There is a lot of talk at the moment about livestock producing Methane and us having to cut the herd numbers.
Would it be possible or plausible to capture Methane and burn it to use it as an energy source?
Burning methane produces CO2 which is a better gas than methane, as methane is 25 times as potent at trapping heat in our atmosphere.
This and plants use CO2 and release oxygen.
Would this be a good idea? Would it work?
In: 2
Not really.
[methane is super hard to condense or collect from the atmosphere ](https://earth.stanford.edu/news/removing-methane-atmosphere), and in such small concentrations, it isnt efficient to try and use as a fuel source, collecting and condensing it would cause more environmental damage than saved by using it.
A little methane in the atmosphere does a lot to add to global CO2 levels. Not enough that we could collect it or use it before it breaks down into CO2, but enough when it does convert, it starts to cause problems
Methane enters the atmosphere, combines with Oxygen, and creats H2O and CO2. The CO2 is what causes greenhouse issues and climate change its called the carbon cycle. Its not methane that poses a risk, its the byproducts of methane breaking down that causes issues
It you could collect the methane you could burn it and it have a smaller greenhouse effect. Methane it collected and used in landfills, it is produced there quite similarity to in cows, microorganism breaking down organic matter.
The problem with livestock is how do you collect the methane? It would be practically impossible if they are outdoors. If the are indoors is is still something that is not easy to do and the energy requirement is likely higher then the energy in the methane you get out.
I would guess that a system that use some catalytic converter to oxidize the methane in air you pump out is a more practical way.
Not atmospheric, but it is possible to collect methane given off by old landfill sites and burn it to generate electricity
^(Methane and CO)2 ^(from cattle are part of the biosphere’s chemistry. What’s really harming the environment is fossil sourced greenhouse gas: the carbon from coal and oil; the methane from long dead plants and animals.)
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