of these fires requires detailed regional modelling, however, their emissions characteristics are poorly quantified as they are often smouldering and of low intensity.

Researchers from King’s designed a mobile measurement system which is capable of determining the chemical composition of PM and gases emitted from these fires in the field. This has allowed quantification of the emissions from different burning conditions and from different crop types. Details of the measurement system are reported in a special issue of Atmospheric Environment devoted to biomass burning.

More Information

Item date 04/11/2015