INNOVATION OF LOW COST METHANE CONCENTRATION ESTIMATION METHOD & COMPARING METHANE CONCENTRATION OF SHEEP & GOAT

Abstract

Ruminants are one of the main contributors to the release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Large ruminants are capable of producing 250 to 500 Liters of methane (CH4) daily. CH4 is a by-product of feed fermentation that is released primarily through eructation by ruminants. Methanogenesis is carried out by anaerobic organisms called Archaea which are found in the rumen where the anaerobic conditions are optimal. There prevails several methods or technique to estimate the concentration of CH4 eructed by the ruminants. Most of the techniques are too costly and requires highly skilled personnel. We used sensor based hand-held gas detector to detect the CH4 concentration in exhaled air of sheep and goat. It is easy to operate and less expensive. We performed the experiment for two days at CVASU animal farm and recorded the PPM reading given by the gas detector. The data clearly demonstrate that CH4 concentration in exhaled air of sheep and goat increase after feeding and reaches at the highest level in between 1.5 to 2 hours after feeding. 1 hour after feeding, significant variation between CH4 concentration of sheep and goat was found in both days. The Mean CH4 concentration of goats at 11:00 AM were 1077.42 PPM (1st day) and 1009 PPM (2nd day) which were higher than the mean CH4 concentration of sheep 908.66 PPM (2nd day) and 856.96 PPM (2nd day).