NOx is a by-product of heating air up in the combustion process. HC is a by-product of burning oil-like stuff. Burning a plant would release both. Plants produce lipids (oils), terpenes, etc…that would break down into HC emissions in imperfect combustion.
I believe that the US EPA reduced enforcement of existing regulations during the George W Bush administration. Does that qualify?
Joe, NOx doesn’t form at typical open flame temperatures at ambient pressures. An extreme accelerant and extremely volatile fuel would be necessary for an open flame to reach the necessary temperatures. And even then I’m not sure the nitrogen and oxygen would bond without compression pressures. Remember that a cylinder can reach in excess of 2,000F.
Db, I already answered that question. Two things do not have to be identical to be comparable. A Honda Accord is comparable to a Toyota Camry, but they’re totally different cars.
Some consider open field burning to be a potential environmental hazard, primarily because of the carbon dioxide produced. Personally, I don’t. I find it hard to accept that the environment cannot process a chemical that promotes plant growth, and I find it hard to accept that the environment cannot adjust to localized field burning. Probably by accelerated plant growth.
There are even those that consider bovine flatulence to be an environmental threat. So I eat as much red meat and wear as much leather as I can to help them feel better. Somehow they fail to get that I’m supporting them. {
mountainbike
you must be really busy, because you’re responding to my comments from 2 days ago . . . !
I have been lately. Time flies when I’m busy.
Well yes, the farmers do burn fuel to fire those fields. They use 5 gallon cans of diesel or diesel/gas mix and pour it along the fence or road lines for hundreds and hundreds of yards while dumping it off of an ATV and then igniting it with a long handle propane torch or something like that. Some just use a long handle propane torch and hope for the best.
I do admit that it’s kind of pretty to look at in the evening when there’s a dozen fields blazing and an orange glow in every direction.
The downside is that now and then a fire gets away from them and takes out buildings, fences, and so on and creates a safety hazard by allowing dense smoke across the roadways. Several people have been killed in my area during head-on collisions in broad daylight due to the heavy smoke.
Some of the burning has eased up the past few years. More sorghum, canola, and soybean is being grown and there’s less a tendency to torch the residue of those compared to corn and especially wheat fields.