About This Project

Methane is a potent greenhouse gas, significantly impacting atmospheric heat retention. Conventional approaches face challenges in addressing emissions from diffuse, low-concentration sources. BIFROST explores biologically influenced structures and processes, leveraging naturally occurring interactions observed in termite-formed environments. By examining these structures, we seek to develop a sustainable framework that contributes to methane reduction efforts on a broader scale.

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Motivating Factor

Methane methane is a potent greenhouse gas, with a global warming potential far higher than carbon dioxide. While existing methane capture technologies are effective for high-concentration sources (>10,000 ppm methane), they are inefficient or cost-prohibitive for low-concentration, diffuse emissions from wetlands, agriculture, and waste systems. Natural methane sinks, such as methanotrophic bacteria in soils, offer a low-energy, biologically driven approach to methane removal but are currently not scalable for deployment. Focusing on termite nests, this project explores one of the development of efficient nature-inspired biofiltration strategies that could enable scalable, passive methane mitigation, reducing reliance on costly engineered systems.

Specific Bottleneck

Current biofiltration approaches for methane removal rely on engineered systems that require active aeration, precise microbial inoculation, and consistent environmental regulation, making them expensive and impractical for low-emission sources. While natural soil methanotrophy removes methane passively, its oxidation rates are too low for meaningful impact without intervention. The key challenge is developing a biofiltration system that passively enhances methane oxidation at ambient or dilute concentrations while remaining cost-effective and scalable.

Actionable Goals

This project will test a biologically driven biofiltration system optimized for low-concentration methane oxidation. We will develop and evaluate modular biofilters that promote methanotrophic activity under ambient methane conditions. The study will assess the efficiency of methane oxidation, structural stability, and microbial community dynamics to determine feasibility for large-scale deployment. Results will inform the development of next-generation, low-maintenance methane biofilters, with potential applications in agriculture, landfills, and natural methane hotspots.