Check out this cool interesting fact I learnt about termites today.
Apparently some researchers are studying them as a potential new source of clean / renewable / green source of energy!
But how is that even possible? 🤔🧐
Turns out the termite gut is a magical little thing, essentially an efficient bioreactor, capable of producing two litres of hydrogen from a single sheet of paper, thanks to its miniscule inhabitants:
The lowly termite is capable of cranking out two liters of hydrogen from fermenting just one sheet of paper, making it one of the planet’s most efficient bioreactors. Termites accomplish this Herculean task by exploiting the metabolic capabilities of about 200 different species of microbes that inhabit their hindguts. source
I stumbled upon this interesting piece of info while browsing on reddit and after doing a bit of digging it seems like termites (or at least their gut microbiota) may also be used to transform coal to methane gas.
Which may sound a bit crazy until your realize that coal is essentially really old cooked wood.
It may sound crazy at first — termite-gut microbes eating coal — but think about what coal is. It’s basically wood that’s been cooked for 300 million years,
Coal is derived from ancient wood. Microbes living in the termite gut can digest coal, releasing methane, the chief ingredient in natural gas, in the process. source
Imo doesn't sound like much of an improvement to me...I mean natural gas still isn't really clean.. Just less dirty...
So yeah, now you know. Termites are small, efficient bioreactors. You can click any of the links above to read more about the related research which isn't goinggoing anywhere meaningful. I doubt we will see anytime soon any termite-powerplants. Theory is one thing, mainstream application is another. And most of the papers and research I could find was scarce and often over a decade old so maybe the idea has already been ditched for whatever reason...
But other than efficient bioreactors, termites are another cool thing too. Much like most insects, they are a protein rich meal. And the way things go these days maybe we aren't that far from eating them 🎉
Actually, as we speak there are at least 43 termite species used as food for humans or livestock here and therw:
The results showed that at least 45 species of termites, belonging to four families, are used in the world, with 43 species used in human diet and/or in livestock feeding. Nine termite species are used as a therapeutic resource. There is an overlapping use of seven species. source
So I guess the moral of the story is...
You will eat termites and you will be happy!
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