Vitamin K formulation reduces methane and carbon dioxide in livestock
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from animals, particularly methane and carbon dioxide, have been ineffective due to the poor performance of plant extracts like Impatiens balsamina in real farming settings, despite lab-scale successes.
Innovation Solution
The use of vitamin K compounds or extracts, which are administered to animals to inhibit methanogenesis and shift metabolism from anaerobic to aerobic pathways, thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions and offensive odours from animal faeces.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-generated harmful factors
If plant extracts like Impatiens balsamina are administered to animals to reduce methane and carbon dioxide production, then greenhouse gas emissions are reduced in lab scale experiments, but the extracts show poor or no inhibition effect in real farming settings
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the active ingredient (vitamin K) from the plant extract Impatiens balsamina. This isolation of the specific active compound allows for standardized dosing and consistent effectiveness in farming settings, resolving the reliability issue while maintaining the greenhouse gas reduction benefit
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the form of administration from complex plant extracts to purified vitamin K compounds with defined concentrations. This parameter change from variable natural extracts to standardized chemical compounds ensures consistent therapeutic effect and reliability in reducing methane and carbon dioxide emissions
2Object-generated harmful factors
If vitamin K is administered to inhibit methanogenesis, then methane and carbon dioxide production is reduced by up to 80-100% and 90-100% respectively, but the mechanism of action and active compounds in previous extracts were not known
Solution Approach 1:
The patent identifies vitamin K as the intermediary substance that mediates the inhibition of methanogenesis. By pinpointing this specific compound, the patent provides both the mechanism of action and the active ingredient information that was previously unknown, while achieving the desired reduction in greenhouse gas emissions
3Ease of operation
If plant extracts are used as animal supplements to reduce greenhouse gases, then the approach is simple to administer, but the extraction, storage, and administration process renders the extract ineffective
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and isolates vitamin K from the complex plant matrix of Impatiens balsamina. This purification eliminates the problematic components in the original extract that caused degradation during storage and administration, while maintaining the simplicity of oral administration and ensuring reliable greenhouse gas inhibition
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses stable, synthetically available vitamin K compounds that do not require complex extraction and storage conditions. This approach replaces the unstable natural extract with a reliable, easily manufactured compound that maintains effectiveness throughout the administration process
Data Source
AI summary
A method of reducing production of carbon dioxide or methane from farmed animals, including administering to an animal a formulation of carbon dioxide or methane reducing concentrations of vitamin K. The method reduces the carbon dioxide and/or the methane in one or more of breath exhalant of the animal, faeces of the animal, and from soil on which the faeces have been deposited. M ethane production is reduced by at least 20% by volume and carbon dioxide production is reduced by at least 20% by volume. The vitamin K is formulated to be isolated until the vitamin K reaches to gut of the animal whereupon it is formulated to be released and mix with stomach or rumen fluid. The method increases animal weight gain over time, inhibits or prevents production of skatole compounds production from metabolism of the animal over time, and reduces production of offensive odours from animal faeces.