Termites Could Be The Key To Our Fuel Problems

Termites are bothersome bugs that can actually cause a great deal of damage to your home. It can cost thousands of dollars to have them treated and removed. Not to mention the problem can happen again and again, especially if you live in warmer areas. Termite treatments are expensive and time consuming and nobody wants to hear the news that their home is infested. However, recent research has discovered that these annoying little bugs might be able to offer some good in the world. Scientists have found that something in their stomachs might be able to be turned into biofuel. The microbes help them digest the wood they feed on every day. The microbes are able to turn wood into sugar, which can then be turned into biofuel.

The stomachs on these bugs are divided into separate parts, not unlike that of a cow. The stomach is capable of breaking down foods that a human would be unable to digest. There are several research projects occurring that are focused on the third portion or third stomach in the bug. It is the microbes in this stomach that are responsible for breaking down the wood the termites consume. The microbes create an enzyme that is able to turn the wood polymers into sugar. This sugar is what the bug uses for its personal fuel, which is energy. The sugar could be refined and later turned into biofuel. The refining process is somewhat similar to what is done to corn to create ethanol.

The research includes trying to determine exactly what microbes are breaking down the wood materials. It is believed there is several different ones working together to achieve the task. Efforts are being made to isolate each of them and identify them so they could be recreated synthetically or taken from various sources to create the same effect on a larger scale. The point is to learn how a bio mass, like what is contained in wood, could be turned into sugar, which is a source of energy.

Though wood is used today as energy when it is burned, dead wood does little to help us. However, if scientists are able to turn dead wood into energy, it would be revolutionary. Wood waste and building products could be restructured into fuel. Not to mention forests could be created specifically for fuel. It is a renewable source of energy and while nobody wants to chop down trees, creating forests specifically for this use would give a permanent supply of fuel and eliminate problems such as oil spills.

There is a great deal more research that needs to be done and the technology is yet to exist that is able to recreate the process the termite accomplishes on a scale large enough to make a difference. However, understanding how the process works and knowing there is a way to turn a renewable product such as wood into fuel is a major step forward in the bio diesel industry and it could one day solve a lot of energy problems.

----------------------------------------------------
Stewart Wrighter is interested in finding a treatment for termites that is available for commercial locations. For more information about termites go to

http://www.termites411.net/ .

EasyPublish this article: http://submityourarticle.com/articles/easypublish.php?art_id=194463