political ecology, écologie politique, Fabrice Flipo, Télécom École de Management

Philosophy of science and technology in support of political ecology

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Fabrice Flipo, a philosopher of science and technology and researcher at Institut Mines-Télécom Business School, has specialized in political ecology, sustainable development and social philosophy for nearly 20 years. Throughout the fundamental research that shapes his more technical teaching, he tries to produce an objective view of current political trends, the ecological impact of digital technology and an understanding of the world more broadly.

 

For Fabrice Flipo, the philosophy of science and technology can be defined as the study of how truth is created in our society. “As a philosopher of science and technology, I’m interested in how knowledge and know-how are created and in the major trends in technical and technological choices, as well as how they are related to society’s choices,” he explains. It is therefore necessary to understand technology, the organization of society and how politics shapes the interaction between major world issues.

The researcher shares this methodology with students at Institut Mines-Télécom Business School, in his courses on major technological and environmental risks and his introductory course on sustainable development. He helps students analyze the entire ecosystem surrounding some of the most disputed technological and environmental issues (ideas, stakeholders, players, institutions etc.) of today and provides them with expertise to navigate this divisive and controversial domain.

Fundamental research to understand global issues

This is why Fabrice Flipo has focused his research on political ecology for nearly 20 years. Political ecology, which first appeared in France in the 1960s, strives to profoundly challenge France’s social and economic organization and to reconsider relationships between man and his environment. It is it rooted in the ideas of a variety of movements, including feminism, third-worldism, pacifism and self-management among others.

Almost 40 years later, Fabrice Flipo seeks to explain and provide insight into this political movement by examining how its emergence has created controversies with other political movements, primarily liberalism (free-market economics), socialism and conservatism. “I try to understand what political ecology is, and the issues involved, not just as a political party of its own, but also as a social movement,” explains the researcher.

Fabrice Flipo carries out his research in two ways. The first is a traditional approach to studying political theory, based on analyzing arguments and debates produced by the movement and the issues it supports. This approach is supplemented by ongoing work with the Laboratory of Social and Political Change at the University of Paris 7 Diderot and other external laboratories specializing in the subject. He works in collaboration with an interdisciplinary team of engineers, sociologists and political scientists to examine the relationship between ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) and ecology. He also involves networks linked to ecology to expand this collaboration, works with NGOs and writes and appears in specialized or national media outlets. For some of his studies, he also draws on a number of different works in other disciplines, such as sociology, history or political science.

The societal impact of political ecology

“Today political ecology is a minor movement compared to the liberal, socialist and conservative majorities,” says the researcher. Indeed, despite growing awareness of environmental issues (CoP 21, development of a trade press, energy transition for companies, adopting a “greener” lifestyle etc.) the environmental movement has not had a profound effect on the organization of industrialized human societies, so it needs to be more convincing. This position makes it necessary to present arguments in its minority status on the political spectrum. “Can political ecology be associated with liberalism, socialism or even conservatism?” asks the researcher. “Although it does not belong to any of the existing currents, each of them tries to claim it for their own.”

More than just nature is at stake. A major ecosystem crisis could open the door for an authoritarian regime seeking to defend the essential foundation of a particular society from all others. This sort of eco-fascism would strive to protect resources rather than nature (and could not therefore be considered “environmentalism”), pitching one society against another. Political ecology is therefore firmly aligned with freedom.

To stay away from extremes, “the challenge is to carry out basic research to better understand the world and political ideas, and to go beyond debates based on misunderstandings or overly-passionate approaches,” explains Fabrice Flipo. “The goal is to produce a certain objectivity about political currents, whether environmentalism, liberalism or socialism. The ideas interact with, oppose, and are defined by one another.”

Challenging the notion that modernity is defined by growth and a Cartesian view of nature, the study of political ecology has led Fabrice Flipo to philosophical anthropological questions about freedom.

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Analyzing the environmental impact of digital technology in the field

Political ecology raises questions about the ecology of infrastructures. Fabrice Flipo has begun fieldwork with sociologists on an aspect of digital technology that has been little studied overall: the environmental impacts of making human activities paper-free, the substitution of functions and “100% digital” systems.

Some believe that we must curb our use of digital technologies since manufacturing these devices requires great amounts of energy and raw materials and the rise of such technology produces harmful electronic waste. But others argue that transitioning to an entirely digital system is a way to decentralize societies and make them more environmentally-friendly.

Through his research project on recovering mobile phones (with the idea that recycling helps reduce planned obsolescence) Fabrice Flipo seeks to highlight existing solutions in the field which are not used enough, with priority being given to the latest products and constant renewal.[/box]

Philosophy to support debates about ideas

“Modernity defines itself as the only path to develop freedom (the ability to think), control nature, technology, and democracy. The ecological perspective asserts that it may not be that simple,” explains the researcher. “In my different books I’ve tried to propose a philosophical anthropology that considers ecological questions and different propositions offered by post-colonial and post-modern studies,” he continues.

Current societal debates prove that ecological concerns are a timely subject, underscore the relevance of the researcher’s work in this area, and show that there is growing interest in the topic. Based on the literature, it would appear that citizens have become more aware of available solutions (electric cars, solar panels etc.) but have been slow to adopt them. Significant contradictions between the majority call to “produce more and buy more” and the minority call encouraging people to be “green consumers” as part of the same public discourse make it difficult for citizens to form their own opinions.

“So political ecology could progress through an open debate on ecology,” concludes Fabrice Flipo, “involving politicians, scientists, journalists and specialists. The ideas it champions must resonate with citizens on a cultural level, so that they can make connections between their own lifestyles and the ecological dimension.” An extensive public communication, to which the researcher contributes through his work, coupled with a greater internalization and understanding of these issues and ideas by citizens could help spark a profound, far-reaching societal shift towards true political ecology.

[author title=”Political ecology: The common theme of a research career” image=”https://imtech-test.imt.fr/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Fabrice-Flipo_format_en_hauteur.jpg”]A philosopher of science and technology, Fabrice Flipo is an associate research professor accredited to direct research in social and political philosophy and specializes in environmentalism and modernity. He teaches courses in sustainable development and major environmental and technological risks at Télécom École de Management, and is a member of the Laboratory of Social and Political Change at the University of Paris Diderot. His research focuses on political ecology, philosophical anthropology of freedom and the ecology of digital infrastructures.

He is the author of many works including: Réenchanter le monde. Politique et vérité “Re-enchanting the world. Politics and truth” (Le Croquant, 2017), Les grandes idées politiques contemporaines “Key contemporary political ideas” (Bréal, 2017), The ecological movement: how many different divisions are there?  (Le Croquant, 2015), Pour une philosophie politique écologiste “For an ecological political philosophy” (Textuel, 2014), Nature et politique (Amsterdam, 2014), and La face cachée du numérique “The Hidden Face of Digital Technology” (L’Echappée, 2013).[/author]

waste, Ange Nzihou

Waste worth its weight in gold

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For Ange Nzihou, waste is a valuable material. For over ten years, this researcher has been working on recovering waste to turn it into an important economic resource. However, his greatest scientific accomplishments have taken place outside the laboratories of IMT Mines Albi. Throughout his career, Ange Nzihou has done more than convert biomass into biofuels or manufacture catalysts using waste and different residues. By creating the global conference WasteEng and a journal dedicated to waste reuse, he has helped bring together an international scientific community with a shared interest in this theme of the future.

