Nature-based solutions to substitute fossile resources and address global change

 

Lecturer: Benoît Gabrielle - Agro-ParisTech

Natural ecosystems and the services they provide are a key to address current environmental challenges, such as climate change, the preservation of air and water quality, and the transition toward a low-carbon economy. Engineering these services via the management of ecosystems, land-use planning or the integration of plants in urban environments can « pave the way towards a more resource efficient, competitive and greener economy » (EU Research Agenda, 2015). Nature-based solutions include for example the production of bio-based alternatives to fossile-based products, the mitigation of heat waves in cities via the presence of vegetation, the enhacement of carbon storage in ecosystems or the management of watersheds to reduce flood risks.

The aim of the course is to raise the awareness of these solutions, with a particular focus on biomass production and transformation into fuels, materials and chemicals to substitute fossile resources, and to equip them with key concepts and know-hows on the design and assessment of such solutions. The course will provide students with a detailed understanding of the issues associated with the development of nature-based solutions to meet our needs for food and energy, mitigate climate change or air pollution, and methods to their sustainability along the environmental and economic dimensions.

 

Langue du cours : Anglais


Credits ECTS : 4

Solid Waste Valorization - Physical treatment

The aim of the Solid Waste Valorization course is to offer an overview of sources, classification, and composition of solid wastes and of circular economy concept to improve waste management strategies. It will also provide technical and scientific knowledge regarding waste management practices and technologies that can be used to valorize and eliminate solid waste such as recycling, thermal treatment, biological treatment and landfilling.  Visits of a full-scale sorting center, incinerator, anaerobic digester and landfill are planned.

 

Teaching staff

- Laurent Mazéas, Research Director, IRSTEA

- Frank Gélix, Engineer Expert, Veolia

- Isabelle Hébé, Coordinator for Research Investments, ADEME

- Marie Orvain, Researcher, Veolia

- Théodore Bouchez, Research Director, IRSTEA

 

Course outline

  • Introduction

- Sources, classification, composition of solid wastes

- Circular economy concept

- Minimization of waste production strategies

- Overview of the different waste management technologies

  • Separation and recycling of waste materials

- Technical and scientific knowledge regarding sorting and recycling

- Visit of a waste sorting center (Vert-le-Grand)

  • Thermal treatment of waste material

- Technical and scientific knowledge regarding incineration and gasification

- Visit of an incinerator (Vert-le-Grand or Veolia, Ile de France)

  • Composting

- Technical and scientific knowledge regarding waste composting

- Visit of a composting platform (Vert-le-Grand, Ile de France)

  • Methanisation

- Technical and scientific knowledge regarding methanisation

- Visit of an anaerobic digester

  • Waste bioraffineries

- Technical and scientific knowledge regarding waste bioraffineries

  • Landfilling

- Technical and scientific knowledge regarding landfilling

- Visit of a municipal solid waste landfill

  • Agronomical valorization

- Technical and scientific knowledge regarding agronomical valorization

 

The module includes 22 hours of courses, 14 hours of practical work and a 4 hours site visit.

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Level required: no prerequisite

Language: English

Credits ECTS: 6

Supervisor: Laurent MAZEAS

Soil pollution and remediation

The aim of the Soil pollution and remediation course is to offer an overview of the main concepts related to the management of polluted site. The main type of pollutants we have to face and their behavior is developed. General considerations for an effective management of groundwater and risk assessment evaluation at polluted site are reported. Then methodology for diagnosis and technologies available for remediation of soil, soil gas and groundwater are explained and put in practice through: i) the illustration of real case; ii) practical courses on medium sampling; iii) application of the knowledge to a real case (via practical courses and homework) and finally by a study visit at a contaminated site.

 

Teaching staff

- Hubert Leprond, Unit Leader, BRGM

- Valérie Guérin, researcher, BRGM

- Stéfan Colombano, researcher, BRGM

- Virginie Derycke, researcher, BRGM

- Elsa Limasset, researcher, BRGM

- Thierry Gisbert, Environment Business Practice Manager, Arcadis

 

Course outline

  • Contaminated soil policy

- Introduction to the French policy

- Comparison to other policies (homework from the student)

 

  • Key concepts for contaminated soil management

- Pollutant behavior in the environment: typology of pollutant of concern at industrial site; mechanisms governing their mobility

- Groundwater: introduction to key concept necessary for managing contaminated site

- Risk assessment

 

  • Pollution diagnosis

- Diagnosis: dimensioning and choice of the technologies: groundwater, soil and soil gas

- Application to a concrete case study (practical work and homework)

- Training to soil, soil gas and groundwater sampling

 

  • Remediation and management technologies

- Presentation of the different technologies

- Illustration of a real case

- Application to a concrete case study (practical work)

 

  • Study visit

Full day visit of a real case soil contaminated sites: at diagnosis or remediation stage; or visit to the experimental facilities at BRGM and conferences either on ecosystem services, mine closure, etc. (presentation by PhD students and/or scientific directors)

The choice will be dependent of the interest of the available site.

