By Alex Prideaux

My independent research is into the methane production of North American termites. In order to complete my research I required a ton of materials. Sensors, containers, switches, microcontrollers, and of course – the termites themselves (which are actually crazy expensive). The initial tests required housing different sections of termites in different containers to see if they would produce methane differently based on their diet. This quickly proved to be too big of a bite for me to swallow academically so I worked with Professor Kessler to refine the experiment into one that…. Still didn’t get quite the results we were looking for, but produced solid data, and more importantly, helped me understand exactly how to solve all the issues I was coming across. So the next version of this experiment should produce data I can actually publish. I plan on staying in the Rochester area post-graduation and continuing my research. I included the abstract and introduction to the paper I wrote on my research below.

Abstract

Termites produce significant amounts of methane as a byproduct of their digestion. Zimmerman et al. estimate that, globally, termites could produce as much as 1.5*1014 grams of methane per year. This experiment is designed to analyze the methane production of North American termites. To test this, Eastern Subterranean termites (Reticulitermes flavipes) were kept in a closed system that was regularly flushed with clean air. After flushing, the system was closed again, and methane was allowed to build up. While significant sources of error prevent the conclusions from this study from being completely reliable, the data collected in this way suggests that a moderate size termite colony could produce methane equivalent to about 40 Watts of energy. It is worth noting that this is significantly higher than the estimates in Zimmerman et al. showing the need for added testing.

Introduction:

This experiment used a two-part enclosure (figure 1). Termites lived and digested wood and paper in the lower container (no additional wood or paper was added over the course of the experiment), while gas was collected in the upper container. The upper container also held a methane sensor and a temperature/humidity sensor. The container would be flushed of methane before the test and then methane levels were allowed to build back up, this supplied approximate rates of methane production. The levels seen were consistent across most tests. There was a significant die-off of termites halfway through testing and tests after that point showed significantly lower methane production rates, but similar peak values. This, and the fact that observed rates far exceed those found by Zimmerman et al. indicates a number of flaws in the experiment. It seems there was gas escaping the current system leading to an equilibrium point of ~ 1700 parts per million of methane (PPM). There also seem to be factors that affected the readout of the methane sensor that falsely inflated the magnitude of readings. The most likely explanation for this is CO2 present in the system. 

1)    Zimmerman, P. R., et al. “Termites: A Potentially Large Source of Atmospheric Methane, Carbon Dioxide, and Molecular Hydrogen.” Science, vol. 218, no. 4572, 1982, pp. 563–565., https://doi.org/10.1126/science.218.4572.563. 

Alex Prideaux is a mechanical engineering major and journalism minor who wants to develop technologies and methods for: green energy production, low-resource food production, tech communication, problem-solving in early education, space missions, and storytelling through games like Dungeons and Dragons. He can be found dancing, working in his Hopeman office, or staring at birds in Genesee Vally Park. You can contact him at aprideau@u.rochester.edu or on LinkedIn