Don Whitley Scientific
July 2021
By: Staff

Alex Simpson recently installed a new Whitley Workstation that will be used for a rather unusual application with connections to the Scottish whisky industry and the production of alternative sustainable green chemicals and advanced biofuel.

Celtic Renewables have a state-of-the-art commercial processing plant at Caledon Green, in Grangemouth, Scotland. Using their patented low-carbon technology, they convert locally sourced low-value materials (including residues from whisky production) into low-carbon, high-value sustainable biochemical products that can directly displace their petrochemical equivalents. By using by-products from whisky production to produce green chemicals, they are aiding the progression to more sustainable processing - which is a big focus in today’s world. In 2017, they made history by powering the world’s first car using biobutanol derived from local whisky residues as fuel.

The Whitley A85 Workstation recently purchased by Celtic Renewables will be used for culturing anaerobic bacteria, which will then be used to seed fermentations in industrial scale vessels. The options fitted to their A85 were a power socket, data logging and anaerobic and catalyst monitoring. When asked how the workstation has been able to improve their work, Kenneth Leiper, Fermentation Specialist, kindly said, “Our bacteria are obligate anaerobes, so an anaerobic cabinet of this sort is essential for our work, and we have always chosen Whitley Workstations. The large airlock is very useful for moving items into the cabinet.”

After 12 years of the research team at Celtic Renewables using Whitley Workstations – from their initial University based R&D through to setting up Celtic Renewables and building the country’s first biorefinery - we are extremely thankful for their loyalty as well as their time to speak to us.