Managing rice straw remains a challenge in Asia where more rice, and hence, more straw, is grown each year to meet rising demand. The widespread burning of rice straw is a major contributor to dangerously high levels of air pollution in South-and Southeast Asia associated with health issues. At the same time, researchers, engineers, and entrepreneurs are developing a range of alternative uses that turn rice straw into a commodity around which sustainable value chains can be built to benefit rural people. The best alternative to burning rice straw in any one location depends on context. However, available information remains scattered in different media and no publication yet exists that helps people learn about, and decide between, rice straw management options. This book provides a synthesis of these options and integrates knowledge on relevant areas: sustainable rice straw management practices, rice straw value chains, and business models. The book is also based on new research and practice data from research organizations and innovators in Vietnam, the Philippines, and Cambodia.

Rice production can be carried out using a wide set of cultivation techniques. Different land preparation, crop establishment, crop care, harvesting, and straw management techniques lead to different environmental impacts. Life-cycle assessment (LCA) is a reliable tool for assessing the environmental load of agricultural processes and can be used to compute or simulate energy balance and environmental impact categories such as climate change, ozone depletion, terrestrial acidification, freshwater eutrophication, and marine eutrophication. This chapter comprises the following sections: (1) LCA overview and application in agriculture, (2) case studies of LCA to identify the best rice straw management practices, and (3) summary and suggestions for further applications.

Biomass conversion into various forms of energy, such as heat, power, or biofuels using thermal processes, involves the decomposition of biomass by exposure to heat, typically above 300 °C. Thermal conversion processes include pyrolysis, gasification, and direct combustion. Several factors affect the yields and energy recovery from these processes including temperature, reaction time, heating rate, absence, or presence of oxygen, use of catalysts, and pressure. Due to rice straw's relatively high carbon and hydrogen contents, it contains a considerable amount of energy that make it a suitable feedstock for thermal conversion. In this chapter, the basic principles and factors affecting the thermal conversion of biomass into energy are discussed. Studies on the use of rice straw as feedstock to produce heat, power, and biofuels via thermal conversion are reviewed. Utilization of thermal conversion byproducts including biochar and ash will are presented. Thermal processes are compared in terms of energy conversion, possible environmental impacts, and technological and commercial maturity.

This study dealt with the synthesis and characterization of thin transparent conducting films (TCF) from cellulose acetate (CA) blend and polyaniline (PANI). CA was produced from the pulp of abaca hybrid 7. CA-PANI films with different PANI loadings (0, 0.125, 0.25, 0.50, 1.0 and 2.0%) were produced using solvent casting method. Chemical transformations were analyzed using Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The conductivity was measured using the Four-Point Probe Test. Morphological characterization was done using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The transparency of the films was determined using UV-Vis Spectroscopy. FTIR spectra proved the embedment of PANI in the CA matrix. It was found that increasing the PANI loading increases the conductivity of the films but up to a certain limit. The highest average conductivity at 2.0264 x 10-5 S/m was observed in CA-PANI films with 0.50% PANI loading. SEM images revealed that conductivity is a function of PANI loading by forming networks. Further addition of PANI (1.0 and 2.0%) resulted to decreased conductivity due to agglomeration. Transparency, on the other hand, is negatively affected by PANI loading.

Nanostructured zinc oxide (ZnO) particles were grown on paper substrate made from Abaca hybrid 7 pulp. Microwave irradiation technique was used at power levels (180 and 540W) and exposure times (5, 10, 20 and 25 minutes). Chemical transformations were observed using Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy. The effects of the power levels and exposure times on the morphology of the nanostructures were determined using scanning electron microscopy. FTIR spectra proved the embedment of ZnO on the paper substrate. Power levels and exposure times affected the distribution, particle size and structure of the ZnO nanoparticles. Higher power level and longer exposure resulted to the formation of more ZnO with larger particles. Grainlike and flowerlike ZnO nanostructures were formed at lower and higher levels, respectively.