Drochaid Research Celebrates 5th Year in Business

A BIG THANK YOU FOR THE PEOPLE WHO HELP DROCHIAD RESEARCH SERVICES ALONG THE?WAY

As a company that started only 5 years ago, we have been very lucky to have the people who put in their time, hard work and dedication to make Droachaid what it is today. The company started in 2018 and had signed our first contract in January of that year and we are pleased to say that company is still a client today with many successful projects shaving being run. Over the course of the five years, we have had the pleasure of working on a number of diverse projects with a wide range client, ranging from small SME’s to academics all the way to multinational companies. Project sizes have also varied greatly from small self-contained work plans to large collaborative projects with multiple contributing parties. We welcome enquiries on all scales and will always discuss your needs and requirements and tailor our project plan to them.

We have undergone a number of changes over our short history and some people have moved on to other roles and projects, firstly Bob Tooze who was responsible for setting up Drochaid Research Services and who put everything in place for this to be a successful company, It was Bob who populated our order book and set the structures for the work in the laboratories to be done.?Bob has now moved on to run his own consultancy business.

Helen Roper who was with us from day one and was critical in the running of the company, done quietly and very effectively in the background, and her presence is missed in the company.

Juan Maria González Carballo started in the laboratory working on many projects before moving into a business development role before moving on to a role as Knowledge Transfer Manager in the KTN.

Drochaid Today

"There has also been a core team at Drochaid from the beginning who have also been instrumental to our success and their profiles can be found on our website, as we have progressed we have also added to our team that we have introduced on LinkedIn as they have joined "

Dr David Brown

Projects Drochaid Research Services have been involved in the last 5 years

DROCHAID RESEARCH SUPPORTS PROJECT TO ERADICATE FOSSIL FUELS IN CLEANING PRODUCTS.

As there is more demand for renewable detergents Drochaid Research was able to work in conjunction with St Andrews University and a famous company. This project was to address the need for excellent cleaning outcome whilst supporting the “Net Zero” goal of the UK.

To assist achieving this Drochaid Research had to show the effective production of depolymerised lignin oils from UK biomass. The conversion of depolymerised ligin oils into surfactants.

As there is more demand for renewable detergents Drochaid Research was able to work in conjunction with St Andrews University and a UK based company. This project is to address the need for excellent cleaning outcome whilst supporting the “Net Zero” goal of the UK.

In order to assist achieving this Drochaid Research has been to show the effective production of depolymerised lignin oils from UK biomass which will be utilised as a renewable substrate for the production of detergent molecule

What is Biomass?

"The core of the company is made up by a group of experienced, knowledgeable, adaptable and hardworking individuals who have worked together to bring success to the many projects we have undertaken and providing an excellent service to our customers which is evident by the number of customers who return to carry out more work with DRS, an indicator of satisfaction in the quality of work we produce."

Dr David Brown

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Drochaid and SHV Energy

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“We are glad to say that we are still working with the very first client of Drochaid Research, Dr Keith Simons of SHV Energy. Over the last 5 years we have worked on a number of projects with Keith with one of those now progressing towards commercialisation, as described in the press release by SHV Energy.?We look forward to continuing this collaboration with Keith. “

Dr David Brown

Press release by SHV Energy

We are excited to partner with two world-leading research and development organisations, Drochaid Research and GTI Energy, to validate this pathway for on-purpose renewable propane production,” said Bram Gr?ber, CEO of SHV Energy. “This pioneering work, led by our Sustainable Fuels Director Rebecca Groen and her team, supports our ambition of developing innovative, game-changing energy solutions to benefit millions of customers around the world.”?Said SHV Energy

The relationship with GTI Energy develops on work SHV Energy has been innovative for the last three years. SHV Energy goes on to say, “Together with Drochaid Research Services, a renowned contract research organisation with expertise in catalyst design, synthesis, characterisation and testing, SHV Energy developed a pathway to a renewable propane production process.”??

