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International audience; Analytical methods with high sensitivity and accuracy were successfully validated for the quantification of 397 pesticides in different types of tea. For the UPLC-MS/MS method, 191 pesticides of 200 ones in total had “soft” matrix effects and could be quantified by calibration curves in the solvent. For the GC-MS/MS method, matrix-matched calibration curves were established on a mixed blank including white, green, oolong and black organic teas. The method limit of quantifications ranged from 1.0 µg kg−1 to 10 µg kg−1 (UPLC-MS/MS) and 1.0 µg kg−1 to 50 µg kg−1 (GC-MS/MS), with 70–120% of recovery. These methods was subsequently applied to 106 tea samples from several origins, in which 26 samples contained at least one pesticide violation, with a total of 43 pesticide residue violations. The most frequently detected pesticides were neonicotinoids, synthetic pyrethroids, and triazole fungicides. Taiwan had the most pesticide-contaminated samples followed by China, Vietnam, and India.

International audience; Nowadays, air pollution is an increasingly important topic, as environmental regulations require limiting pollutant emissions. This problem requires new techniques to reduce emissions by either improving the current emission control systems and processes or installing new hybrid treatment systems. These are of broad diversity, and every system has its advantages and disadvantages. The tendency is, accordingly, to combine various techniques to achieve more acceptable and suitable treatment. Recent studies suggest that the combination of photocatalysis and plasma in a reactor can offer attractive pollutant treatment efficiency with a minimum of partially oxidized by-products than that of these processes taken separately. However, there is little review of the capability of this pairing to treat different brands of pollutants. Besides, available data concerning reactor design with flows treated 10 to 1000 times higher than those studied at the lab scale. This review paid particular attention to determine the reaction mechanisms in terms of engineering and design of combination reactors (plasma and catalysis). Likewise, we developed the effect of critical parameters such as pollutant load, relative humidity, and flow rate to understand the degradation kinetics of specific pollutants individually by using plasma and photocatalysis. Additionally, this review compares different designs of cold plasma reactors combination with heterogeneous catalysis with special attention on synergistic and antagonistic effects of using plasma and photocatalysis processes at the laboratory, pilot, and industrial scales. Therefore, the elements discussed in this review stick well to the first theme on pollution prevention of the special issue concerning pollution prevention and the application of clean technologies to promote a circular (bio) economy.

International audience; Biogas production is rising in the context of fossil fuel decline and the future circular economy, yet raw biogas requires purification steps before use. Here, we review biogas upgrading using physical, chemical and biological methods such as water scrubbing, physical absorption, pressure swing adsorption, cryogenic separation, membrane separation, chemical scrubbing, chemoautotrophic methods, photosynthetic upgrading and desorption. We also discuss their techno-economic feasibility. We found that physical and chemical upgrading technologies are near-optimal, but still require high energy and resources. Biological methods are less explored despite their promising potential. High-pressure water scrubbing is more economic for small-sized plants, whereas potassium carbonate scrubbing provides the maximum net value for largesized plants.

International audience; The authors regret that the name of the botanist who identified the plant material investigated was wrongly reported. The paragraph Plant Material should read as follows:“4.2. Plant material.Whole plants of Euphorbia tirucalli L. (Euphorbiaceae) were collected from Hong Son village, Ham Thuan Bac, in Binh Thuan province (11.129754° N, 108.143550° E) in July 2014 (wet season). The botanical sample was identified by Dr. Tran Cong Luan, Faculty of Pharmacy and Nursery, Tay Do University, Can Tho, Vietnam. A voucher specimen (No UP002) is deposited in the herbarium of the Department of Organic Chemistry, University of Science, Ho Chi Minh City.”

International audience; Extracellular enzymatic activities constitute the first and limiting step of the whole process of organic matter (OM) cycling in aquatic ecosystems. This study aims to identify the factors controlling prokaryotes ability to hydrolyse OM in an Indo-Pacific tropical mangrove ecosystem (Can Gio, Vietnam). Prokaryotic abundance and leucine-aminopeptidase exo-proteolytic activity (EPA) were measured at vertical (from the sea-surface microlayer to bottom waters), spatial (along a transect within the estuary) and seasonal (wet and dry season) scales. Prokaryotic abundance ranged from 1.2 to 5.7 × 109 cells L−1 and EPA ranged from 24 to 505 nmol L−1 h−1 that was relatively similar to other highly productive ecosystems. The estuary was poorly stratified, most probably because of high water turbulence. Yet, exo-proteolytic activity was significantly higher in bottom waters, where higher loads of suspended particulate matter were measured. Seasonal and spatial differences in EPA suggest that the nature of OM transported by the Can Gio mangrove estuary affect EPA. The latter seems to be increased by two “uncommon” situations: the input of fresh and labile OM (e.g. shrimp farm effluents) or the lack of labile OM and the need to hydrolyse refractory compounds (e.g. during the dry season).

