Dr. Assaf Rosenthal
One of the greenhouse gases - which causes the global temperature rise, is methane, whose chemical symbol is CH4.
In combustion processes methane is released, combines with oxygen - releasing two molecules of water and one molecule of carbon dioxide CH4 + 2O2 → CO2 + 2H2O.
To prevent the emission, many are working and doing, following the global warming and the study of the causes and causes of the warming, it turned out that: one of the more significant sources of methane gas are domestic animals: sheep, cattle, pigs, where the main emission is by ruminants (domesticated) and especially sheep, this is because of the shape The digestion of plant food is mostly carried out by bacteria that produce methane gas as a byproduct in the process of breaking down cellulose.
Sheep and cattle digest their food while producing hydrogen, bacteria absorb the hydrogen and carbon dioxide (which is also produced in the stomach) and convert them into methane, which is emitted by cattle, the methane production is much greater in domestic animals. Because of rich food on the one hand and on the other hand because of a huge number of individuals per unit area (relative to wild animals). In addition to this, one must take into account the hundreds of thousands of years given to wild animals to adapt to maximum utilization of the plant food compared to thousands of years for domesticated animals (with domestication the composition of the food and especially its quantity changed), therefore despite the fact that methane is high in energy, it is not used by animals.
In Australia there are millions of sheep that emit millions of tons of methane into the atmosphere per year (the "contribution" of sheep and cattle in the world is estimated at 60 million tons of methane per year). Australians are sensitive to environmental issues in general and warming in particular, therefore they looked for a way to reduce gas emissions without economic harm.
The solution may be found in the "native" herbivores of the southern continent - the kangaroo. Kangaroos have stomachs similar to sheep (and cows) - when the chewed food is swallowed into the large fermentation stomach, those who help the fermentation are bacteria that break down the cellulose. Dr. Atul Cleve from the Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries in Queensland, studied the microfauna in the stomachs of the gray and red kangaroos, the two large kangaroo species that live in semi-arid areas. In his research, Clive isolated 40 species of bacteria living in the stomachs of kangaroos, of which 20 are not known in the microfauna of sheep or cattle. According to the researcher, these species of bacteria evolved in harmony with the kangaroos and the types of plants they eat, therefore the kangaroos do not emit methane. It is possible that, alternatively, acetate (CH3CO2) is formed, which is a utilized source of energy for the animals.
And so instead of losing an energy source to the atmosphere, the kangaroo gains and produces more of its food. After the researcher understood the process and its advantages, he proposed to transplant the kangaroo's microfauna into the sheep's stomachs and thus obtain sheep that are better able to eat local plants (in Australia) and at the same time stop methane emissions.
The resulting advantage can be applied in many regions of the world. The "implantation" will be simple since all that is needed is the development of a food additive (or water additive) that will contain the desired bacteria, something similar to the "probiotic yogurt" sold to people. The researcher says that within two years it will be possible to distribute the "pro-biotic" supplement to cattle all over the world.
A compilation of Dr. Assaf Rosenthal's articles on the Hidan site
Dr. Assaf Rosenthal is a leading geographer tour guide in Africa and South America. For details, phone 0505640309 / 086372298
or by email
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