 

“I come from a country in Africa where everyone wants to work in the oil industry,” says Ange Nzihou, a researcher at IMT Mines Albi and director of its Rapsodee laboratory. Following this same path, he came to Toulouse in the early 1990s to begin a PhD thesis on the crystallization of gas hydrates—which he successfully completed. Everything was therefore in place for the young process engineering researcher to set out on a career in the oil industry. But research stories are, first and foremost, life stories. And events in Ange Nzihou’s life led him to abruptly reconsider the path he was about to embark on. “Since at that point I had not yet received French nationality I was basically an undocumented immigrant for a period of two years. It was during this difficult time that I developed the research project that I am still pursuing today, by analyzing what I saw around me and wondering what the future would be like.” 

The future, as he imagined it, would be one in which the tons of waste and pollutants produced by humans could be recovered and turned into a valuable resource, at a time when only treatment seemed to interest the scientific community. “For me, it wasn’t so much treatment that was of interest, but rather giving treated products new properties and functions to increase their economic value,” he says. It was at IMT Mines Albi that he started turning this vision into concrete research. Through different projects, he developed processes for recovering a wide range of waste, from sludge from our rivers, to household waste or industrial waste.

A worldwide event

But, Ange Nzihou admits, “my biggest accomplishment is not the patents or publications, but everything we’ve been able to create around this research.” Starting with WasteEng: a biennial international conference launched in 2005. “I thought about a hundred people would come,” recalls the researcher. As it turned out, more than 300 researchers and engineers took part in this first conference on the theme of waste and biomass valorization. “I knew there was a need for this sort of conference, but I underestimated just how great the need was,” he says.

Today, it has become the world’s leading event in this field. Every two years, more than 400 people from 50 different countries attend the event. For WasteEng’s creator, the fact that the community welcomes industry and institutions is one of the conference’s key strengths. “A quarter of the participants come from companies and government institutions, which is crucial since they’re the ones working in the field and really creating value.” Ange Nzihou also invites representatives from the European Commission to each edition of the conference to present trends and connect research to political decisions.

WasteEng, which will next be held in Prague in July 2018, is seen as a trailblazing event in its discipline.  The popularity of the conference reflects emerging concerns of societies around the world. Since waste recovery issues are not identical across the globe, the event’s international dimension is part of what makes it so valuable. “In France, we incinerate plastic that isn’t recyclable, but this simply cannot be done in Africa or other developing countries,” explains the researcher. “In those countries, they have to find a way to recycle it.”

Out of the many different topics covered at the conference, some are especially close to Ange Nzihou’s heart.  One such topic is producing energy from waste. “A lot of solutions today propose using biomass to generate energy. The problem is that this use competes with food and the availability of land to be cultivated. On the other hand, I really like the idea of using waste rather than biomass.”  (See text box 1) Another benefit the researcher cites is that this approach makes it possible to avoid environmental disasters like the one Malaysia experienced with the unchecked production of palm oil for energy purposes on land that could be used to produce food.

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Pyrog: an example of energy recovery from waste

In 2015, the Pyrog project, supported by the ADEME’s Investments of the Future program, (PIA) was launched with the aim of recovering energy using solid recovered fuel (SRF). These residues group together all waste that is currently difficult to recycle. IMT Mines Albi and IMT Atlantique work on the project collaboration with two companies: Séché Environnement and ETIA. Using a pyrolysis process, the synthetic gas produced is used for urban district heating. This project, implemented on the Seché site in Mayenne, demonstrates the potential of recycling waste to produce energy locally, with a lower environmental impact.

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Literature focusing on waste

Following WasteEng, Ange Nzihou went on to found a scientific journal with a review board dedicated to waste reuse issues, “Waste and biomass valorization.”  Launched in 2010 with the editor Springer, the journal was something of a gamble for the researcher. But it paid off, as it quickly became a success with the scientific community. Since 2010, the number of articles submitted to the journal has doubled every year. “It’s the first journal to focus on this theme,” says Ange Nzihou, who is editor-in-chief.

The journal is not the researcher’s only contribution to establishing a literary culture on the topic of waste recovery. He is also editor-in-chief of an encyclopedia being written on this subject. The work is intended to be a reference document for anyone who would like to know how to analyze, study, treat and convert waste and various residues. “We hope that it will be used by students as well as engineers, researchers and players in the economic world,” explains Ange Nzihou. In keeping with the international dimension of this research, he has brought together researchers from 17 countries to create the encyclopedia. It should be published in September 2018 and distributed in universities and libraries worldwide.

In all aspects of his work, Ange Nzihou has pursued his vision of a society that can better use its waste to support its needs. Since the beginning of his career, he has worked to take his questions and proposals outside of the laboratory by bringing together a global community with an increasingly urgent need for alternatives to fossil fuels.

[author title=”Ange Nzihou, a world-class researcher” image=”https://imtech-test.imt.fr/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Portrait_Ange_Nzihou.jpg”]Since the beginning of this career, Ange Nzihou has always sought to anchor his research in an international context. The eleven PhD students in his team come from ten different countries. For the researcher, being open to exterior approaches is a guarantee of humility and of high-quality work. These different approaches allow him to question his ideas and develop new ones, by looking at how other societies are trying to use their waste. This research vision has led him to become a visiting professor at universities around the world: Princeton University in the USA, University College Dublin in Ireland and Zhejiang University in China. He also received the Progress and Innovation in Research award from the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2015.

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xenon, xenon1t, Dominique Thers, IMT Atlantique

Xenon instruments for long-term experiments

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From the ancient gnomon that measured the sun’s height, to the Compton gamma ray observatory, the microscope, and large-scale accelerators, scientific instruments are researchers’ allies, enabling them to make observations at the smallest and largest scales. Used for both basic and applied research, they help test hypotheses and push back the boundaries of human knowledge. At IMT Atlantique, researcher Dominique Thers, motivated by the development of instruments, has become a leading expert on xenon technologies, which are used in the search for dark matter as well as in the medical field.

 

The search for observable matter

Detecting dark matter for the first time is currently one of science’s major challenges. “It would be a little like radioactivity at the end of the 19th century, which disrupted the Maxwell-Boltzmann equations,” Dominique Thers explains. Based on the velocity measurements of seven galaxies carried out by Swiss astronomer Fritz Zwicky in 1933, which contradicted the known mass of these galaxies, a hypothesis was made that a type of matter existed that is unobservable using the currently available means and that represents 27% of the matter in the universe. “Unobservable” means that the particles that form this matter interact with traditional baryonic particles (protons, neutrons, etc.) in a very unusual manner. To detect them, the probability of this type of interaction occurring must be radically increased, and there must be a way of fully ensuring that no false event can trigger the alert.

In this race to be the first to detect dark matter, developing more powerful instruments is paramount.  “The physics of particle detectors is a discipline that has become increasingly complex,” he explains, “it is not sufficiently developed in France and around the world, and it currently requires significant financial resources, which are difficult to obtain.” China and the United States have greatly invested in this area, and Germany is the most generous contributor, but there are currently few French teams: “It is a very tense context.” Currently, the most sensitive detector for hunting down dark matter is located in Italy, where it was built under the mountain of Gran Sasso for the XENON1T experiment. Detection is based on the hope of an interaction between a particle of dark matter and one of the xenon atoms, which in this experiment are liquid. The energy deposited from this type of interaction generates two different phenomena –  scintillation and ionization – which are observable and can be used to distinguish the background. 150 people from 25 international teams are working together on this experiment at the largest underground laboratory in the world.

This research that has spanned generations must be justified. “Society asks, what is the purpose is of observing the nature of dark matter? We may only find the answer 25 years from now,” the researcher explains. Dark matter represents enormous potential: five times more prevalent than ordinary matter, it is a colossal reservoir of energy. The field has greatly developed in 30 years, and xenon has opened a new area of research, with prospects for the next 20 years. Dominique Thers is participating in European reflection for experiments in 2025, with the goal of achieving precise observations at lower ranges.