International audience; Tropical estuaries are characterised by high spatial and temporal variability in the conditions they provide for living organisms, which in turn may affect their biochemical composition. Anthropogenic contaminants such as nutrients, antibiotics, pesticides and trace metals may also affect the biochemical composition of these coastal organisms, notably with regard to fatty acids (FA), of which optimal species-specific polyunsaturated FA ratios are required to maintain living species in healthy conditions. The objective of this study was to evidence changes in the FA profile of four ubiquist benthic species in relation to the salinity gradient of a human impacted and mangrove dominated tropical estuary (Can Gio, Southern Vietnam). Among the four benthic species studied, two exhibited spatial and seasonal changes in their FA composition: the varunid crab Metaplax elegans and the predatory mangrove murex snail Chicoreus capucinus. Proportions of the FA 16:1ω7, proportions of highly unsaturated FA and ratios of eicosapentanoic acid/arachidonic acid in the tissues of both species seemed related to upstream inputs. Different relative abundances of benthic microalgae affected both claw muscle and hepatopancreas FA composition of M. elegans, while the FA composition of C. capucinus shows that the influence of prey's diet might be transferred within trophic chains. Finally, some species, such as Nerita balteata and Metapenaeus ensis might have more adaptive capacities, because of their mobility, or because of their specific metabolic pathways, minimizing the potential impact of spatial and/or temporal changes in food resources quality. A starvation experiment involving N. balteata actually revealed the metabolic synthesis of non-methylene interrupted FA that may confer cell membranes a higher resistance to external stressors than common polyunsaturated FA. Our study highlights the future possibility of using the FA composition of sentinel organisms (i.e. feeding on specific food resources and/or especially subject to environmental stresses) as a bioindicator tool to assess mangrove ecosystems health.

International audience; This article describes an optical method based on the association of surface plasmon resonance (SPR) with chitosan (CS) film and its nanocomposites, including zinc oxide (ZnO) or graphene oxide (GO) for glyphosate detection. CS and CS/ZnO or CS/GO thin films were deposited on an Au chip using the spin coating technique. The characterization, morphology, and composition of these films were performed by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and contact angle technique. Sensor preparation conditions including the cross-linking and mobile phase (pH and salinity) were investigated and thoroughly optimized. Results showed that the CS/ZnO thin-film composite provides the highest sensitivity for glyphosate sensing with a low detection limit of 8 nM and with high reproducibility. From the Langmuir-type adsorption model and the effect of ionic strength, the adsorption mechanisms of glyphosate could be controlled by electrostatic and steric interaction with possible formation of 1:1 outer-sphere surface complexes. The selectivity of the optical method was investigated with respect to the sorption of glyphosate metabolite (aminomethylphosphonic acid) (AMPA), glufosinate, and one of the glufonisate metabolites (3-methyl-phosphinico-propionic acid) (MPPA). Results showed that the SPR sensor offers a very good selectivity for glyphosate, but the competition of other molecules could still occur in aqueous systems.

International audience; This paper proposed an efficient model predictive control strategy for a three-level T-type inverter connected to a doubly fed induction generator. A dynamic model is utilized to track the power reference, preserve the DC-link voltage balancing and reduce the inverter switching frequency and common-mode voltage. Unlike the traditional finite control set model predictive control, the stability of the closed-loop system and computational burden reduction are concurrently accomplished as the main contribution to the proposed strategy. At each sampling period, the proposed algorithm only considers the candidate control inputs which satisfy the stability condition taken from a suitable control Lyapunov function for evaluating the optimization problem. Due to model uncertainties and discrete set control input voltages, an attractivity set is employed to determine the stability and converge of the system. Therefore, the lower computation time of the optimization problem is the potential benefit compared with the conventional method. Simulation investigation with different operating conditions of a 2 MW wind turbine is carried out by MATLAB/Simulink. The achieved results confirm the stability guarantees while reducing the computational burden and obtaining the same control performances in comparison with the conventional method.

International audience; Sedimentological and geochemical data were obtained for bed sediments from a tropical estuary environment in Vietnam in October 2014, January 2016, and November 2016. The data include grain-size distribution, percentage of clay, silt and sand, percentage of organic matter, concentration of total particulate phosphorus (TPP), concentration of particulate inorganic phosphorus (PIP), concentration of particulate organic phosphorus (POP), percentage of total nitrogen (TN), percentage of total carbon (TC), trace metals concentrations (V, Cr, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Mo, Cd, Pb) and major elements (Al, Fe, Mn). Geochemical indexes (Enrichment factor EF and Geo-accumulation Index I-geo) and sediment quality guideline (mean Effect Range Median quotients) were calculated.

