To reduce the polluting emissions of the belching of cattle, some British researchers have invented an ad hoc mask - when it would be enough to simply reduce the number of cows exploited in intensive farming
The eructations made by cows represent a powerful emission of methane gas which, together with that produced by their digestive system (in the form of solid excrements and flate emissions), make these animals particularly "polluting" from an environmental point of view: just think that For every liter of milk produced, a cow releases about 35 liters of methane into the atmosphere.
Methane is one of the gases that contribute most to climate warming and rising temperatures and that 14% of that present in the atmosphere comes from cows. However, we underline that it is not the cows themselves that represent a problem for the environment, but rather the exaggerated quantity of these animals crammed into intensive farms.
Methane emissions from one of the largest intensive cattle farms in the world captured for the first time by satellites
To try to reduce the environmental impact of cows and their polluting emissions, Zero Emissions Livestock Project (ZELP) has developed a special "mask" to be placed on the snout of cattle to capture the air emitted during belching and reduce the polluting effect. : in practice, the mask captures the methane present in the gas emission and oxidizes it by releasing water vapor and CO2 into the atmosphere.
ZELP is a British start-up that aims to reduce polluting emissions into the earth's atmosphere, from whatever source they come. With this ingenious system, which appears to work more with cows left to graze and graze than with feed-fed cows, the company estimates a reduction in cows' methane release of more than 50%.
The operation of the masks will be possible thanks to the methane collected by the belching of the cows, which will provide continuous energy to the mechanism. In addition, the device is equipped with numerous sensors that collect useful information on the health of the cattle, which will be available to farmers through a mobile app.
The masks are a prototype for now, but they should be put on the market in 2023. The start-up envisions a first launch of the product on the European market, aimed at those farms that are concretely trying to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in their production chains.
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Fonti: Zelp / Royal College of Art
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