Argentine experiment to catch livestock's flatulence and convert it into energy

Monday, April 21st 2014 - 07:13 UTC

Full article 21 comments

Each cow can produce 300 liters of methane gas a day

Argentina's National Institute for Agricultural Technology (INTA) has invented a way to convert cow flatulence into usable energy, and it involves putting a plastic backpack on a cow. Livestock are responsible for a remarkable amount of global methane emissions, which are a major cause of global warming.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, cow flatulence and burping, accounts for 5.5 million metric tons of methane per year in the United States, that's 20% of total US methane emissions.

According to the INTA experimentation, tubes run from the backpack into the cows' rumen (or biggest digestive tract). They extract about 300 liters of methane a day, which is enough to run a car or a fridge for about 24 hours.

Pablo Soranda, INTA press officer, said that the project is more about making a point than it is converting people to a way of life.

“We can imagine a future farm with a couple of these cows used to provide energy to satisfy the farm’s needs”, according to Soranda.

Categories: Energy & Oil, Environment, Argentina.

Tags: Argentina, Argentina's National Institute for Agricultural Technology (INTA), livestock's flatulence, methane emissions, Pablo Soranda.

Top Comments

Disclaimer & comment rules

Heisenbergcontext
There you go Geoff.
Apr 21st, 2014 - 07:42 am 0
LEPRecon
Well I suppose they've got to try a different power source since they haven't got the dollars to buy LNG.

Just how much flatulence is needed to power BA? A millions cows? Or just the hot air that the government currently spews out?
Apr 21st, 2014 - 08:21 am 0
La Patria
Connect the apparatus up to cfk's microphone to power up the country
Apr 21st, 2014 - 10:37 am 0

Read all comments

Commenting for this story is now closed.
If you have a Facebook account, become a fan and comment on our Facebook Page!