Not from a minister: Cow’s urine can help clean air

CHENNAI: The recent claim by a Union minister that cows inhale and exhale oxygen and that their dung can neutralise radioactive elements may have no scientific backing, but a city-based doctor says cow’s urine can clean air pollution.
It can trap toxic carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and particulate matter from clouds of exhaust fumes to a great extent, says Dr K Jagadeesan, founder and chief surgeon of KJ Hospital.
A laboratory experiment with cow urine and thick white smoke showed it could remove carbon monoxide up to 95% and carbon dioxide up to 78%, said Dr Jagadeesan. It can also trap particulate matter up to 26%, he said.
“The ammonia in cow urine has the capacity to absorb toxic elements from smoke. The enzymes in the urine dissolve the urea and it is converted into ammonia,” he said.
Inspired by Hindu priests who sprinkle cow’s urine before starting a ‘sacred fire’ and sit comfortably in front for hours, Jagadeesan used a smoke generator to get thick white fumes from burning coconut fibre. A reservoir connected to a jar containing two litres of cow’s urine with a 6mm polythene tube. One end of another tube is inserted into the jar with the open end used to let smoke out. Both tubes in the jar are connected to a 15cm tube twisted into a coil with multiple perforations and its terminal end closed.
“The generator was delivering smoke that was colourless and odourless. We collected the outcoming air and sent it to an NABL accredited lab to test for various parameters,” Dr Jagadeesan said. “The quantity of smoke, volume of urine and the duration it takes have a direct linear relationship.”
Dr Jagadeesan is now working with IIT-M researchers to use enzymes from cow urine and develop a dry technology to clean air on a large scale.
Shiva Nagendra, associate professor of IIT-M’s environmental and water resources engineering division who has been working on developing air purifiers, said the acidic nature of cow urine may have the capacity to absorb toxic elements in the air, but it is still under research.