Xenon, a rare, expensive and precious gas

While the xenon used for this experiment possesses remarkable properties (density, no radioactive isotopes), it is unfortunately a raw material that is rare and cannot be manufactured. It is extracted by distilling air in its liquid phase, using a very costly process. Xenon is indeed present in the air at 0.1 ppm (parts per million), or “a tennis ball of xenon gas in the volume of a hot air balloon,” Dominique Thers explains, or “one ton of xenon from 2,000,000 tons of liquid oxygen“.

The French company Air Liquide is the global leader in the distribution of xenon. The gas is used to create high-intensity lights, as a propellant for space travel and as an anesthetic. It is their diamond “in a luxury market subject to speculation.” And luxury products require luxury instruments. For those created by the researcher’s team, xenon is used in its purest form possible. “The objective is to have less than one ppb (part per billion) of oxygen in the liquid xenon,” the scientist explains. This is made possible due to a closed-circuit purification system that continuously cleans the equipment, particularly from all the impurities from the walls.

 

xenon

The technology of xenon in the form of cryogenic liquid is reserved for the experts. Dominique Thers’ team has patented expertise in storing, distributing and recovering ultra-pure liquid xenon.

 

In a measurement experiment like the one for dark matter, there is zero toleration for radioactive background noise. “Krypton is one of xenon’s natural contaminants, and it is the original source of xenon after cryogenic distillation produces 94% krypton and 6% xenon,” the researcher explains. However, the isotope krypton-85 is created by human activities. In the XENON1T experiment, we start with a few ppm (parts per million) of natural krypton present in the xenon, which is far too much. “All the types of steel used in the instrument are selected and measured before they come in contact with the liquid xenon,” the researcher adds, explaining that in this instance they obtained the lowest measurement of background noise using an experimental device.

The first promising results will be published in early 2018, and the next stages are already taking shape. The experiment that will start in 2019, XENONnT, which will use 60% of the equipment from XENON1T, aims to achieve even greater precision. Competition is fierce with the LZ teams in the USA and PandaX teams in China. “We can’t let anyone get ahead of us in this complicated quest in which, for the first time, we want to observe something new,” Dominique Thers emphasizes. He estimates that, all told, 50 to 100 tons of extra-pure xenon will be needed to refute the possible presence of observable dark matter or, on the contrary, measure its mass, describe its properties and identify possible applications.

Xenon cameras in oncology

When working with this type of trans-generational research, parallel research within shorter time frames must be carried out. This is especially true in France, where the research structure makes it difficult to fully commit to instrumentation activities.  Budgets for funding applied research are hard to come by, and researchers also devote time to teaching activities. It would be a shame if so much expertise developed over time failed to make a groundbreaking discovery due to a lack of funds or time.

To avoid this fate, Dominique Thers and his team have succeeded in creating a virtuous circle. “We’ve been quite lucky,” the researcher says with a smile. “We have been able to develop local activities with a community that also needs to make advancements that could be made possible through medical imaging using liquid xenon.” At the university hospital (CHU) in Nantes there is a leading team of specialists in cancer therapy and engineering who understand the advantages xenon cameras represent. The cancer specialists’ objective is to provide patients with better support, and better understand each patient’s response to treatment. In the context of an ongoing State-Regional Planning Contract (CPER), the scientist convinced them to invest in this technology, “because with a new instrument, anything is possible.”

The current PET (Positron-emission tomography) imaging techniques use solid-state cameras that require rare-earth elements, and only a dozen patients a day are effectively screened using this technology. Xenon cameras, which use Compton imaging, the only technique that can trace the trajectory of a single photon, uses triangulation methods to ensure the 3D localization of the areas where the medicine has been applied. The level of precision is therefore improved and opens the way to possible benefits to treat more patients daily or monitor the progress of the treatment more regularly. The installation at the CHU in Nantes is scheduled for 2018, initially for tests on animals before 2020. This should convince manufacturers to make a camera adapted to producing an image of the entire human body, which would also undoubtedly require several million euros of investments, but this time with a potential market of several billion euros.

Just like the wave–particle duality so treasured by physicists, Dominque Thers and his team have two simultaneous facets. “They could have a short-term impact on society, while at the same time opening new perspectives in our understanding of the universe,” the scientist explains.

[author title=”Pushing the limits of nature” image=”https://imtech-test.imt.fr/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Portrait_réduit.jpg”]Dominique Thers believes he “fell into research accidentally”. As someone who enjoyed the hard sciences and mathematics, he met researchers during an internship in astronomy and particle physics. “The human side convinced me to give it a try,” and he began working on a thesis with Georges Charpak, which they defended in 2000. He joined IMT Atlantique (formerly Mines Nantes) in 2001, and since 2009 he has been in charge of the Xenon team which is part of the Subatech department, a Mixed Research Unit (UMR) with the University of Nantes and the CNRS. This mixed aspect is also present in the cultural diversity of the PhD and post doctorate students that come from all over the globe. The researcher’s motivation is whole-hearted: “It’s wonderful to be exposed to the limits of nature. Nature prevented us from going any further, and our instruments are going to allow us to cross this border. “The young researchers, who are exposed to scientific culture, perceive these limits and are drawn to the leading teams in this field. Dominique Thers is also an entrepreneur; in 2012, with three PhD students, he founded the AI4R startup specialized in medical instrumentation.[/author]

Underwater pipeline, Pipeline sous-marin, hydrocarbures, hydrates de méthane, crystallization, cristallisation

Understanding methane hydrate formation to revolutionize pipelines

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Since hydrocarbon is always drawn from deep in the sea floor, oil companies face potential obstruction problems in their pipelines due to the formation of solid compounds: methane hydrates. Ana Cameirao, an engineer and PhD specializing in industrial crystallization at Mines Saint-Étienne, is hoping to understand and model this phenomenon. She has contributed to the creation of an industrial chair in collaboration with international laboratories and operators such as Total, with the aim of developing a modelling software for the flow within the pipelines. Their mission is to achieve a more economic and ecological usage of underwater pipelines.

 

“Always further, always deeper.” This is the logic behind the implementation of offshore platforms. Faced with the world’s intense demand and thanks to technological progress, hydrocarbon reserves which had previously been considered to be inaccessible are now exploitable. However, the industry has met an obstacle: methane hydrates. These solid compounds are actually solidified water molecules trapped in a sort of cage created by a methane molecule. These are created in environments of around 4°C and 80 bars of pressure, such as in deep-sea pipelines. These can end up accumulating and subsequently obstructing the flow. This issue may prove hard to fix, seeing as depths reach close to 3,000 meters!

In order to get around this problem, oil companies generally inject methanol into the pipelines in order to lower the formation temperature of the hydrates. However, injecting this alcohol carries an additional cost as well as an environmental impact. Additionally, systematic thermal insulation of pipelines is not sufficient to prevent the formation of hydrates. “The latest solution consists in injecting additives which are supposed to slow the formation and accumulation of hydrates”, explains Ana Cameirao, a researcher at the SPIN (Sciences des Processus Industriels et Naturels) research center at Mines Saint-Étienne, and a specialist in crystallization, the science behind the formation and growth of solid aggregates within liquid phases, for instance.

 

Towards the reasonable exploitation of pipelines

For nearly 10 years, the researcher has been studying the formation of hydrates in all conditions likely to occur in offshore pipelines. “We are looking to model the phenomenon, in other words, to estimate the quantity of hydrates formed, to see whether this solid phase can be transported through the flow, to find if there is a need to inject additives, and if yes, in what quantity”, she summarizes. The goal is to prompt a well-considered exploitation of the pipelines and avoid the massive injection of methanol as a preventative measure. In order to establish these models, Ana Cameirao utilizes a valuable experimental tool: the Archimedes platform.

