Thursday, 15 August 2019

Science behind smearing of cowdung outside household

This is still in practice in villages. The cowdung is collected, diluted and smeared in the courtyard which is exposed to sun. In this blog I will be focussing on science behind this practice.


Cowdung is a great source of  methane CH4. Microbes found in this cowdung are mostly anaerobic and release methane as a byproduct of their oxidation activities. When this methane in the cowdung spread comes in contact with air and sun' s heat, it is converted to formaldehyde. Formaldehyde is antimicrobial and germicidal. It even kills spores of bacteria. Thus providing as a pretty good nature friendly disinfectant.

Cowdung has 3 to 4% of bacteria by mass, so the methane produced is proportionate. The cowdung used is diluted further, so is the amount of formaldehyde produced. This formaldehyde is volatile as well, therefore its a daily practice. Also cowdung is being tested for absorbing alpha, beta and even gamma rays. This is still a proposed theory.

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