4 ms·

Wouldn't it be better/cheaper just to make and feed the cows some bromoform ?

• the8472 10y ago
  It's an ozone-depletant, so you want a natural source. And algae naturally soak it up from sea water, so you don't have to extract it from minerals or anything like that. Plus I assume that it being part of the plant matters slows its release.
  • wollstonecraft 10y ago
    The algae produce it.
  • ars 10y ago
    > It's an ozone-depletant, so you want a natural source. I read that line several times, and I can't figure out what one has to do with the other. The depletion effect doesn't change based on the source. > And algae naturally soak it up from sea water, so you don't have to extract it from minerals or anything like that. It's made from bromine, it's not a hard element to get a hold of. > Plus I assume that it being part of the plant matters slows its release. Slows the release in the cow, or after leaving the cow? Because we care only after leaving the cow, and at that point it has to have been released (in the cow) in order to function.
    • the8472 10y ago
      The point was that many species of algae already produce and release it. Using some of them as feed does not introduce additional emission sources, unlike artificial production would. Slow release in the cow might help to smooth out the dose so it inhibits methane generation throughout the whole digestion time. But that part is entirely speculation on my part. Something has to make this particular alga better than the others tested.