 

The module includes 14 hours of courses, 10 hours of practical work, a one-day visit, and 8 hours of homework

 

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Level required: basic knowledge in chemistry, geology and hydrogeology

Language: English

Credits ECTS: 6

Supervisor: Valérie Guérin

Bioinformatique structurale – Lieu : Ecole polytechnique

On abordera de nombreux aspects de la structure, la dynamique, la fonction, et l'ingénierie des biomolécules (protéines mais aussi ARN et ADN). On rappellera les bases de leur stabilité; les principales propriétés du solvant; les effets qui gouvernent le repliement et la reconnaissance moléculaire. On abordera des outils de base de modélisation: alignement de séquences, modélisation par homologie, dynamique moléculaire, docking. Outre les bases théoriques (cours + TD), on manipulera ces outils à travers des mini-projets ou TPs, dans un environnement linux. Les logiciels utilisés ont un intérêt très général en biologie structurale; certains ont été co-développées par les enseignants.

 

Biologie synthétique. Enseignants : Thomas Gaillard, Hannu Myllykallio, Yves Mechulam ; 6 ECTS ; 40 heures ; cours magistraux. Ce cours présentera les principaux concepts de bioinformatique et de biologie moléculaire utilisés pour construire de nouveaux systèmes biologiques d'intérêt thérapeutique ou industriel. Il abordera notamment les circuits de régulation synthétiques, les nouveaux biocarburants, les protéines contenant des acides aminés non canoniques, etc

This course will present the main bioinformatics and molecular biology concepts used to build new biological systems of therapeutic or industrial interest. It will deal in particular with synthetic regulatory circuits, new biofuels, proteins containing non-canonical amino acids, …

Molecular structures of the cell. Lecturer: Anna Polesskaya; 6 ECTS; 40 hours; lectures.

This course will present several examples of central cellular structures, including the cytoskeleton.

Grant application. Lecturer: Researcher depending on the project; 6 ECTS; 40 hours; personal project.

Students will prepare a scientific project in the form of an application for a research grant.

Water treatment: drinking water

This module aims both at presenting an overview of current technologies for producing potable water, and at getting students acquainted with modeling techniques enabling them to optimize industrial processes. Fundamental notions in terms of present legislation, chemical engineering, technologies will be given in the first part of the module. The second part will focus on modeling techniques applied to water production or distribution. Software tools widely used in the industry will be presented and used for specific case-studies. Finally, two site visits of full-scale water works are planned.

 

Teaching staff

- Pierre Mandel, Research engineer, VEDIF

- Marie Maurel, Project Manager, Birdz

- Guillaume Lellouche, Data scientist, Eau de Paris

- Fabien Vergnolle, Process Engineer, Sidem Desalination

 

Course outline

Drinking water production: generalities and current approaches (16 h: 14h lectures; 2h tutorial)

  • Water: issues and challenges – The water crisis in Barcelona (lecture 4h)
  1. Contextual elements
    • Water resources
    • Water needs
    • Notions on the legal framework for water management
    • The water-energy nexus
  2. The water crisis in Barcelona
    • Sequence of events (2007-2008)
    • Resources and needs
    • Present and future water management policy
    • Processes for potable water production (lecture 4h)
  3. Generalities
    • Measured parameters and legal framework
    • Different resources
  4. Processes for potable water production
    • Pretreatment, filtration
    • Coagulation, Flocculation
    • Disinfection
    • Membrane-based processes for potable water production (lecture 4h)

 

  • Practical case-study: sizing of emergency water treatment units (tutorial 2h)
  1. Hypothesis and constraints
  2. Flowchart
  3. Sizing of the equipments
  4. Discussion
  • Water distribution networks: asset management (lecture 2h)
  1. Definitions & concepts
  2. Actions to be taken
  3. Predictive approaches

 

Modeling tools for the water industry (16h: 8h lecture; 8h tutorial)

  • Modeling water treatment processes: basics (lecture 4h)
  1. Definitions and generalities
    • What is a model?
    • Different types of models
  2. Basic modelling skills
    • Chemical kinetics
    • Hydraulics
  3. Modelling methodologies
    • Systemic approach
    • CFD approach
    • Water distribution networks: generalities & modeling (lecture 4h)
  4. Water distribution systems
    • Historical perspective
    • Definitions
    • Characteristics
    • Legal framework
  5. Modelling water distribution systems
    • Hydraulic modelling
    • Water quality modelling
  6. Setting up a new model: Data gathering, GIS data
  7. Presentation of some software tools : Porteau, Epanet
  • Practical case-study on water distribution modeling: coupling Epanet and a third party software (tutorial 4h)
  • Practical case-study on potable water production modeling using Matlab/Simulink (tutorial 4h)

Site visits

  • One of the largest nanofiltration plant worldwide: SEDIF’s water works at Méry-sur-Oise
  • An Eau de Paris site

 

The module includes 22 hours of lectures, 10 hours of tutorials and 8 hours of site visits.

