Biomethanation allows the conversion of hydrogen and carbon dioxide or carbon monoxide to methane.

Bioelectrochemical systems (BES) are electrochemical processes in which the oxidation reaction at the anode and /or reduction at the cathode is catalysed by microorganisms.

The methanation sector has experienced in recent years a strong industrial development in the sector of renewable energies and which make it possible to treat and develop a very wide range of organic biomasses, ranging from dedicated energy crops, to agro-industrial waste and effluents and other waste. municipal. In order to improve the economic viability of these facilities, technological innovations are expected.

Biomimicry is not just the use of remarkable animal or plant properties.

We study the fate of pathogenic bacteria during the treatment and recycling of organic waste by following four lines of research:

Biodiversity is known as insurance for ecosystem services. Since microbial transformations are central for many processes (Nitrogen removal, anaerobic digestion, fermentations, gut digestion, etc), microbial diversity needs to be carefully characterized.

Under certain conditions, in particular when optimization is sought, bioprocesses present risks of destabilization which require the implementation of control laws. The scientific problem is defined as the (potentially "optimal") control of dynamic systems - sometimes large - uncertain, partially observed, non-linear, non-stationary and / or subject to perturbations. One of the original features of LBE's work in this field is to take advantage of the fine knowledge of the process and the microbial ecosystem it hosts in order to propose innovative and effective solutions.

The fermentation or anaerobic digestion of organic substrates like activated sludge from a wastewater treatment plant, or an organic waste from food production, involves the activity and interactions of a wide range of bacteria and archaea.

Coupling the production of microalgae to waste fermentation effluents is a promising environmental biorefinery approach in which a partial digestion of organic waste material by bacteria renders it available to the microalgae in the form of volatile fatty acids, mostly acetate and butyrate.

Les eaux usées et les déchets organiques contiennent une grande diversité de micropolluants organiques (médicaments, détergents, plastifiants, hydrocarbures, hormones, microplastiques).