CIRENE Tools
Aquatic mesocosms laboratory
On this platform, physical chemists, microbiologists and ecologists assess the environmental risk of (nano)materials by having access to mechanistic data on several spatial and temporal scales.
Aquatic mesocosms are versatile, equipped with multiple environmental sensors, and allow for various ecosystem exposure scenarios under realistic conditions.
In addition to the experimental devices, this platform manages a unique database in Europe dedicated to environmental nanosafety, "MESOCOSM" (Mesocosm Database Management System for Environmental Nanosafety), which makes it possible to collect, manage and analyse data on environmental exposure to nanomaterials generated in mesocosms
Terrestrial mesocosms laboratory
This platform allows the study of the complexity of the soil-plant-microorganism system using different devices such as in vitro cultures, hydroponics, rhizoboxes, cultures in pots and lysimeters.
This platform includes a cultivation greenhouse, a cultivation chamber equipped with LED lamps (Pasteur building) and a cultivation chamber (phytotron). These devices allow work to be carried out under very varied and extremely well-controlled experimental conditions, in terms of temperature, light intensity, hygrometry and photoperiod.
Ageing and leaching laboratory
- Laboratory leaching set-up: static (ANC ...) and dynamic (soxhlet, modified soxhlet, column ...) tests to perform accelerated and controlled weathering of materials.
- SUNTEST XLS climatic chamber for climatic and solar ageing tests (Xe lamp)
- Lysimeter traps (0.8, 2 and 12 m3) offering the possibility of larger scale studies (semi-pilot scale)
Water treatment pilot
- Aqueous effluent treatment pilots with free, fixed or hybrid biomass that can operate under aerobic, anoxic or anaerobic conditions for the purpose of treating specific waters or reusing treated wastewater. These pilots (two of 2L and two of 5L) can operate in a continuous or discontinuous manner.
- Water treatment pilots on nature-based solutions (advanced planted filters) with a focus on the treatment of emerging pollutants.
Instrumental developments
- High energy micro-XRF spectrometer