Estimating air pollutant emissions from burning straw for heating in rural Northeast China: Based on the heat load for building heating

Rural residential buildings in Northeast China commonly use the traditional structure of Stove-Kang, causing severe air pollution when burning straw for heating. This study proposes a new perspective for assessing air pollutant emissions from straw combustion based on building heat load calculations. It develops a mathematical relationship between the heating load of rural houses and the heat generated utilizing burning straws by conducting a questionnaire survey to investigate the types of residential buildings and fuel burning time. The emission factor method is employed to estimate the total emissions of air pollutants. The questionnaire survey showed that the proportions of traditional buildings (TBs), energy-saving retrofit buildings (ERBs), and new energy-saving buildings (NEBs) in Northeast China are approximately 48.28%, 37.44%, and 14.28%, respectively. After estimation by this method, the daily pollutant emissions from ERBs and NEBs are reduced by 58.23% and 73.57%, respectively, compared to TBs. In addition, the total emissions of pollutants produced by heating in rural areas of Liaoning, Jilin, and Hei-longjiang provinces are 844.719 & PLUSMN; 70.752, 907.257 & PLUSMN; 75.991, 593.560 & PLUSMN; 23.422, 637.503 & PLUSMN; 25.156, 627.864 & PLUSMN; 63.389, and 674.347 & PLUSMN; 68.082 Tg. As the energy performance of buildings improves, consumption of solid fuels and emissions of air pollutants significantly reduces. This is an effective measure to accelerate the construction of the new socialist countryside and imple-ment the development strategies of Peak carbon dioxide emissions and Carbon neutrality. Finally, the study proposes indicators of farmhouse heating pollution per building area, which can quickly and accurately estimate pollutant emissions from straw burning in Northeast China and provide new ideas and methods for related research.

Automated summary

Rural residential buildings in Northeast China mainly use the traditional Stove-Kang structure, which results in severe air pollution when burning straw for heating. This study introduces a new approach to assess air pollutant emissions from straw combustion by calculating the building heat load. A mathematical relationship is developed between the heating load of rural houses and the heat generated from burning straws based on a questionnaire survey. The emission factor method is applied to estimate the total emissions of air pollutants. The findings show that energy-saving retrofit buildings and new energy-saving buildings have significantly reduced daily pollutant emissions compared to traditional buildings. Improving the energy performance of buildings can effectively reduce the consumption of solid fuels and emissions of air pollutants, contributing to the development strategies of Peak carbon dioxide emissions and Carbon neutrality.