Plants that help clean up soil and water
Can plants help clean up contaminated soil? That is the major discovery made by Claude Grison, director of the Laboratory of Bio-Inspired Chemistry and Ecological Innovations (CNRS/UM). Her work was recognized with the prestigious 2016 François Sommer Prize, which honors innovative initiatives in the field of human-nature relations.
Here is a research project that brings the concept of green chemistry to life by combining ecological restoration and industrial activity within a single process.
Winner of the CNRS Innovation Medal in 2014, Claude Grison is behind a remarkable achievement: she and her teams have succeeded in regenerating polluted soils using so-called “hyperaccumulator” plants.
What’s the advantage of these superplants? Their ability to absorb excess heavy metals present in the soil. But the challenge remained: how to make use of this valuable cargo… The research teams at the Bio-Inspired Chemistry and Ecological Innovations Laboratory have given these plants a second life by developing an innovative process for reusing the leaves.
The heavy metals extracted in this way are of primary interest to cosmetic and pharmaceutical laboratories. These industrial players have a critical need for metals—such as zinc—that are becoming increasingly scarce, to serve as catalysts in chemical reactions. A “bio-based” industrial process, then, with a bright future ahead: this research, which led to the creation of a startup in 2011, resulted in the signing of a partnership with Chimex, a subsidiary of L’Oréal, as well as the development of similar projects in Gabon, China, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and New Caledonia…
Claude Grison is now working on developing a similar system adapted for aquatic environments, in order to tackle the growing problem of waterway pollution…
Photo credit: CNRS