This 50 meter loop located at the SPIN center allows her to reproduce the flow of the mixture of oil, water and gas which circulates in the pipelines. A plethora of equipment, including cameras and laser probes which function under very high pressure levels, allow her to study the formation of the solid compounds, including their size, nature, aggregation speed, etc. She has been closely examining all the possible scenarios: “we vary the temperature and pressure, but also the nature of the mix, for example by incorporating more or less gas, or by varying the proportion of water in the mixture”, explains Ana Cameirao.

Thanks to all these trials, in 2016, the researcher and her team published one of the most complete comprehension models about this phenomenon of methane hydrate crystallization. “Similar models do already exist, but only for fixed proportions of water. Our model is more extensive: it can integrate any proportion of water. This allows a greater variety of oil wells to be studied, including the oldest ones where the mixture can consist of up to 90% water!” This model is the product of painstaking work: over 150 experiments have been completed over the last 5 years, each of them representing at least two measurement days. Above all, it offers new perspectives: “Petrochemical process simulation software is very limited in explaining the flow in pipelines alongside hydrate formation. The main task is to invent modules that are able to take this phenomenon into consideration”, analyses Ana Cameirao.

 

Applications in environmental technology

This is the next step of a soon-to-be completed project: “We are currently aiming to combine our knowledge on crystallization of hydrates with that of experts on fluid mechanics, in order to better characterize their flow”. This multidisciplinary approach is the main subject of the international chair Gas Hydrates and Multiphase Flow in Flow Assurance, which was opened in January 2017 by the Mines school in collaboration with two laboratories hailing from the Federal University of Technology in Parana, Brazil (UTFPR), and the Colorado School of Mines  in the US. The chair, which will span over three to five years, also involves industrial partners, the top level of whom includes Total. “Total, who has been a partner of the research center for 15 years, not only offers financial support, but also shares with us its experience in real exploitation”, tells Ana Cameirao.

 

Credits: Mines Saint-Étienne

 

A better understanding of hydrate crystallization will facilitate the offshore exploitation of hydrocarbon, but it could also benefit environmental technology over time. Indeed, researchers are working on innovative application of hydrates, such as the harvesting of CO2 or new climate control techniques. “The idea would be to form hydrate sorbets overnight when energy is available and less expensive, in order to diffuse this through a climate control system during the daytime. As the hydrates melt, the heat in the surrounding area would be absorbed”, explains Ana Cameirao. Clearly, it seems that crystallization can lead to anything!

 

[author title=”Ana Cameirao : « Creativity comes first »” image=”https://imtech-test.imt.fr/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Portrait_Ana_Cameirao.jpg”]

Ana Cameirao chose very early on to pursue a course in engineering in her home country of Portugal. “It was the possibility to apply the science which interested me, this potential to have a definitive impact on people’s lives”, she recalls. After finishing her studies in industrial crystallization at IMT Mines Albi, she threw herself into applied research. “It’s a constant challenge, we are always discovering new things”, she marvels, when looking back over her ten years at the SPIN center at Mines Saint Étienne.

Ana Cameirao also invokes creativity in her role as a professor, backed by innovative teaching methods which include projects, specific case studies, bibliographic independent learning, and much more. “Students today are no longer interested in two-hour lectures. You need to involve them”, she tells. The teacher feels so strongly about this topic that she decided to complete a MOOC dedicated to exploring methods for stimulating creativity, and plans to organize her own workshops on the subject within her school in 2018!

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Langage, Language, Intelligence artificielle, Jean-Louis Dessalles, Artificial Intelligence

The fundamentals of language: why do we talk?

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Human language is a mystery. In a society where information is so valuable, why do we talk to others without expecting anything in return? Even more intriguing than this are the processes determining communication, whether that be a profound debate or a spontaneous conversation with an acquaintance. These are the questions driving Jean-Louis Dessalles’ current project, a researcher in computing at Télécom ParisTech. His work has led him to reconsider the perspective on information adopted by Claude Shannon, a pioneer in the field. He has devised original theories and conversational models which explain trivial discussions just as well as heated debates.

 

Why do we talk? And what do we talk about? Fueled with the optimism of a young researcher, Jean-Louis Dessalles hoped to find the answer to these two questions in just a few months after finishing his thesis in 1993. Nearly 24 years have now passed, and the subject of his research has not changed. From his office in the Computing and Networks department at Télécom ParisTech, he continues to have an interest in Language. His work breaks away from the classic approach adopted by researchers in information science and communication. “The discipline mainly focuses on ways we can convey messages, but not about what is conveyed or why”, he explains, contradicting the approach to communication described by Claude Shannon in 1948.

The reasons for communication, along with the underlying motives for these information exchanges, are however very legitimate and complex questions. As the researcher explains in the film Le Grand Roman de l’Homme, which came out in 2014, communication is contradictory of various behavioral theories. Game theory for example, sometimes used in economy to describe and analyze behavioral mechanisms, struggles to justify the role of communication between humans. According to this theory, and by attaching value to all information, expected communication situations would consist in each participant providing the minimum information possible, whilst trying to glean the maximum from the other person. However this logic is not followed by humans in everyday discussions. “We need to consider the role of communication in a social context” deduces Jean-Louis Dessalles.

By dissecting the scientific elements in communication situations (i.e. interviews, attitudes in online forums, discussions, etc.) he has tried to find an explanation for people offering up useful information. The hypothesis he is putting forward today is compatible with all observable communication types; for him, offering up quality information is not motivated by economic gain, as game theory assumes, but rather by a gain in social reputation. “In technical online forums for example, experts don’t respond out of altruism, or for monetary gain. They are competing to give the most complete response in order to assert their status as an expert. In this way they gain social significance”, explains the researcher. Talking and showing our ability to stay informed is therefore synonymous with positioning ourselves in a social hierarchy.

 

When the unexpected liberates language

With the question of “why do we talk” cleared up, we still need to find out what it is we are talking about. Jean-Louis Dessalles isn’t interested in the subject of discussions per-say, but rather the general mechanisms dominating the act of communication. After having analyzed in detail tens of hours of recordings, he has come to the conclusion that a large part of spontaneous exchange is structured around the unexpected. The triggers of spontaneous conversation are often events that humans would consider unlikely or abnormal, in other words, when the normality of a situation is broken. For example, seeing a person over 2m tall, a series of cars of the same color all parked in a row or a lotto draw where all the numbers follow on from one another; these are all instances which are likely to provoke surprise in an individual, and encourage them to engage in spontaneous conversation with an interlocutor.

In order to explain this engagement based on the unexpected, Jean-Louis Dessalles has developed Simplicity Theory. According to him, the unexpected corresponds above all else to things which are simple to describe. He says “simple” because it is always easy to describe an out-of-the-ordinary situation, simply by placing the focus on the unexpected thing. For example, describing a person that is 2m tall is easy because this criterion alone is enough to establish a narration point. In contrast, describing a person of normal height and weight with standard clothes and a face with no distinctive features in particular would require a more complex description to achieve a successful definition.

Although simplicity may be a driver for spontaneous conversation, another significant discussion category also exists: that of argumentative conversation. In this case, the unexpected no longer applies. This kind of exchange follows a model defined by Jean-Louis Dessalles, called CAN (Conflict, Abduction, and Negation). “To start an argument, there has to be a conflict, opposing points of view. Abduction is the following stage, which consists in going back to the cause of the conflict in order to shift this and deploy arguments. Finally, negation allows the participants to progress to counterfactuals in order to reflect on solutions which would allow them to resolve the conflict.” Beyond that simple description, the CAN model could allow the development of artificial intelligence to progress (see text box).

