The intermediate dairy cow produces82 poundsof manure daily . For elephants , that number is up to300 British pound sterling . accord to research worker at the University of Vienna , all that dung represents an untapped resource that has the potential to change the way we make paper .
The squad of scientist presented their findings at a meeting of theAmerican Chemical Societyon March 21 . dissipation from cows and elephants , they say , is racy in the same cellulose that ’s require to make newspaper product . What ’s more , the cellulose in manure has been break down by digestion , making it easier for paper manufacturers to process .
" Animals eat low - level biomass containing cellulose , manducate it and reveal it to enzyme and acid in their stomach , and then grow manure , " researcher Alexander Bismarck suppose in a program line . " count on the animate being , up to 40 percent of that manure is cellulose , which is then easily accessible . "
Bismarck first got the idea to make newspaper from manure after see goats graze on juiceless gage in a small small town in Crete . As he watch the plant matter go in , he wondered if that same matter would n’t be suitable for gain composition once it come out the other last . Today most newspaper is made by grinding down raw wood into nanocellulose , a process that takes a good deal of power . The cellulose in dung has already been masticate and wear down by superman and enzymes in the animate being ’s digestive system , abbreviate out the need for all that drudge .
The research squad is currently exploring potential program for the material . For now , they say it could be used as reinforcement for polymer composites or as filters for wastewater . It can also be made into paper for writing , though it may be a while until you see notebooks made from elephant dung at your local office supplying store .
