Sustainable alternatives to carbon intensive paddy field burning in India: A framework for cleaner production in agriculture, energy, and construction industries

Abstract

Field burning of rice straw as a method of disposal by farmers is a major concern as the smoke and harmful emissions from it causes dangerous levels of pollution. Seven out of ten cities with the poorest air quality in the world are in India, and paddy field burning has been cited as one of the main reasons. Hazardous emissions from paddy field burning is combined with greenhouse gas emissions from coal fired power plants and cement manufacturing units, causing severe respiratory illnesses and other fatal health issues. The recent literature indicates an increased interest in rice straw valorisation, possibly in response to the increasing concerns over paddy field burning. However, a systematic study that compiles and compares various rice straw valorisation routes is lacking in the existing literature. This paper provides a comprehensive review of literature on various alternative uses of rice straw in energy and construction industries. Effective use of rice straw as a biomass fuel in energy sector not only reduces the field burning, but also decreases the dependency on non-renewable fossil fuels. Moreover, the proposed utilisation of secondary by-products from rice straw-based energy production in the construction industry can help to attain the goals of resource cascading. The availability of rice straw in major rice producing states of India and the feasibility of establishing rice straw-based power plants are also examined in this study. The potential reduction of harmful emissions from such resource recycling has been determined as per the guidelines issued by the intergovernmental panel on climate change. From the review of literature and the findings of the present study, a sustainable framework has been developed with well-defined cleaner production pathways to create a seamless material flow chain between the agricultural, energy, and construction sectors.