Harnessing Biogas from Cow(s) Flatulence

Abstract

Abstract

India occupies almost 3% of the total geographic of the world, whereas it is the home to 18% world’s human population and 15% of the animal population, among them, the cattle population occupies around 11% of the total population of cattle in the world. The FAO estimates that 18% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions come from the livestock sector, in large part due to the methane emissions of livestock. Researchers say that around 100–500 l of methane is released by a healthy dairy cow in a day which includes cattle dung and flatulence. Methane is 20 times better at trapping heat in the atmosphere than CO₂, according to the EPA. Research also shows that cows account for over 30% of Argentina’s greenhouse. The study deals mainly in utilizing cow’s fart to harness biogas and discussing its scope in India. Herein for the extraction of methane, a red plastic bag is needed to be attached on the back of the cow which is connected to a tube attached to the stomach of the cow. When they fart, the gas is collected in the plastic bag and it swells up. As the gas mainly consists of methane and a little part of carbon dioxide, this can be directly liquefied and used to produce biogas. Moreover, it is noticed that this process can not only supplement energy production but also check global warming by reducing methane levels in atmosphere and it may be future green energy source.

Keywords: Biogas, greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), cow(s) flatulence, methane, global warming, green energy

Cite this Article

Jashodeep Sarma, Deepak Maurya, Manish Sah et al. Harnessing Biogas from Cow(s) Flatulence. Research & Reviews: Journal of Agricultural Science and Technology. 2016; 5(2): 35–39p.