DROCHAID RESEARCH SERVICES ASSISTS IN THE PRODUCTION OF WATER REPELLENT WAX FOR COATING CLOTHING

?Funded by Highland and Islands Enterprise in 2021,?Drochaid Research was able to lend its expertise and capability to build an understanding of the suitability of locally sourced vegetable oil as a sustainable and alternative feedstock to replace fossil-based hydrocarbon waxes in the textile industry.

What was achieved was to produce a water repellent wax coating for clothes. Thus, replacing petrochemical use.

This study concentrated on using hydrogenate vegetable oil that is produced here in Scotland.

Drochaid Research Services autoclave reactors were used to carry out the catalytic transformation of the vegetable oil. The laboratory work required the ability to monitor hydrogen uptake, which was critical to derive the scale-up kinetics and establish the operating conditions for the process.?

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?DROCHAID IS NOW MOVING FORWARD INTO OUR 6TH YEAR OF OPERATIONS

DROCHAID RESEARCH HAS ADDED A NEW HIGH PRESSURE REACTOR TO ITS CURRENT INVENTORY OF EQUIPMENT

?300 mL Hastelloy Parr Autoclave From SCIMED

?Drochaid research has added a new high-pressure reactor to its current inventory of equipment. The 300 mL Hastelloy Parr reactor was purchased from SCIMED to broaden the breadth of capabilities that we can offer to our customers. This reactor, with electrical heater can perform chemistry at temperatures up to 350 oC and pressures up to 200 bar.* With a Teflon gasket seal and Hastelloy construction, for all exposed surfaces, this reactor can withstand a wide selection of chemicals. The reactor comes equipped with gas entraining stirrer for efficient gas dissolution. A cold finger for controlling heat evolution from exothermic reactions, and a ballast vessel with logged pressure and temperature for monitoring gas consumption during reaction. The reactor can be fitted with a dip tube for removal of aliquots of sample during reaction to monitor current conversion. This compact reactor has been designed to be capable of detaching from the stand and taken inside a glovebox to retrieve contents under inert conditions. This allows for the synthesis of sensitive materials or the analysis of reactive catalysts by a multitude of techniques without exposure to air or moisture.

Dr David Smith

"Starting our sixth year of operation we are strengthening our team with the recruitment of Dr Maha Arumugam.

He has provided us with a short biography to introduce himself to our customers and friends at Drochaid."

Dr David Brown?

I am Maha, a new research Scientist at Drochaid Research Services. I am passionate about new technologies and the development of heterogeneous catalysis, particularly porous materials, for the sustainable production of fuels and chemicals.

During my postgraduate studies, I have experience in catalysis, having worked on several enzymes and chemically catalysed research projects. After obtaining my PhD from the University of Putra Malaysia (UPM), I worked for Xiamen University Malaysia (XMUM) as a lecturer in the School of Energy and Chemical Engineering.

Following that, I moved to Czechia to join as a Postdoctoral Research fellow at the University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague, under a scheme called ChemJets funded by European Horizon and Czech Ministry Education Youth and Sports.

I moved to St Andrews, Scotland, in Nov 2022 to join the Drochaid Research Services company. Drochaid is a small company fuelled by a group of ten brilliant scientists with vast knowledge of catalysis. The research conducted in Drochaid is inspiring because it provides various consultancy and technical solutions, especially in material preparation, testing, characterisation, and data analysis for many start-ups and MNCs in the UK and worldwide. Their numerous experience and credibility in Chemistry, ranging from material development characterisation to catalyst testing, are beneficial and related to my primary research interest. This versatility also encourages me to apply for the scientist position am looking forward to learning more from Drochaid. Also, I will continue to work towards my goal and Drochaid’s and look forward to an exciting career path.

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DROCHAID RESEARCH SERVICES LTD

SCHOOL OF CHEMISTRY

UNIVERSITY OF ST ANDREWS

PURDIE BUILDING

NORTH HAUGH

ST ANDREWS

KY16 9ST

Phone: 01334 460930

E-mail: [email protected]

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