The durability of materials exposed to corrosive conditions is a major stake as it affects process and plant safety and implies large costs. In real applications and in future “zero emission technologies”, metallic alloys are and will be subjected to oxidizing and water-rich environments at high temperature. Under such conditions, the volatilization of the chromia scale takes place, speeding up the material end of life. While the chromium loss due to volatilization has been estimated many times to assess the material lifetime in past and recent studies, the gas phase evolution and its influence on the volatilization rate are rarely considered although they affect the alloy end of life. To respond to such problem, the DYNAMIC project, which associate 3 academic labs with 2 industries, proposes to evaluate the high temperature oxidation of refractory metallic alloys and the volatilization of their protective oxide layer by an original approach combining high temperature oxidation tests and simulations of the gas phase. Oxidation tests will be carried out between 600 and 1100 °C, under intermediate to high gas velocities (from few tens of cm.s-1 to few m.s-1) and over the complete water vapour content range, i.e. from few ppm to nearly 100 %. Also, characterizations of the samples, before and after oxidation, will be performed. In parallel, the gas phase within the oxidation rigs and the volatilization reaction will be simulated by computational fluid dynamics (CFD). This methodology will be conducted to better understand the influence of dynamic flows on oxidation and volatilization kinetics, and therefore the degradation mechanisms at work in such environments. It shall make it possible the determination of laws capable of predicting lifetime and the evaluation of the effects of geometry to propose solutions to delay the end of life of alloys.

The REPUTER project aims at the development of an efficient, closed-loop and eco-conceived rare earth recycling and separation process from end-of-life rechargeable nickel-metal hydride (Ni-MH) batteries, starting from battery collection down to the formulation of rare earths as pure oxides or metals ready to be used in various industrial applications. Rare earth elements (REE) have become essential for our modern economy, being considered today as the most critical raw materials group with the highest supply risk. Despite this situation, the recovery of REE from Ni-MH batteries is almost non-existent (less than 1% of the REE were recycled in 2011), most of the rare earths present ending up diluted in the slags and their reuse value consequently reduced. This situation is often due to an inefficient collection and sorting process and of various technological difficulties related to REE recovery, extraction, separation and conversion to metals. Therefore, a large effort is needed for overcoming these difficulties and improving the recycling rates, in line with the goals of the EU’s Energy Roadmap 2050. In the same time, recycling activities need to be complemented with new efficient and robust environmentally-friendly separation technologies and with an expertise in the conversion of rare earth oxides into metals or alloys. The objectives of this proposal are to: (i) Reinforce through common objectives the expertise and complementary competences gained in France in hydrometallurgy (spent nuclear fuel reprocessing) and in pyrometallurgy (aluminum, sodium, zirconium industry); (ii) Remove the scientific and technical barriers currently affecting the development of REE recycling, particularly by innovating in terms of dedicated hydrometallurgical and pyrometallurgical process efficiency and compactness; (iii) Bring experimental data and evaluate the possibility to reach a sufficient purity (> 99.5%) of the recycled rare earths at a 10 to 100 gram scale in order to use these purified oxides or metals for industrial applications (catalytic materials, magnets and new batteries); (iv) Evaluate the impact of the recycling process using a life cycle analysis and a technical-economic study, allowing an extrapolation of the process to higher flows and helping the potentially interested industrial companies making an informed decision about the possible commercialization of the process. The work plan is structured into six major tasks (including project coordination). The first step covers the efficient recovery and sorting of REE-rich fractions from end-of-life Ni-MH batteries, via mechanic and thermal operations, followed by acid leaching. The second task will address the optimized extraction and separation of REE from Nickel and other transition elements present in batteries, using hydrometallurgy (liquid-liquid solvent extraction) leading to pure REE in solution. The solvent formulation will be optimized, particularly by designing and studying new selective extractant molecules allowing an efficient intra-REE separation in the presence of transition metals. The conversion of separated light REE (such as La and Ce) into oxides will be carried out in a third task, with the aim of developing ceramic oxide materials with interesting catalytic properties for further valorisation. The forth task is dedicated to the development of pyrometallurgical technologies for the conversion of RE oxides (particularly Nd and Pr) into high purity RE metals. Different types of pyrometallurgical processes mainly based on molten salt electrolysis (alkaline or alkaline-earth chlorides and fluorides) will be studied and optimized in order to propose a robust solution and reach the purity requirements for specific applications (for the NdFeB magnet industry in particular). The last task is dedicated to a life cycle analysis and technical-economic study of the processes.

