TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - BIOTECHNOLOGY - Preparation (claimed): Isolation of a thermophilic bacterial strain involves (a) providing a sample from a man-made habitat or a natural habitat harboring a microbial community; (b) providing an enrichment microbial culture by cultivation of the sample from step (a) under anaerobic conditions in a glycerol-containing media (liquid or solid) or at a temperature suitable for a thermophilic microorganism; (c) selecting a butanol- and/or hydrogen-positive strain by isolating a pure culture from step (b) e.g. by growing microorganisms from diluted bio-mass on solidified glycerol-containing medium; and optionally (d) analyzing the culture from step (c) for glycerol consumption, and hydrogen and/or butanol formation. Preferred Method: In the method (M1), the glycerol is solely or at least in part derived from bio-fuel production. The glycerol is a waste product from bio-diesel and/or bio-ethanol production. The fermentation essentially involves only the strain, or the fermentation is a fermentation comprising in addition to the strain at least one microorganism(s) that are different from the strain. The fermentation provides a higher yield of at least one biomass, bio-fuel, bio-gas, and/or biochemical, compared to fermentation without the strain, where the fermentation provides a higher yield of at least one methanol, ethanol, propanol, isopropanol, propanediol, butanol, hydrogen, acetate, and/or lactate, compared to a fermentation without the strain. The fermentation involves at least one of batch fermentation, fed-batch fermentation, semi-continuous fermentation, fermentation with immobilized culture, and/or continuous fermentation. Preferred Components: The strain is capable of co-producing butanol and hydrogen from glycerol, where the glycerol is the sole carbohydrate source. The strain belongs to the genus Thermoanaerobacterium. The strain is at least greater than or equal to 90%, greater than or equal to 95%, greater than or equal to 97%, greater than or equal to 98% or identical to Thermoanaerobacterium thermosaccharolyticum based on 16S rRNA gene analysis. The strain is strain 260 (DSM 21660) or its derivative. The strain is 260-M4 (DSM 21694), or strain 260-M9 (DSM 21695), or a derivative of any one of the strains. The strain is capable of producing butanol ( greater than or equal to 0.25 mol) per mol glycerol. In the strain, at least greater than or equal to 50%, greater than or equal to 60%, greater than or equal to 70%, greater than or equal to 80%, or greater than or equal to 90% (mol/mol) of the total alcohol(s) produced from glycerol by the bacterial strain, is butanol. The strain is capable of producing at least greater than or equal to 0.10, greater than or equal to 0.12, greater than or equal to 0.14, greater than or equal to 0.17, greater than or equal to 0.2, greater than or equal to 0.3, greater than or equal to 0.4, greater than or equal to 0.5 mol hydrogen per mol glycerol. The strain is not producing significant amounts of butyrate (i.e. less than 0.1 g/l) when grown on glycerol as sole carbon source. The pH optimum for butanol and/or hydrogen production is of pH 5-8; pH 6.5-7.5; pH 6.8-7.2; or around pH 7. The temperature optimum for butanol and/or hydrogen production is 35-70 degrees C; 50-65 degrees C; 55-63 degrees C, or around 60 degrees C. The strain is capable of fermenting at least one of crude glycerol (e.g. greater than or equal to 65 wt./vol.%), glycerol of technical quality (e.g. greater than or equal to 85 wt./vol.%); pure glycerol (e.g. greater than or equal to 99 wt./vol.%); pro analysii (p.a.) glycerol (e.g. greater than or equal to 99.9 wt./vol.%). The strain is capable of fermenting glycerol provided or derived from the production of a bio-fuel. The strain is capable of fermenting glycerol derived from production of biodiesel or bioethanol. The glycerol-containing media comprises glycerol as the sole carbohydrate source. The habitat exhibits anaerobic degradation of complex organic matter, and the habitat comprises glycerol as a free compound or in a bound form, e.g. as lipid. The man-made habitat is selected from at least one manure, sewage sludge, oil waste, fish waste, slaughter house waste, plant-oil containing agricultural residues, bioreactor content, biogas reactor content, content of a bioreactor comprising glycerol co-digested with other type of organic matter or waste. The natural habitat is selected from digestive tract of animals and human, soil, sediment from lakes, hot springs, and seas, optionally comprising decaying algal bio-mass.    TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - ORGANIC CHEMISTRY - Preferred Components: The butanol is at least one n-butanol, sec-butanol, isobutanol, and/or tert-butanol. EXAMPLE - No suitable example is given.