 

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When artificial intelligence looks at language theories

“Machines should be able to have a reasonable conversation in order to appear intelligent”, assures Jean-Louis Dessalles. For the researcher, the test invented by Alan Turing, consisting in claiming that a machine is intelligent if a human can’t tell the difference between it and another human when having a conversation, is completely legitimate. Because of this, his work has found a place in the development of artificial intelligence that is able to pass this test. It is therefore absolutely essential to understand human communication mechanisms in order to transfer these to machines. A machine integrating the CAN model would be more able to have a debate with a human. In the case of a GPS, it would allow the device to plan routes whilst incorporating factors other than simply time or distance. Discussing with a GPS what we expect from a journey – such as beautiful scenery for example – in a logical manner, would significantly extend the quality of the human machine interface.

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In the hours of conversation recorded by the researcher, the distribution of spontaneous discussions induced by unexpected elements and arguments was respectively 25% and 75%. He remarks however that the line separating the two is not necessarily strict, since spontaneous narration can lead to a more profound debate, which would dramatically change the basis of the CAN model. These results offer a response to the question “what do we talk about?” and solidify years of research. For Jean-Louis Dessalles, it’s proof that “it pays to be naïve”. His recklessness at the beginning eventually led him to theorize various models throughout his career, on which humans base their communication, and will probably continue to do so for a long time to come.

[author title=”Jean-Louis Dessalles, computer scientist, human language specialist” image=”https://imtech-test.imt.fr/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/JL_Dessalles_portrait_bio.jpg”]A Polytechnic and Télécom ParisTech graduate, Jean-Louis Dessalles became a researcher in computing after obtaining his PhD in 1993. It is therefore difficult to see the link to questions regarding human language and its origins, something normally reserved for linguists or ethnologists. “I chose to focus on a subject relevant to the resources I had available to me, which were computer sciences”, he argues.

He then carried out research which contradicts the probabilistic approach of Claude Shannon, which is how he presented it to a conference at the Insitut Henri Poincaré in October 2016 for the centenary of the father of information theory.

His reflections on information have been the subject of a book, Le fil de la vie, published by Odile Jacob in 2016. He is also the author of several books about the question of language emergence. [/author]

 

Cybersécurité, cyberattaques, Hervé Debar, Télécom SudParis, cybersecurity, cyberattacks

Cybersecurity: new challenges to face up to

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Computer hacking and sensitive data theft is increasing. Companies are now highly connected and must adapt their security policy to strengthen the protection of their information assets. Hervé Debar, a researcher at Télécom SudParis and expert in cybersecurity, studies the different types of cyber attacks in order to optimize their detection.

 

The era when IT students developed viruses and then enjoyed their “success” based on the number of computers infected across the world is long gone… Today, the lure of money is the primary motivation for hackers and internet fraudsters and their targets include companies in the French CAC40 and Organizations of Vital Importance (OIV), i.e. those operating in sectors of vital national importance (transport, energy, telecoms etc.) SMEs and SMIs are also concerned by the rise in cyber attacks. They work as subcontractors for client institutions and are therefore targeted by hackers who want to obtain confidential files (R&D program, list of suppliers etc.) or directly infect the main client’s Information System (IS).

 

Highly connected companies

Two factors explain this evolution. The first is the increase in digital data managed and exchanged by companies. Information is at the core of their business activities. Secondly, organizations have become highly connected with fixed and mobile devices, peripheral devices (printers, cameras etc.) connected to networks, sensors in production lines, automated systems and the Internet of Things (IoT). “The result is that the economic value of connection is greater than the economic value of protection. We must therefore do the best we can to isolate what has to be isolated but still allow companies to benefit from a certain level of connectivity” Hervé Debar stresses.

In terms of computer safety, companies have to manage different problems including “the acceptability of security by users. If the recommended solutions are too complicated, they won’t use them and will find a way to get around them. Security must support use, not hinder it”, the expert from Télécom SudParis explains.

 

Complex regulations

To face up to this challenge, companies must be able to manage two major limitations. The first concerns the technical aspect. Services such as BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) or corporate Appstores (portals allowing employees to download selected applications to improve productivity) are being rolled out at a quicker rate than security measures.

The second limitation concerns the human dimension. Regulations on digital technology are very complicated, especially due to the Law on Military Programming and obligations imposed by the CNIL (French National Commission on Data Protection and Civil Liberties), and will become even more so in May 2018 with the introduction of the new European regulations on data protection. All companies will have to report personal data violation, in contrast to the law of 1978 currently in force which only concerns suppliers of communications services.

These legal constraints require companies to bring in experts who are able to administrate and roll-out IT security measures on a daily basis and inform staff members through training.

 

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Attacks by computer zombies

DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attacks are a company’s worst nightmare. They use a network of thousands of computers or connected devices (often compromised) to interrupt the targeted service or services. There was a major attack of this kind in France between 18 and 21 September 2016, when the servers of OVH, a French web host, were inundated with millions of requests peaking at as high as one terabit per second. A squadron of around 150,000 IP cameras (or botnets) infected by cyber criminals were behind the attack. Hervé Debar has been studying this type of attack for a number of years along with 6cure – a Normandy-based start-up specializing in traffic cleansing – and in the framework of the NECOMA research project (Nippon-European Cyberdefense-Oriented Multilayer threat Analysis), one of the six FP7 projects financed by the European Commission under the Europe and Japan coordinated call. His team’s work consists in studying the possibilities offered by the mechanisms and functions of the network itself in detecting large-scale DDoS attacks which could saturate a single local defense system. The idea is to identify the attacking flow according to its provenance or technical characteristics in order to differentiate it from the legitimate flow, with the aim of restraining bad traffic to leave more room for “good” traffic.[/box]

 

Detecting cyber attacks

It is crucial to detect these attacks as early as possible in order to combat them. Identifying cyber attacks is one of IMT’s principal research topics. “We mainly work on the detection of and protection against distributed denial of service attacks (see insert) and those which more closely target environments on the network side”, explains Hervé Debar. The process has seen several developments since the first work carried out at the start of the 1980s by the American military. It was initially limited to rolling out a few probes. The few alerts raised were dealt with “manually”. Then the number of sensors increased and alerts became more frequent. To manage them efficiently, companies implemented SIEMs (Security Information and Event Management).

“Today, we need to automate part of the reaction so that operators can concentrate on the attacks that are more difficult to deal with. We are heading toward more autonomous and more reactive systems which can protect themselves against attacks. But it remains a complicated matter. Artificial intelligence (my PhD subject) is one possible way to improve our response to a certain number of threats”, explains Hervé Debar. The other option is training staff members to react better to attacks. We talk of “cyber range” which allows a realistic simulation of cyber attacks and the evaluation of cyberdefense tactics. These centers are designed to help OIV operators in particular make the right decisions in response to the impact.

The professionalization of cybercriminals and the increase in vulnerability, which concerns both IT networks and industry, require greater awareness among all actors, both public and private.

 

Hervé Debar, Cybersécurité, Télécom SudParis

A very involved practitioner

Hervé Debar is not a theorist, but a keenly involved expert with 25 years of experience in the world of cybersecurity and R&D. His work includes more than 100 scientific articles on the subject, the coordination of three European projects (WOMBAT, NECOMA and PANOPTESEC) and participation in a number of French and European programs on the subject. His long career in the private sector partially accounts for this considerable activity. An engineer by training, he obtained his PhD before joining Dassault AT (Automation and Telecoms) to work on European research projects. He then left for Switzerland to join IBM where he developed the IDMEF standard and a product called Tivoli Risk Manager, one of the first security information and event management products on the market. Upon returning to France, he joined Orange Labs in Caen and became an emeritus expert and leader of research activities on security. He then brought his considerable experience in the private sector to Télécom SudParis, where he has been in charge of the “Networks and Security” department since 2009.

