In the past few years, researchers around the world have begun to intensely explore the wide-ranging possibilities of the enzymes, but Dr. Robert M. Kelly, professor of chemical engineering at North Carolina State University, has focused his research in this area of biology and biotechnology since the early 1980s. His work has captured the attention of several large companies and governmental agencies that now sponsor his research, including DuPont, Kraft Foods, Dowell Schlumberger, the Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation. His recent work has yielded an extremozyme, a name that he and Dr. Michael W. W. Adams of the University of Georgia coined for enzymes from extremophiles, that could facilitate extraction of oil from the earth.
Enzymes are proteins produced by living cells and can act as catalysts in biochemical processes.
In collaboration with Bob Kelly, we have recently cloned and expressed the genes encoding the hemicellulases identified by his group. Kelly sits on the board of advisers for RBI and is a consultant for the company. Coaxing oil and gas from a well often involves injecting a viscous solution of enzymes, guar gum, sand and water into the bore, setting off an explosion and forcing the solution into resulting cracks in the surrounding rock. These cracks are propped open by the sand to permit the flow of oil and gas. Activated by the heat in the well, the enzymes break down the guar gum and thin the solution so that oil and gas can flow freely around the grains of sand.