Our environmental chemistry platform enables to perform various chemical analyses on environmental samples. Our state-of-the-art analytical equipments are regularly upgraded to meet a wide range of requirements. It is divided into two technical platforms: the metal technical platform and the plastic technical platform.

Right after the sampling, the sample can be handled by the staff of the platform. Depending on the nature of the sample (water, sediment, sludge), the treatment prior to analysis differs: simple acidification, acid mineralisation, total attack, possibly preceded by grinding and sieving stages in the case of sediments or sludges.

The main physico-chemical parameters (pH, electrical conductivity, redox potential), oxidizable matter content, nitrogen and phosphorus, dissolved salts, alkalinity and total suspended solids are assessed using standardised methods based on techniques such as UV-visible spectrometry or ion chromatography.

The metal technical platform is focused on the analysis of inorganic micropollutants, more specifically trace elements, such as cadmium, chromium, copper, mercury and lead. These elements are widely present in the environment, and some are toxic to humans even at very low concentrations (cadmium, lead, mercury). They are quantified by atomic emission spectrometry or mass spectrometry (ICP-OES or ICP-MS), which for some elements can achieve a sensitivity of the order of nanograms per litre. The hyphenation of several techniques (e.g., HPLC-ICP-MS) also makes it possible to differentiate between several chemical forms of the same element (arsenic, chromium) in order to study their distribution and bioavailability in the environment. Finally, some emerging pollutants have not been studied for long enough to have the necessary hindsight to know precisely their effects on humans and the environment. This is particularly the case for platinoids (palladium, rhodium, platinum), rare earth elements (lanthanum, cerium, europium, gadolinium, etc.) and metallic nanoparticles, especially those produced by car traffic. To address these issues, the staff of the technical platform develops and applies its skills in the analysis of these contaminants.

A second technical platform, dedicated to the analysis of plastic contaminants, was created in 2021. It is equipped with a pyrolyser coupled to a gas chromatograph with a mass spectrometer detector (Pyr-GC-MS), and a Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR) system coupled to an infrared microscopy (IR) system. This equipment enables research labs to answar to ambitious calls for research projects, but also to meet the growing need for services and expertise in the area of plastic waste.