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The 2014 National Emission Inventory for Rangeland Fires and Crop Residue Burning
Citation:
Pouliot, G. AND V. Rao. The 2014 National Emission Inventory for Rangeland Fires and Crop Residue Burning. 2016 CMAS Conference, Chapel Hill, NC, October 24 - 26, 2016.
Impact/Purpose:
The National Emissions Inventory is developed on a triennial schedule.? In this paper, we summarize the methods used, challenges, and results in the development of the 2014 National Emissions Inventory (NEI) for these 4 biomass burning sectors: wildfires, prescribed fires, rangeland, and crop residue burning.? In the 2011 NEI, Biomass Burning accounts for approximately 1/3 of the total PM2.5 in the NEI, and is the top emitting data category for PM2.5 emissions. In addition, Biomass Burning contributes significantly to total VOC and a number of Hazardous Air Pollutants (HAPS) including formaldehyde, acrolein, and acetaldehyde.? We will summarize the methods for these 4 sectors as well as the challenges of developing the inventory for these highly variable emission sources.
Description:
Biomass burning has been identified as an important contributor to the degradation of air quality because of its impact on ozone and particulate matter. One component of the biomass burning inventory, crop residue burning, has been poorly characterized in the National Emissions Inventory. In the 2011 NEI, Wildland fires, prescribed fires, and crop residue burning collectively were the largest source of PM2.5 This paper summarizes our 2014 NEI method to estimate crop residue burning emissions and grass/pasture burning emissions using remote sensing data and field information and literature-based, crop-specific emission factors. We will focus on both the post-harvest and pre-harvest burning that takes place with bluegrass, corn, cotton, rice, soybeans, sugarcane and wheat. Estimates for 2014 indicate that over the continental United States (CONUS), crop residue burning including all areas identified as Pasture/Grass, Grassland Herbaceous, and Pasture/Hay produced 64,994 short tons of PM2.5. This estimate compares with the 2011 NEI and 2008 NEI as follows: 2008: 49,653 short tons and 2011: 141,184 short tons. Note that in the previous two NEI’s rangeland burning was not well-defined and so the comparison is not exact. In addition, the entire database used to estimate this sector of emissions is available on EPA’s Clearinghouse for Inventories and Emission Factors (CHIEF http://www3.epa.gov/ttn/chief/index.html
