Palin's contributions to technical literature have appeared in Canada, Japan, Spain, France, Germany, the U.S. and the U.K.
He held a first class degree from the University of London, was awarded a Ph.D. for his chlorination research and was a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry.
[3] In 1940, he was appointed first waterworks chemist to the city of Coventry, to supervise the wartime operation of the emergency water supply.
The challenge to achieve the highest possible quality standards led to the first application in the U.K. of such novel treatments as breakpoint chlorination, already in limited use at that time in the U.S.
It was the development of this analytical method, using the indicator diethyl para phenylene diamine (DPD), that provided the key to open the door to the explanation of the breakpoint in chlorination and laid the foundation for the present classification of modern processes.
Palin retired from his position with Newcastle and Gateshead Water Co. in 1977 and joined the Palintest Board.