(83d) Metabolism of Biorenewable Hydrolysates by Extremophilic Microorganisms

Developing economically competitive processes which reduce the environmental footprint of chemical conversion remains a significant challenge to the wider application of biological catalysts. For sustainable development, combinations of biological and conventional catalytic systems provide great potential. Microorganisms from extreme environments represent an expanding pool of untapped transformation capacity and have been applied in the conversion of cellulosic hydrolysates to organic acids. Novel metabolism of products from supercritical water hydrolysis by the hyperthermophilic bacterium, Thermotoga maritima, will be presented. These results demonstrate the ability of extremophiles to transform components that inhibit conventional microbial systems. The expanded application of these research activities will help develop biocatalytic conversions as environmentally beneficial strategies for the production of fuels and chemicals.