Insect pests are being suffocated by this technology. Low-oxygen atmospheres will kill pests. Similar to a fumigation, the infested objects are enclosed in an air-tight space, and the oxygen is either bound up by an oxygen absorber (like Ageless) or replaced with an inert gas like Nitrogen. In this manner, the objects being treated are not placed into different environmental extremes (heat treatments or freezing) that could damage it, but the infestation is eradicated.

 

Nitrogen from cylinders is used to fill up fumigation enclosures to eradicate museum pests

Considerable research has been conducted with the use of controlled and modified atmospheres to manage insect pests in artefacts. Nitrogen (N2) gas used in controlled atmospheres is effective in causing insect death within 2-8 weeks, as shown by bioassays.

 
Laboratory work to evaluate regimes for anoxia treatments using bioassays

In order for Nitrogen treatment to work, the oxygen levels are reduced to 0.1-0.3%. In our studies the lowest range of oxygen concentration tested was 0.1 % (less then 1000 ppm of O2).

 
Anoxia gas treatments of museum artefacts in a rigid soft wall chamber and dead insects, not surviving the treatment

The oxygen deprivation causes a disruption in the glucose production within insect bodies, resulting in weight loss and eventual insect death. Rates of death vary with temperature, relative humidity, exposure time, and species type as well as life cycle stage. Increasing the temperature helps reduce the exposure time for Nitrogen because insect respiration is increased with higher temperature, causing rapid water loss.