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Institut national de la recherche scientifique

Decontamination and Waste Reclamation

Every year, the world’s cities produce some 1.3 billion tons of solid waste, even though these materials have a high potential for reclamation. To tackle the waste recovery and reclamation challenges facing today’s society, continuous efforts must be made to adapt the methods and technologies used.

INRS is a leader in the development of environmental technology. Research teams have extensive experience in the treatment and reclamation of effluent, contaminated waste, and sewage sludge.

INRS boasts an extensive and flexible array of pilot equipment and analytical instruments to conduct innovative research on decontamination and reclamation. Processes developed are regularly patented or transfered to industry.

Faculty work to develop new technology for the treatment, purification, decontamination, biotransformation, and reclamation of various types of waste, including industrial and urban waste.

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Remediation and decontamination

Decontamination targets soil pollution caused by metals, toxic organic compounds, and other substances. This category also includes the decontamination and reclamation of various types of solid waste (batteries, steel waste, treated lumber waste, etc.).

Remediation work focuses on the elimination of persistent organic pollutants and emerging contaminants such as hormone disruptors, wastewater, and effluent. Research is also underway on the adaptation of the domestic and industrial effluent treatment industry to meet the government’s new environmental waste targets.

Biotransformation

Biotransformation

Biotransformation research examines the use of wastewater and sewage sludge as raw materials for producing high-value-added products, such as bioplastics, biopolymers, biopesticides, and biodisesel through fermentation. The INRS possesses cutting-edge equipment for the development and scaling up of bioprocesses for technology transfer purposes.

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Chemical sequestration of carbon gas

Research is underway on the chemical sequestration of carbon gas from industrial smokestacks by means of mineral carbonation using reclaimed mining waste from the asbestos and concrete industries. Researchers are also seeking how to use the technology to produce magnesium carbonate for industrial applications.

Discover their areas of expertise