International audience; Mangrove soils are considered as sinks for trace metals, protecting coastal waters from pollutions. However, the cycling of trace metals in mangroves is complex due to various biogeochemical processes across the intertidal zone, notably the dissolution of bearing phases resulting in high trace metal concentrations in porewaters. Previous studies demonstrated a decrease of trace metal stocks in mangrove soils seaward, possibly due to the export of dissolved metals through tidal pumping. Can Gio mangrove is the largest one in Vietnam, developing downstream Ho Chi Minh City (Viet Nam's biggest industrial city). The objectives of the present study were to characterize the dynamics of trace metals in a tidal creek of the Can Gio mangrove that does not receive any upstream inputs and to identify the role of porewater seepage on their dynamics. To reach our goals, surface water and suspended particulate matters were collected every 2 h during two different tidal cycles (spring and neap tides) and at the two different seasons, dry and wet. Mangroves porewaters were also collected. In addition to particulate and dissolved trace metals, physico-chemical parameters and a groundwater tracer (Radon-222 Rn) were measured. The results showed that trace metal concentrations at flood tides, both in the dissolved and the particulate phases, were in the same range that those measured in the Can Gio Estuary. Then during ebb tides, we evidenced high inputs of dissolved Fe, Mn, Co, and Ni from mangrove soils. However, the dynamics of these inputs differed depending on the element considered. Mn was exported from the tidal creek in its dissolved form. However concerning Fe, and to a lesser extent Co and Ni, we suggest that, when delivered to the creek from the soils under dissolved forms, these trace metals precipitated because of different physicochemical characteristics between mangrove soils and tidal creek, notably higher dissolved oxygen concentrations and higher pH. Consequently, these elements were exported to the estuary in particulate forms. We suggest that budget studies of trace metals in mangroves should be developed like the ones concerning carbon to efficiently determine their role as a barrier for pollutants between land and sea.

International audience; Abatement of emissions of greenhouse gases such as methane and carbon dioxide is crucial to reduce global warming. For that, dry reforming of methane allows to convert methane and carbon dioxide into useful synthesis gas, named 'syngas', a gas mixture rich in hydrogen and carbon monoxide. However, this process requires high temperatures of about 900 degrees C to activate methane and carbon dioxide because dry reforming of methane reaction is highly endothermic. Therefore, a solid catalyst with appropriate thermal properties is needed for the reaction. As a consequence, efficient heating of the reactor is required to control heat transfer and optimize energy consumption. Microwave-assisted dry reforming of methane thus appears as a promising alternative to conventional heating. Here we review the recent research on microwave-assisted dry reforming of methane. We present thermodynamical aspects of the dry reforming of methane, and basics of microwave heating and apparatus. We analyse reformers that use microwave heating. Catalysts used in a microwave-assisted reformer are presented and compared with reactors using conventional heating. Finally, the energy balance is discussed.

International audience; Biogas production has continuously increased worldwide during the last decades. Nowadays, heat, electricity, and biomethane production are the main utilization of biogas at large-scale industrial processes. The research and development on biogas valorization is currently related to synthesis gas production via reforming process, since syngas allows obtaining various chemicals and fuels of high-added value. However, biogas reforming is a complex process, which implies various reactions in parallel, and needs high temperature (>800 °C) to obtain high methane conversion. The development of a highly-performing catalyst, which must be active, selective, thermally stable, and resistant to solid carbon formation on its surface, is crucial. This chapter is devoted to an update of the thermodynamic aspect of biogas reforming under different conditions. This chapter also reviews recent significant works related to catalyst design as well as kinetic and mechanistic studies of biogas reforming processes.

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International audience; Tri-reforming of methane (TRM) allows the production of syngas with a low environmental impact, an optimal energetic consumption, and a modular H2/CO molar ratio. However, despite a large number of publications devoted to TRM reaction, this process is still in its infancy and faces technical issues due to the catalyst deactivation by the formation of solid carbon, thermal sintering, vapor-solid reactions, and poisoning. Moreover, TRM reaction is also highly dependent on the operational conditions. This article provides a critical analysis of the last achievements on the TRM reaction. First, the thermodynamic, kinetic and mechanism aspects are presented and commented. Then, the impact of the operational conditions is analyzed. Finally, the main reasons of catalyst deactivation and the associated methods for catalyst regeneration are discussed. In parallel, catalytic efficiency is tentatively linked to physico-chemical properties of the catalyst, and recommendations are proposed for the future work on TRM process.