 

Product configuration, Elise Vareilles, Mines Albi, Expérience industrielle

Scientific description of industrial experience

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At Mines Albi, Elise Vareilles works on “product configuration”, which entails understanding industrial constraints and considering them scientifically using IT. This multidisciplinary work is based on experts’ experience which must be recorded before the people in question retire.

 

When you order a car and specify the color, engine type, extras and delivery deadline, you are generally unaware of the complexity of the IT tool which allows these preferences. Each choice leads to constraints that have to be taken into account at each stage: ordering a more powerful engine, for example, entails having larger wheels. The software also communicates with the consumer in order to guide their choices. So, when the client wants a short deadline, only certain options are available and must be proposed in the computer interface. This discipline is called product or service configuration, and it is what Elise Vareilles and her colleagues at Mines Albi are working on.

 

Understanding expertise

“We start with businesses’ knowledge of their products and then formalize it. In other words, we determine what constraints there are,” the researcher explained, “next, we develop an IT tool to consider this knowledge and deduce rules from it in order to offer consumers something that corresponds to their needs in terms of price, options and timing.”

This multidisciplinary work is on the border between industrial engineering and artificial intelligence. “This multidisciplinarity is our specificity”, confirms Elise Vareilles, who has acquired specialist knowledge in very different industrial fields. But paradoxically, this research which may seem purely technical includes a considerable amount of human sciences. Besides the technological aspects, the researchers are also interested in professionals’ expertise. “An employee with 30 years of experience knows what he has to do to optimize a process,” explains Elise Vareilles, “but this means that it is a disaster when he retires. We formalize knowledge that can only be acquired with experience.”

 

The importance of knowledge

However, this knowledge is extremely difficult to formalize because experts find it difficult to explain their processes, which feel so natural to them. It is like a meal cooked by a great chef: even if we have the exact recipe and quality ingredients, we won’t get the same result because a chef’s skill is only learnt with years of practice. In the same way, when we learn to ride a bike no-one can really explain how to keep balance; it is only through practice that we become skilled enough to ride without help from our parents.

 

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Elise Vareilles, Expérience industrielle, Mines Albi

Product configuration at the service of energy efficiency

If we want to meet the French target of thermally renovating 500,000 residences per year, the process needs to be industrialized. This is why the Agency for the Environment and Energy Efficiency (ADEME) launched the “Minimum carbon footprint and positive-energy buildings and blocks” call for expressions of interest in 2012 for the external insulation of a building containing 110 social housing units in Saint-Paul-lès-Dax (Landes). This project, called Criba, aims to “develop an industrialized technical solution for renovating multi-unit housing”. Elise Vareilles and her team developed a software program to help architects design and draw the building after renovation. “We developed an algorithm proposing different renovation solutions,” Elise Vareilles explained. “to do so, we based our work on photos of the different sides of the building taken by drones, which allowed us to build a 3D digital model that we enhanced with various architectural data. Lastly, we took different constraints into account, such as the local urbanism plan, the operator’s restrictions (in particular their budget) or architectural requirements.” The project was launched in 2013, will be completed in January 2017 and will cost €8 million.[/box]

 

Product or service configuration can be applied to a number of processes, such as choosing a complex product like a car, or the optimization of industrial processes with a large number of constraints, as Elise Vareilles did with a process of heat treatment for car gears. Such configuration also includes helicopter maintenance, airplane design or external renovation of buildings (see inset) etc. Even medicine can benefit from it. “We have configured the treatment program for pregnant women at the University Hospital Centre in Toulouse,” the researcher explained, “If we see that a patient is diabetic, for example, the whole program is automatically adjusted to include specific appointments, such as regular blood tests.”

 

Knowledge is capital

This research is very multidisciplinary. Of course, it requires skills in IT and artificial intelligence, but the researchers must also acquire knowledge in the subjects involved, such as heat treatment, engineering and aeronautics. Last but not least, interviewing experts almost comes under sociology. The researcher feels strongly about this point: “experts’ knowledge is vital capital that must be preserved and passed on before it is too late. Once the experts leave, there is nothing I can do.”

 

Elise Vareilles, Mines Albi

Élise Vareilles promotes science among young girls

After a DEA (the ancestor of the Research Master’s 2) in IT at Paul Sabatier University in Toulouse, Elise Vareilles had the opportunity to do a PhD on a European project about a heat treatment process. It was perfect for her, given that she prefers working on concrete projects rather than theoretical IT. “It’s motivating to know what it’s used for!” Thanks to this project she acquired knowledge in industrial engineering which helped her join Mines Albi in 2005. It is a choice she does not regret: “the work changes every day, and we meet lots of people. We write code, but do other things as well.” Elise Vareilles is also very committed to promoting science among young girls in the Elles Bougent and Women in Aerospace associations. “It’s important that girls don’t limit themselves,” she highlighted, “I go into high schools and am shocked by the beliefs held by some of them, who say they are not good enough to continue studying!”

 

 

Gender, TIC, Mixité, Chantal Morley, Télécom École de Management

Gender diversity in ICT as a topic of research

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Chantal Morley, a researcher at Institut Mines-Telecom Business School, works on the social construction of the masculinity of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). Various empirical studies analyzed using a structurationist framework have allowed her to understand how stereotypes linking gender and technology are maintained or broken down through interactions, often spoken, on a daily basis. The notion of social inclusion led her to propose a framework for considering the inclusion of women in the professional world of IT as a change of culture and practices.

 

For Chantal Morley, the small number of women in ICT professions is a managerial and societal concern. Women take little part in the design of products and processes linked to ICT, which nevertheless shape the world we live in. These technologies are a major source of innovation and development, but women profit little from the fact. They also offer a potential for growth that is not being explored (European Commission 2013). Businesses that have implemented diversity policies struggle to recruit women in these technical professions (AFMD & CIGREF 2013) despite the fact that girls’ results, both in the scientific Baccalaureate and preparatory classes, demonstrate the existence of a pool of competent young women (French Ministry of Education, Higher Education and Research 2015).

 

Explaining the phenomenon

Chantal Morley believes that the small proportion of women in the field of ICT is not unrelated to instances of discrimination. A gender stereotype continues to prevail which notably upholds the belief of less talent and/or lower professional value among women in ICT professions compared with men, a form of the “differential valence of the sexes”, according to the expression by Anthropologist Françoise Héritier.

The continued existence of a stereotype that devalues women with regards to technology is a source of discrimination (fewer opportunities to advance professionally, difficulty entering informal networks, low tolerance of leadership behavior etc.). In seeking to understand how this stereotype can continue to exist in spheres which are subject to a gender equality regime (equality of pathways, diplomas, competitive exams etc.), Chantal Morley has shown that it slips subtly into daily interactions, usually without the people involved or those targeted noticing. Although barely noticeable, the inclusion of this behavior in practices helps maintain the idea that technical skills are part of a male identity. Chantal Morley has proposed a typology of gender typification behavior which provides a tool for identifying elements of discourse and micro-actions, often hard to spot, which reinforce or undermine the gender stereotype.

 

A change of culture is needed

People often think that adjusting the gender balance in digital technology will transform the image of technology, modify cultural practices and remove all obstacles facing women. However, the Researcher has highlighted that the gender stereotype is reinforced by both sexes. This observation, alongside an understanding of gender as a rational concept, led her to reflect on programs to encourage women to enter the field of technology. While they all target women, they all contribute to maintaining gender stereotypes.

