Termites may help extract clean energy from coal

Termites may hold the key to transforming coal — a big polluting chunk of the global energy supply — into cleaner energy for the world, according to a study. The study, published in ‘Energy and Fuels’, found that a community of termite-gut microbes converts coal into methane, the chief ingredient in natural gas.
The study, which produced computer models of the step-by step biochemical process, was a collaboration between the researchers at University of Delaware and ARCTECH, a company based in Virginia, US.“It may sound crazy — termite-gut microbes eating coal — but think about what coal is. It is basically wood that is been cooked for 300 million years,” said Professor Prasad Dhurjati from the University of Delaware.
Termites can digest coal, releasing methane and producing humic matter, a beneficial organic fertiliser, as a byproduct.