[article] Possible Breakthrough To Beat Methane

mike65

http://www.sci-tech-today.com/story.xhtml?story_id=113006C3Q85U

TOKYO -- Researchers have stumbled on a way to stop cows from emitting methane -- a potent greenhouse gas -- when they belch, a finding that could help the fight against global warming.

Methane generated when livestock belch is said to account for about 5 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. But supplementing the animals' diet with cysteine, a type of amino acid, and nitrate can reduce the methane produced by the animals, according to the researchers.

Methane is generated in the stomachs of ruminants, such as cows and sheep, as bacteria breaks down plant fibers. The gas is emitted into the atmosphere when the animals belch as they chew cud.

The research team at Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine in Hokkaido, headed by professor Junichi Takahashi, initially noticed that dairy cattle that consume a large amount of nitrate from grass growing in soil doused with high levels of chemical fertilizer release only traces of methane when they belch.

The researchers stumbled on the relationship between nitrate and methane generation when they studied a mass poisoning outbreak among a herd of cows.

The team found that feeding the animals cysteine in addition to nitrate not only significantly cut the methane they generate, but also helped prevent them from being poisoned.

The study also showed the nitrate does not affect milk quality. The amount of cysteine a cow needs each day costs about 100 yen (about 95 cents U.S.), according to the researchers.

And thats where the whole thing falls apart. Find me a farmer who will load an additional 70c per day per head on to his running costs as he won't benefit directly. Whats a grown heifer go for at market these days?

Mike.

djmc

Thats 255 euro per head per year which is far more than the profit made on a beef animal these
it would cost a farmer with 100 animals 25,500 per year

nilhg

One thing that I always wonder about is why the cattle are seen as a problem, I don't believe that numbers have increased to any huge extent certainly not here or in the rest of the EU.
Obviously emissions have to be cut but surely the areas which have increased the most should be targeted most for cuts.

zod

nilhg wrote: »

One thing that I always wonder about is why the cattle are seen as a problem, I don't believe that numbers have increased to any huge extent certainly not here or in the rest of the EU.
Obviously emissions have to be cut but surely the areas which have increased the most should be targeted most for cuts.

Aparently methane is 21 times more powerfull as a greenhouse gas than co2 .. seen as easy win.

nilhg

zod wrote: »

Aparently methane is 21 times more powerfull as a greenhouse gas than co2 .. seen as easy win.

But much less persistent in the atmosphere I believe.

BendiBus

nilhg wrote: »

But much less persistent in the atmosphere I believe.

Exactly. So if you reduce the amount going into the atmosphere the return is very quick.