Using reflections, research and practices in the social field, which highlighted the changes brought about by a switch from an approach in terms of exclusion to an approach based on the notion of inclusion, Chantal Morley has transposed this approach to analyze how ICT professions could cease to be the strongholds of a culture that maintains the “gendering” of digital technologies, according to the expression by Chabaud-Rychter & Gardey (2002). She has proposed a framework in which the inclusion of women in the professional world of ICT can be considered through the individual and collective capacity to act. This framework was used during a period of study leave at the University of Geneva to establish a diagnosis in several schools specializing in ICT in French-speaking Switzerland, and to establish guidelines for greater gender diversity.

 

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Recognition on a national level

Chantal Morley leads the Gender@Telecom teaching and research group which works on the social construction of gender representations and associated stereotypes. As a result of the group’s work, Télécom SudParis was awarded the Ingénieuses prize by the CDEFI (Conference of Deans of French Schools of Engineering) in 2016. This prize is in recognition of the online course titled “Féminin-masculin dans le monde du numérique : voyages et découvertes” and the educational measures for diversity first implemented in 2009. In November 2016, the course also won the “Coup de Cœur” (judges’ favorite) from the panel of judges for the Responsible Campus trophies.

Supported by Fondation Télécom, Gender@Telecom is looking for patrons in order to turn its SPOC into a MOOC (Massive Online Open Course) to be able to reach a wider audience.[/box]

 

Unveiling the history of women in ICT

To spread this culture of diversity across the Télécom SudParis and IMT BS campuses, Chantal Morley and the Gender@Telecom group have added to the offering of classes on gender and diversity with an online course called “Féminin-Masculin dans le monde du numérique : voyages et découvertes” (see inset). This SPOC (Small Private Online Course), launched at the start of 2016, is composed of three sections: the first sheds light on the little-known place of women in the history of ICT in the USA and Europe; the second section leads to reflections on the gender of a profession through the discovery of parity in ICT professions in countries such as Malaysia; the third section focusses on current stereotypes in the fields of ICT in order to learn how to recognize and break them down (How do they function? What are the effects? How are they developing today?) An in-depth analysis of the course revealed its contribution to the breaking-down of stereotypes and the empowerment of women with regards professions in digital technology.

 

Chantal Morley, Télécom École de Management, Sociologie du genre

From Management Information Systems to gender sociology

Chantal Morley is a Professor at Institut Mines-Telecom Business School. She holds a PhD in management science from HEC, an Accreditation to Lead Research (HDR) from IAE Montpellier-II, and a Masters in Gender Sociology from the EHESS (School of Higher Education in Social Sciences).

She began her career in the information systems consultancy sector. After writing a thesis on design methods, she entered the world of higher education and research with the creation of the Information Systems Department (DSI) at IMT BS.

She is the author of a reference work on managing information systems projects, and has co-written several works on management information systems, as well as a book on women in the workplace. She is a member of the editorial committee of the Systèmes d’Information et Management review. Over the past decade her research has mainly focused on the relationship between gender and IT.

 

Gasification, Pilote, Mines Albi, VALTHERA, Javier Escudero

Gasification, the future of organic waste recovery

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At a time when the challenge of waste recovery is becoming increasingly evident, gasification is emerging as a promising solution. The process allows organic waste to be decomposed into synthetic gas, which can be burned for energy purposes, or reprocessed to obtain gases of interest, such as methane and hydrogen. Javier Escudero has been studying this virtuous alternative to incineration for over eight years at Mines Albi. At the RAPSODEE laboratory (UMR CNRS 5302), he is developing a pilot process for recovering problematic waste, such as non-recyclable plastic materials and certain types of agricultural residue.

 

This century-old technique is now more relevant than ever. Gasification, which generates combustible gas from carbonaceous solids, such as coal and wood, was popularized in the 19th century to power producer-gas vehicles. They sparked renewed interest during World War II, when they were used to produce synthetic fuels from coal during the oil shortage.

 

Waste, tomorrow’s resource

In this season of energy transition, researchers are reviving this technique to recover a much more promising carbon source: organic waste! Javier Escudero is one such researcher. His credo? “Waste is tomorrow’s resource.” At Mines Albi, he is working to optimize this recovery method, which is more virtuous than outright incineration. His target materials are forest residues, household waste and non-recyclable plastic materials, etc. “Gasification is used particularly for dry and solid waste. It is complementary to the biological methanation process, which is used more for wet waste,” he explains.

Several steps are involved in the gasification process of transforming waste into gas. The waste, which is preconditioned and dried beforehand, first undergoes pyrolysis in a low-oxygen atmosphere at temperatures of over 300°C. “In these conditions, the energy produced breaks the molecular bonds. The carbonaceous materials separate into gas and solid residue. The following step is the true gasification stage: at 750°C or higher, the water vapor or carbon dioxide that are present complete the decomposition of these elements into a mixture of small molecules called synthesis gas, essentially composed of carbon monoxide and hydrogen,” Javier Escudero explains.

This synthesis gas, the basic “building block” of petrochemistry, has proven to be very useful: it can be incinerated, providing a greater yield than the combustion of the original solid. It can also power a cogeneration motor to produce heat and electricity. Finally, it can be reprocessed to produce gases of interest: methane, hydrogen, acetylene, etc… “We can therefore replace one source of energy or fossil material with its renewable energy equivalent,” Javier Escudero explains. It is thanks to this great versatility that gasification provides a virtuous alternative to incineration. However, some optimizations must still be made to improve its economic results.

 

Thermal recovery for industrial benefit

Javier Escudero has been working towards this goal since his arrival at Mines Albi in 2008. His goal is to identify the best means for enhancing the yield of the process, of which some mechanisms remain relatively unknown. In 2013, one of his team’s publications,1 explaining the respective influences of carbon dioxide and water vapor in the efficiency of gasification, was well received by the scientific community.

 

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VALTHERA, waste recovery here, there, and everywhere

The VALTHERA platform (which in French stands for VALorisation THErmique des Résidus de transformation des Agro-ressources, the Thermal Recovery of Processing Residues from Agro-Resources), is located at the Mines Albi site, and is backed by the Agri Sud-Ouest and Derbi competitiveness clusters. It is a technological platform specialized in the development of highly energy-efficient thermal processes for the recovery of biomass waste and by-products. Its technological offer includes drying, pyrolysis, torrefaction, combustion, and gasification. Different means of recovery are being studied for this waste that is widely available, which would generate energy or value-added materials. Another specific feature of the VALTHERA platform is that it develops a source of solar power intended to power all of these thermal processes and improve their ecological footprint. It also offers high-performance equipment for treating various types of emissions and pollutants. The platform also acts as a catalyst for companies, and specifically for SMEs seeking to carry out research and development programs, demonstrate the feasibility of a project, or generalize a process.[/box]

 

Gazéification, Javier Escudero, VALTHERA, Mines AlbiNow, the time has come to apply this research. The researcher and his team are therefore working to develop the VALTHERA platform (in French: VALorisation THErmique des Résidus de transformation des Agro-ressources, the Thermal Recovery of Processing Residues from Agro-Resources). This platform is aimed at developing various processes for thermal waste recovery in partnership with industrial stakeholders (see box). In particular, Javier Escudero and his colleagues at the RAPSODEE laboratory (Recherche d’Albi en génie des Procédés des Solides Divisés, de l’Énergie et de l’Environnement, the Albi Research Centre for Process Engineering in Particulate Solids, Energy and the Environment) are working on a 100 kW pilot gasification process. This process is scheduled to be operational by the end of 2016, and will be a forerunner of final processes reaching up to 3 MW, “a power range that is suitable for processing a small-scale of generated organic waste, which could suit the needs of an SME.” The team is particularly focused on “fixed-bed” technology. With this system, the entire process takes place within a single reactor. The waste is “piled in” from the top, and then gradually goes through the steps of pyrolysis and gasification, driven downwards by the force of gravity, until the synthesis gas is recovered at the bottom of the reactor.