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Level required: Basic knowledge of chemical engineering and biology

Language: English

Credits ECTS: 6

Supervisor: Pierre Mandel

BIO_54468_EP - Exploration and Statistical Analysis of Complex Datasets

Course description :
The analysis of environmental samples has seen a remarkable transformation thanks to the recent advances in molecular ecology and analytical chemistry. The high-throughput methodologies from these fields have empowered researchers to generate vast volumes of data, offering unparalleled insights into environmental complexities. However, this data often takes the form of high-dimensional datasets. Summarizing and extracting valuable information from these complex and multidimensional datasets is challenging and it requires specific methods. 

BIO_54468_EP introduces a range of methods and theoretical concepts, from descriptive statistics to multivariate statistics, a set of powerful methods for analyzing and interpreting data involving multiple variables simultaneously. With a balanced combination of theory and practical work, students will learn how to apply various statistical methods to real-world problems, enabling them to draw meaningful insights from complex datasets. The course aims to provide students with a solid understanding of the principles of descriptive statistics and multivariate methods and with the skills needed to select and use these methods effectively in their own work.

Examen :
The course assessment consists of two main components:

  1. Written Examination: A 3-hour closed-book exam, with no access to documents, notes, or calculators.
  2. Personal Project: Each student will be required to complete a personal project, which will be evaluated separately.

Course description:

Molecular biogeochemistry explores the interplay between the molecular constituents of living organisms and the biogeochemical processes occurring in the environment. This class will provide an overview of the essential concepts in biogeochemistry with an emphasis of processes occurring at the molecular level.  In addition, it will cover how natural and anthropogenic activities impact the molecular transformations of elements like carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur in various environmental domains, such as soil, water, and air, integrating principles from biology, chemistry, and geology to unravel the intricate connections between the molecular biology of organisms and the broader biogeochemical cycles in Earth's ecosystems. We will examine, by delving into scientific literature found in peer-reviewed journals, the molecular aspects of production and degradation of natural organic matter in the biogeosphere, and the linkage of biological molecules with corresponding molecular constituents (chemofossils or biomarkers) that are extracted from sedimentary archives for paleo-reconstructions.

 

Course goals:

Apart from acquiring the basics of molecular and analytical biogeochemistry, this course aims to achieve the following objectives:

  • Develop the ability to critically analyze scientific literature
  • Engage in discussions with peers, lead by a subject matter expert, on scientific papers and their impacts
  • Cultivate research and presentation skills with classmates and receive direct feedback

Texts and readings:

Reading assignments:

Class 2 (Feb. 28th) – Ward et al., 2017.  Where carbon goes when water flows: carbon cycling across the aquatic continuum. Frontiers in Marine Science. 4:7. doi: 10.3389/fmars.2017.00007

Class 4 (March. 4th) – Brown et al., 2014. Source identification of the Antarctic sea ice proxy IP25. Nature. Communications. doi: 10.1038/ncomms5197

Class 6 (March. 11th) – Solomon et al., 2016. Emergence of healing in the Antarctic ozone layer. Science. 353(6296): 269-274

Class 6 (March. 11th) - Bergauer et al., 2018. Organic Matter Processing by Microbial Communities throughout the Atlantic Water Column as Revealed by Metaproteomics. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 115 (3) E400-E408.  Particular attention will be paid to the material and method section concerning the proteomic study (see supplementary data). This work will be discuss in small groups in class.

Class 8 (March. 13thth) – Rabalais et al., 2019. Gulf of Mexico Hypoxia: past, present and future. Limnology and Oceanography Bulletin

 

Paper discussions:

There are 4 sessions of 45 minutes dedicated to reading peer-reviewed papers, each student will be paired (4 groups of 2 students) and assigned a discussion to lead with a classmate based on the paper to read. Each pair will create powerpoint presentation slides and present the paper to the entire class. I will virtually meet with each group a week prior to their scheduled class leadership to address any queries

 

Participation:

Students are expected to arrive at class ready to engage in discussions about the assigned readings for the day. Full participation points are awarded for both attendance and active involvement in the day's discussion, which may include responding to polls, making verbal comments, contributing to the chat, and more. Mere attendance without active participation is insufficient for earning full credit. My goal, is that you will get out of the class what you put into it.