Bates Lab News Today

To prepare fields for planting, farmers the world over often burn corn stalks, rice husks, hay, straw, and other waste left behind from the previous harvest. In many places, the practice creates huge seasonal clouds of smog, contributing to air pollution that kills 7 million people globally a year, according to the World Health Organization.

The MIT spinoff company Takachar is working to transform waste biomass into marketable products by providing technology that can be used in the field to convert agricultural waste into a solid, clean-burning fuel.