The researchers are working in partnership with the French gasifier manufacturer, CogeBio, to expand the possibilities of this technology. “The only commercial solutions that exist are for wood chips. We are going to assess the use of other types of waste, such as vine shoots,” explains Javier Escudero. Eventually, the project will expand to include other sources, such as non-recyclable plastics, still in connection with solutions industrial stakeholders are seeking. “Today, the processing cost for certain types of waste is negative, because the demand to get rid of this waste is greater than the processing capacities,” the researcher explains. In terms of recovery, the synthesis gas will first be burned for energy purposes. Based on the different partnerships, more ambitious recovery processes could be implemented. A top process of interest is the production of hydrogen: a high-value-added energy carrier. All of these valuable initiatives are aimed at transforming our waste into renewable energy!

 

Javier Escudero, Mines Albi, Gazéification

Curiosity: the single driving force

Nothing predestined Javier Escudero to develop gasification in France… unless it was his scientific curiosity. After falling in love with research during an internship at a Swiss polymer manufacturer, the Spanish student began his thesis on polymerization, under the joint direction of a Spanish manufacturer. After completing his post-graduate research on the same theme at the Laboratory of Chemical Engineering – LGC – in Toulouse (UMR 5503), in 2008 he applied for a research position at Mines Albi in the area of waste gasification, a subject that strayed from his beginnings in chemistry. However, his curiosity and industrial experience combined to bring him success. Eight years later, he is now an Assistant Professor at the RAPSODEE laboratory (UMR CNRS 5302)… and extremely passionate about sustainable development. In addition to his daily work on gasification, he is co-organizing the international WasteEng conference (conference on engineering for waste and biomass valorisation), which brings together stakeholders from across the waste chain, from the identification of sources to their recovery.

 

(1) Guizani, C. et al ; The gasification reactivity of high-heating-rate chars in single and mixed atmospheres of H2O and CO2 ; Fuel 108 (2013) 812–823

 

Pollutants, Département SAGE, Mines Douai, Frédéric Thévenet, COV

Removing pollutants from our homes

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Indoor air is polluted with several volatile organic compounds, some of which are carcinogenic. Frédéric Thévenet, a researcher at Mines Douai, develops solutions for trapping and eliminating these pollutants, and for improving tests for air purifying devices.

 

We spend nearly 90% of our time inside: at home, at the office, at school, or in our car. Yet the air is not as clean as we think – it contains a category of substances called volatile organic compounds (VOCs), some of which are harmful. Fighting these VOCs is Frédéric Thévenet’s mission. Frédéric is a researcher with the Department of Atmospheric Sciences and Environmental Engineering (SAGE) at Mines Douai, a lab specialized in analytical chemistry capable of analyzing trace molecules.

 

Proven carcinogens

VOCs are gaseous organic molecules emitted in indoor environments from construction materials, paint and glue on furniture, cleaning and hygiene products, and even from cooking. One specific molecule is a particular cause for concern: formaldehyde, both a proven carcinogen and the compound with the highest concentration levels. Guideline values exist (concentration levels that must not be exceeded) for formaldehyde, but they are not yet mandatory.

The first way to reduce VOCs is through commonsense measures: limit sources by choosing materials and furniture with low emissions, choose cleaning products carefully and, above all, ventilate frequently with outdoor air. But sometimes this is not enough. This is where Frédéric Thévenet comes into play: he develops solutions for eliminating these VOCs.

 

Trap and destroy

There are two methods for reducing VOCs in the air. They can be trapped on a surface through adsorption (the molecules bind irreversibly to the surface), and the traps are then replenished. The compounds can also be trapped and destroyed immediately, generally through oxidation, by using light (photocatalysis). “But in this case, you must make sure the VOCs have been completely destroyed; they decompose into water and CO2, which are harmless,” the researcher explains. “Sometimes the VOCs are only partially destroyed, thus generating by-products that are also dangerous.”

 

Polluants, Frédéric Thévenet, Mines Douai, Département SAGE

 

At the SAGE Department, Frédéric works in complementary fashion with his colleagues from the VOC metrology team. They take their measurement devices to the field. He prefers to reproduce the reality of the field in the laboratory: he created an experimental room measuring 40 cubic meters, called IRINA (Innovative Room for INdoor Air studies), where he recreates different types of atmospheres and tests procedures for capturing and destroying VOCs. These procedures are at varying stages of development: Frédéric tests technology already available on the market that the ADEME (The French Environment and Energy Management Agency) wants to evaluate, as well as adsorbent materials developed by manufacturers who are looking to improve the composition. He also works on even earlier stages, developing his own solutions in the laboratory. “For example, we test the regeneration of adsorbents using different techniques, particularly with plasma,” he explains.

 

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A long-overdue law

Only laws and standards will force manufacturers to develop effective solutions for eliminating volatile organic compounds. Yet current legislation is not up to par. Decree no. 2011-1727 of 2 December 2011 on guideline values for formaldehyde and benzene in indoor air provides that the concentration levels of these two VOCs must not exceed certain limits in establishments open to the public: 30 µg/m³ for formaldehyde and 5 µg/m³ for benzene, for long-term exposure. However, this law has not yet come into force, since the decrees implementing this measure have not yet been issued. The number of locations affected by this law make it very difficult to implement. The law’s implementation has been postponed until 2018, and even this date remains uncertain.

Furthermore, the Decree of 19 April 2011 on labelling volatile pollutant emissions for construction products, wall cladding, floor coverings, and paint and varnishes is aimed at better informing consumers on VOC emissions from construction materials, paint and varnishes. These products must include a label indicating the emission levels for 11 substances, on a four-category scale ranging from A+ to C, based on the energy label model for household appliances.[/box]

 

Improving the standards

What are the results? For now, the most interesting results are related to adsorbent construction materials, for example, when they are designed to become VOC traps. “They don’t consume energy, and show good results in terms of long-term trapping, despite variations due to seasonal conditions (temperature and humidity),” explains Frédéric. “When these materials are well designed, they do not release the emissions they trap.” All these materials are tested in realistic conditions, by verifying how these partitions perform when they are painted, for example.

As well as testing the materials themselves, the research is also aimed at improving the standards governing anti-VOC measures, which seek to come as close as possible to real operating conditions. “We were able to create a list of precise recommendations for qualifying the treatments,” the researcher adds. The goal was to obtain standards that truly prove the devices’ effectiveness. Yet today, this is far from the case. An investigation published in the magazine Que Choisir in May 2013 showed that most of the air purifiers sold in stores were ineffective, or even negatively affected the air quality by producing secondary pollutants. There was therefore an urgent need to establish a more scientific approach in this area.

 

Polluants, Frédéric Thévenet, MInes Douai

A passion for research

For some, becoming a researcher is the fulfilment of a childhood dream. Others are led to the profession through chance and the people they happen to meet. Frédéric Thévenet did not initially see himself as a researcher. His traditional career path, taking preparatory classes for an engineering school (Polytech’ Lyon), was initially leading him towards a future in engineering. Yet a chance meeting caused him to change his mind. During his second year at Polytech’, he did an internship at a research lab under the supervision of Dominique Vouagner, a researcher who was passionate about her work at the Institut Lumière Matière (ILM), a joint research unit affiliated with the Claude Bernard University Lyon 1 and CNRS. “I thought it was wonderful, the drive to search, to question, the experimental aspect… It inspired me to earn my DEA (now a Master 2) and apply for a thesis grant.” He was awarded a grant from ADEME on the subject of air treatment… although his studies had focused on material sciences. Still, it was a logical choice, since materials play a key role in capturing pollutants. Frédéric does not regret this choice: “Research is a very inspiring activity, involving certain constraints, but also much room for freedom and creativity.”