harnessing the
power of microbes 

the science 

Thermophiles generate heat and thrive at elevated temperatures (50 to 70°C) in organic matter and are usually found in solar-heated soil or sediment, warm process effluents and biologically self-heated compost, the most familiar of which is the garden compost heap. GBL is particularly interested in the isolation of thermophiles from compost environments because of their high metabolic activity, fast growth and robustness.

Thermophiles produce a wide range of enzymes and metabolic products that have numerous applications in biofuels, chemical feedstocks, biomass hydrolysis, enzyme technology and biocatalysis. Thermophiles and thermostable enzymes possess many useful features for exploitation that include:

  • fast growth and high productivity
  • utilisation of a wide range of sugars derived from inexpensive feedstocks
  • low nutritional requirements
  • safe cultivation in large volumes, non-hazardous and non-pathogenic

High temperature fermentation and enzyme processes are faster, more efficient and ultimately cheaper than conventional processes.

Thermophiles are found in solar-heated soil or sediment, warm process effluents and biologically self-heated compost.