International audience; Massive amounts of waste tires are generated globally posing disposal and recycling challenges. Waste tires were gasified in subcritical and supercritical water to study their degradation behavior during syngas production. The process parameters including temperature (325 degrees C to 625 degrees C), reaction time (15 min to 60 min) and feed concentration (5 wt% to 20 wt%) were optimized to maximize gas yields from waste tires. The highest total gas yields (34 mmol/g), hydrogen yields (14.4 mmol/g) and carbon gasification efficiency (42.6%) were achieved at optimal temperature (625 degrees C), reaction time (60 min) and feed concentration (5 wt%). The application of homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysts improved hydrogen yields from waste tires in the order: Ni/SiO2-Al2O3 (19.7 mmol/g) > Ru/Al2O3 (17.9 mmol/g) > Ba(OH)(2) (16.9 mmol/g) > Ca(OH)(2) (16.7 mmol/g) > Mg(OH)(2) (15.4 mmol/g). The results suggest waste tires as a potential resource for recovery of hydrogen-rich fuel gas through hydrothermal gasification. (C) 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

International audience; This study focused on the modification of montmorillonite (Mt) using the new modifying agent monoglyceride(M-Gly). M-Gly formed a self-assembled structure in Mt. interlayers, which may be used for further study in claymineral polymer nanocomposite (CPN) and cosmetic additives. The X-ray diffraction results showed the d001-value of Mt. increasing up to 16 Å in solvent and>60 Å in the melting method compared to 10 Å with neat Mt.This implies that when the melting method is applied using the internal thermomixer device with a high shearrate, the interlayer space of Mt. is expanded considerably. The transmission electron microscopy results showedthere was good dispersion of the organoclay layers in modified Mt. This means that the clay minerals layerstructure was disordered with two- or three-layer stacks that were separated after modification. The thermogravimetricanalysis also showed the thermal stability of the modified specimens in each method and evidencedthe insertion and elimination of M-Gly from the interlayer space of Mt. during the modification process.

International audience; Suspended particulate matter (SPM) is a key component of coastal food webs and a key variable of nutrient budgets. Understanding its variability across short time scales in estuaries may help ecologists understand seasonal and diurnal migration of estuarine organisms, and answer how their nutritional requirements are fulfilled. It may also inform biogeochemists regarding the factors that influence import and export of nutrients between terrestrial and coastal ecosystems. This study aimed to link the dynamics of fatty acids, stable isotopes (δ13C and δ15N) and C/N ratios of SPM, revealing organic matter quality, to rapidly varying factors (SPM concentration, salinity and presence of daylight) and comparing this variability to the seasonal variation induced by the alternation of dry and wet seasons in the studied region. Our results revealed that these rapidly varying factors had a strong influence on the bacterial and the phytoplanktonic compartments of SPM. They suggest that tidally resuspended particles are the site of intense heterotrophic activity and that estuarine phytoplankton store lipids during the daytime up to substantially modifying SPM quality. Our study also shows higher freshness of SPM during the wet season. We expect this study to raise the interest of both biologists and biogeochemists to introduce daily variability of SPM in food webs and nutrient budgets modelling.

International audience; A biohybrid material based on poly(lactic acid)(PLA) incorporated with low contents of polyethylene glycol(PEG) functionalized graphene oxide (GO) was prepared via melting process and their structure, morphology,mechanical performance, and thermal properties were studied in detail. SEM and TEM characterizations confirmedthat the functionalization of GO with PEG (PEGmGO) promoted its exfoliation into thin exfoliated nanosheets,thereby improving the interactions between PEGmGO filler and PLA matrix at interface. FT-IR spectrashowed the presence of strong polar and hydrogen bonding interactions between components in the biohybrid.Mechanical and thermal tests indicated that there was the significant improvement of the stiffness, strength, andthermal stability of such biohybrid material with the addition of 0.3 phr PEGmGO, as compared to pure PLA,PEG-plasticized PLA, PEG-plasticized PLA/GO, and other surveyed PEG-plasticized PLA/PEGmGO biohybrids.This behavior was attributed to the homogeneous dispersion of the PEGmGO nanofillers within PLA matrix alongwith their strong interfacial interaction. The as-obtained biohybrids show highly potential to be useful in thebioengineering applications.

