{"id":22708,"date":"2025-04-17T23:38:31","date_gmt":"2025-04-17T23:38:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/?p=22708"},"modified":"2025-04-17T23:38:33","modified_gmt":"2025-04-17T23:38:33","slug":"new-way-to-make-prescribed-burns-safer-and-cleaner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/new-way-to-make-prescribed-burns-safer-and-cleaner\/","title":{"rendered":"New Way to Make Prescribed Burns Safer and Cleaner"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-group\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-blockquote uagb-block-e7eb3fc3 uagb-blockquote__skin-border uagb-blockquote__stack-img-none\"><blockquote class=\"uagb-blockquote\"><div class=\"uagb-blockquote__content\">Stanford researchers unveil a new method to make prescribed burns safer and cleaner, reducing harmful emissions by up to 77%. Discover how these efforts are set to transform fire management and community health.<\/div><footer><div class=\"uagb-blockquote__author-wrap uagb-blockquote__author-at-left\"><\/div><\/footer><\/blockquote><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-content-justification-space-between is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-b0ffac9c wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\"><div style=\"font-size:16px\" class=\"has-text-align-left wp-block-post-author\"><div class=\"wp-block-post-author__content\"><p class=\"wp-block-post-author__name\">The University Network<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-social-share uagb-social-share__outer-wrap uagb-social-share__layout-horizontal uagb-block-ee584a31\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-social-share-child uagb-ss-repeater uagb-ss__wrapper uagb-block-ec619ce7\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__link\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"facebook\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-wrap\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-icon\"><svg xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 512 512\"><path d=\"M504 256C504 119 393 8 256 8S8 119 8 256c0 123.8 90.69 226.4 209.3 245V327.7h-63V256h63v-54.64c0-62.15 37-96.48 93.67-96.48 27.14 0 55.52 4.84 55.52 4.84v61h-31.28c-30.8 0-40.41 19.12-40.41 38.73V256h68.78l-11 71.69h-57.78V501C413.3 482.4 504 379.8 504 256z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-social-share-child uagb-ss-repeater uagb-ss__wrapper uagb-block-32d99934\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__link\" data-href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/share?url=\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"twitter\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-wrap\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-icon\"><svg xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 512 512\"><path d=\"M389.2 48h70.6L305.6 224.2 487 464H345L233.7 318.6 106.5 464H35.8L200.7 275.5 26.8 48H172.4L272.9 180.9 389.2 48zM364.4 421.8h39.1L151.1 88h-42L364.4 421.8z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-social-share-child uagb-ss-repeater uagb-ss__wrapper uagb-block-1d136f14\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__link\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/shareArticle?url=\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"linkedin\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-wrap\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-icon\"><svg xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 448 512\"><path d=\"M416 32H31.9C14.3 32 0 46.5 0 64.3v383.4C0 465.5 14.3 480 31.9 480H416c17.6 0 32-14.5 32-32.3V64.3c0-17.8-14.4-32.3-32-32.3zM135.4 416H69V202.2h66.5V416zm-33.2-243c-21.3 0-38.5-17.3-38.5-38.5S80.9 96 102.2 96c21.2 0 38.5 17.3 38.5 38.5 0 21.3-17.2 38.5-38.5 38.5zm282.1 243h-66.4V312c0-24.8-.5-56.7-34.5-56.7-34.6 0-39.9 27-39.9 54.9V416h-66.4V202.2h63.7v29.2h.9c8.9-16.8 30.6-34.5 62.9-34.5 67.2 0 79.7 44.3 79.7 101.9V416z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Prescribed burns have long been a vital tool in forest management, but the smoke they generate poses significant health risks. Now, researchers at Stanford University have discovered a new way to make these burns cleaner and safer, significantly reducing harmful emissions. This advancement could lead to a notable decrease in respiratory issues and cancer risks for communities near burn sites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a recent study <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/abs\/pii\/S1309104225000406\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">published<\/a> in Atmospheric Pollution Research, scientists found that by adjusting key burn parameters, emissions of carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) can be slashed by up to 77%. The researchers estimate that this could cut cancer risks from smoke exposure by over 50%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThere is clearly potential for improving prescribed burn procedures, such that the health impact is reduced,\u201d lead author Karl T\u00f6pperwien, a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Mechanical Engineering in Stanford&#8217;s School of Engineering, said in a news release. \u201cWe can essentially kill two birds with one stone \u2013 protect ecosystems while simultaneously protecting communities that would be otherwise at risk.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Stanford team\u2019s breakthrough was achieved through a collaborative effort involving medical researchers from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, physicists from the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and chemists from Aerodyne Research Inc. Medical researchers pinpointed the most toxic pollutants, while chemists developed methods to measure them precisely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThey are excellent experimentalists who really advanced the frontier of measuring chemical species at high selectivity and precision,\u201d senior author Matthias Ihme, a professor of mechanical engineering in Stanford\u2019s School of Engineering and of photon science at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, said in the news release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The researchers conducted their experiments in a lab-sized combustion chamber using Eastern White Pine samples due to their high PAH emissions. By fine-tuning the moisture content, heat intensity and oxygen levels of the fires, they demonstrated a significant reduction in PAH emissions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">First, wood moisture content was optimized at 20-30%. If the wood is too dry, it will burn too fast, generating more smoke. If the wood is too wet, it will smolder, increasing PAH emissions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Second, the ideal heat intensity was set between 60-70 kW\/m\u00b2. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lastly, the fires needed an oxygen level of 5-15% to burn most efficiently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThere will be some limitations to upscaling this, but I clearly see a path towards making this technique more viable for a broader range of environmental conditions,\u201d added Ihme, who is also a principal investigator at the Stanford PULSE Institute at SLAC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Forest managers already use some of these techniques, preparing wood by chopping, drying and measuring moisture content to optimize burn efficiency. However, understanding how to precisely control oxygen and heat intensity in real-world burns will require further research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The next steps for the research team include field experiments to replicate their lab findings and exploring the method\u2019s applicability to different types of wood. Their goal is to balance cleaner burns with efficiency and cost-effectiveness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cFire is more complex than we think,\u201d Ihme added. \u201cIt\u2019s not only finding where the flame is, but also how the smoke is transported, how it affects long-term health, and how it is admitted into the environment as it settles from the air onto the soil.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This research was funded by the Stanford Sustainability Accelerator, the Google Academic Research Awards program, the Moore Foundation and the U.S. Department of Energy. The project is part of Stanford\u2019s broader effort to enhance community and ecosystem resilience against climate-related challenges.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Prescribed burns have long been a vital tool in forest management, but the smoke they generate poses significant health risks. Now, researchers at Stanford University have discovered a new way to make these burns cleaner and safer, significantly reducing harmful emissions. This advancement could lead to a notable decrease in respiratory issues and cancer risks [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"single-no-separators","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[78,53],"class_list":["post-22708","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-climate-and-environment","tag-harvard-university","tag-stanford-university"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":false,"thumbnail":false,"medium":false,"medium_large":false,"large":false,"1536x1536":false,"2048x2048":false},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"The University Network","author_link":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/author\/funky_junkie\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Prescribed burns have long been a vital tool in forest management, but the smoke they generate poses significant health risks. Now, researchers at Stanford University have discovered a new way to make these burns cleaner and safer, significantly reducing harmful emissions. This advancement could lead to a notable decrease in respiratory issues and cancer risks&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22708","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22708"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22708\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22721,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22708\/revisions\/22721"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22708"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22708"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22708"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}