Consulting
What Do We Offer?
Much of the work undertaken by the Layered Mineral Geochemistry Group has actual, or potential, applications and is therefore of interest to industry. Indeed, a significant portion of our current and past projects are, or have been, either partly or fully funded by industry. We are happy to provide either short-term advice and consultancy to industry, work with industry partners towards grant applications, or project manage contract research projects within the University.
Expertise
We have expertise in the following broad areas:
Nanocomposite Materials
Nanocomposites consist of polymers reinforced with a filler material having at least one dimension in the nanometer length-scale. We have worked with clay-polymer systems containing both biodegradable polymers/oligomers and low molecular weight water soluble oligomers. The group has experience of synthesis, analysis and computer modelling of such systems.
Applications include improving the materials performance of biodegradable polymers, clay swelling inhibitors for drilling fluids and novel high clay fraction composite materials.
Organic-Mineral Interractions
In recent years there has been a significant rise in the use of layered mineral structures and their derivatives as heterogeneous catalysts for a variety of chemical processes. We have track record in simulation and laboratory studies for these systems.
Algae Biofuels
The group has experience in the overall process of producing fuels from marine biomass and specific expertise in converting the lipid fractions through to fuel/lubricant components.
Contact Us
For an informal discussion regarding potential consultancy work or contract research