International audience; The phytochemical investigation of Euphorbia tirucalli L. (Euphorbiaceae) yielded four new compounds, including a rare cadalene-type sesquiterpene (tirucadalenone), two tirucallane triterpenoids, euphorol L and euphorol M, with the latter being described as an epimeric mixture, and a euphane triterpene, namely, euphorol N, together with 7 known compounds. Their structures and absolute configurations were elucidated from analysis of 1D (1H, J-modulated C) and 2D NMR (HSQC, HMBC and NOESY), high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRESIMS), optical rotation, and GIAO NMR shift calculation followed by CP3 analysis, along with comparison with literature reports. All these compounds were tested for cytotoxicity against K562, MCF-7 and/or and HepG2 tumor cell lines. Only tirucadalenone displayed a mild cytotoxic activity.

International audience; Mangrove sediments act as natural biogeochemical reactors, modifying metals partitioning after their deposition. The objectives of the present study were: to determine distribution and partitioning of metals (Fe, Mn, Ni, Cr, Cu, Co and As) in sediments and pore-waters of Can Gio Mangrove; and to assess their ecological risks based on Risk Assessment Code. Three cores were collected within a mudflat, beneath Avicennia a lba and Rhizophora apiculata stands. We suggest that most metals had a natural origin, being deposited in the mangrove mainly as oxyhydroxides derived from the upstream lateritic soils. This hypothesis could be supported by the high proportion of metals in the residual fraction (mean values (%): 71.9, 30.7, 80.7, 80.9, 67.9, 53.4 and 66.5 for Fe, Mn, Ni, Cr, Cu, Co, and As respectively, in the mudflat). The enrichment of mangrove-derived organic matter from the mudflat to the Rhizophora stand (i.e. up to 4.6% of TOC) played a key role in controlling metals partitioning. We suggest that dissolution of Fe and Mn oxyhydroxides in reducing condition during decomposition of organic matter may be a major source of dissolved metals in pore-waters. Only Mn exhibited a potential high risk to the ecosystem. Most metals stocks in the sediments were higher in the Avicennia stand than the Rhizophora stand, possibly because of enhanced dissolution of metal bearing phases beneath later one. In a context of enhanced mangrove forests destruction, this study provides insights on the effects of perturbation and oxidation of sediments on metal release to the environment.

The presence of defects like gas bubble in fabricated parts is inherent in the selective laser sintering process and the prediction of bubble shrinkage dynamics is crucial. In this paper, two artificial intelligence (AI) models based on Decision Trees algorithm were constructed in order to predict bubble dissolution time, namely the Ensemble Bagged Trees (EDT Bagged) and Ensemble Boosted Trees (EDT Boosted). A metadata including 68644 data were generated with the help of our previously developed numerical tool. The AI models used the initial bubble size, external domain size, diffusion coefficient, surface tension, viscosity, initial concentration, and chamber pressure as input parameters, whereas bubble dissolution time was considered as output variable. Evaluation of the models&rsquo, performance was achieved by criteria such as Mean Absolute Error (MAE), Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE) and coefficient of determination (R2). The results showed that EDT Bagged outperformed EDT Boosted. Sensitivity analysis was then conducted thanks to the Monte Carlo approach and it was found that three most important inputs for the problem were the diffusion coefficient, initial concentration, and bubble initial size. This study might help in quick prediction of bubble dissolution time to improve the production quality from industry.

International audience; Six new sulfonic acid-containing flavonoids, acidoflavanone (1), acidoauronol (2), 5- O-methylacidoauronol (3), acidoaurone (4), acidoisoflavone (5), and acidoflavonol (6), were isolated from the EtOH extract of the roots of Phyllanthus acidus. Their structures were unambiguously established by interpretation of their HRESIMS and 1D and 2D NMR data, single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis, and comparison to the literature data. These new structures represent the first examples of sulfonic acid-containing flavanones, auronols, aurones, and isoflavones.

International audience; Intensive shrimp farming generates high loads of wastewaters that are released along tropical coastlines with potential impacts on the ecosystems. In this study, we used an experimental approach to analyze the behavior of shrimp pond effluents released in the Can Gio mangrove waterways (Southern Vietnam). We incubated shrimp pond effluents (EF), river water (RV), and a mixture of both (MI; 90% RV + 10% EF) in a dark room and measured fatty acid (FA) compositions, C and N concentrations and stable isotopes ratios (δ13C and δ15N) of suspended particulate matter during 16 days. Fatty acid concentrations rapidly decreased in EF with a 50% loss of FA during the first 24 h of the experiment and a 75% loss after 4 days of incubation. Proportions of the FA 18:1ω7 increased in MI during incubation, suggesting that this FA may be used as a tracer of anthropogenic substances release in marine environments.

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