With more than 5300 exoplanets detected so far, it is clear that planet formation is a robust and efficient process. The current population of known exoplanets exhibits a wide diversity, both in nature (mass, radius) and in architecture: while giant planets can be found at large separations, the most common type of exoplanetary systems revealed by Kepler transits consist of chains of low-mass planets, super-Earths and mini-Neptunes, located close to their host stars. To understand the origin of this diversity, we need to explore the birth environment of the planets, namely the planet-forming protoplanetary disks, and to investigate their structure and evolution on both local and global scales. While considerable progress has recently been made in probing the disks on large scales (a few tens of astronomical units, au), little is known about the innermost regions (less than a few au). The IRYSS (Innermost Regions of Young Stellar Systems) project aims at deciphering the processes at play in the innermost regions of protoplanetary disks (PPDs). For the first time, we will provide a statistical view of the inner parts of a large sample of PPDs, thus bringing to light the main missing piece in our understanding of planet formation. The project builds on the unique synergy between the observational approaches developed by the partners, IPAG and IRAP, on national Research Infrastructures such as ESO/VLTI (with the PIONIER and GRAVITY interferometric instruments, largely developed at IPAG) and CFHT (with the ESPaDOnS and SPIRou spectropolarimeters, both developed at IRAP), in combination with the development of advanced physical models of the inner disk edge and of the accretion flows onto the central star. Benefiting from these world-class facilities, which are at the heart of the orientations of the call, we will conduct a multi-wavelength, multi-technique, and multi-scale investigation of the inner disk regions in a few tens of young stellar systems. We will explore the initial and environmental conditions that prevail at the time of planet formation by addressing three intrinsically interconnected pillars: 1) the morphological (asymmetry, vortex, dead zone) and physical (temperature, density) properties of the innermost scales of the protoplanetary disk, by spatially resolving at the sub-au level the near- and mid-infrared continuum emission with interferometry; 2) the magnetic star-disk interaction region, extending over a few stellar radii, and whose outer edge is thought to be the place where inwards migrating planets pile up, with spectropolarimetric observations and Zeeman-Doppler Imaging to derive the magnetic field topology and strength; 3) the dynamical timescales of the physical processes from a few days to months, by monitoring the variability of both the magnetic topology and the small-scale disk features. The combined analysis of these data sets arising from these two state-of-the-art observational techniques will put the world-leading French experts in a unique position to provide the stellar and exoplanet communities with legacy databases of magnetic maps, line profiles, inner rim positions and disk substructures. These are the key ingredients to relate the magnetic properties of young stars to the structure of their inner disk, and to investigate their evolution over periods as long as 10 years for some emblematic objects. As such, this legacy will provide access to a detailed overview of the innermost regions of nascent stellar systems and their disks where close-in planets form. Our team has access to all the ESO and CFHT Large Program and Guarantee Time observations to be exploited in the IRYSS project, and has developed during previous ERC-funded grants cutting-edge analysis and modeling tools required for their interpretation. We therefore gather the optimal expertise to yield major advances in this competitive field, supported by the appropriate workforce provided by this specific and quite timely ANR call.

Organisms have always been confronted with changes in environmental conditions, either in space or time. However, the number and rate of anthropogenic alterations impose so intense selective pressures that biodiversity is irreversibly impacted. As well, biodiversity monitoring shows that extinction rate due to global change continues to increase. Plasticity and adaptability are key eco-evolutionary processes that could mitigate biodiversity loss in the face of environmental changes. However, few studies have determined how the combined effects of anthropogenic stressors affect the immediate and evolutionary response of organisms. POLLUCLIM aims at experimentally studying a freshwater organism’s response to the combined effects of climate warming and pollution. Using laboratory microcosms of a ciliate, I will first determine the plastic response to warmer and/or polluted environments (4 different pollutants) of a panel of genotypes. I will then study the probability of evolutionary rescue to these stressors, and determine if exposure to a stressful environment influences the evolutionary response to another stressful environment. Finally, I will relate adaptive patterns to genetic backgrounds and mutagenesis effects of stressors. At the end, the project should improve our understanding of tolerance and adaptability patterns to multiple anthropogenic stressors, with access to the underlying molecular mechanisms.

At the current warming rate, many organisms should go extinct if they are not able to disperse or adapt locally, which often involves plastic responses. In ectotherms, warming influences plastic life history traits with an acceleration of early life production at the expense of longevity and senescence. This may be due to trade-offs involving warming-induced oxidative stress and telomere shortening. Although pace-of-life acceleration may provide short-term benefits, it also increases sensitivity to limited resources, extreme climate events and unusual nighttime thermal conditions. Thus, in an increasingly warmer climate, ectotherms could reach critical physiological thresholds that would precipitate their decline. To date, physiological mechanisms and ecological consequences of this pace-of-life acceleration are poorly characterized. Here, we will combine experimental, observational and analytical approaches to unlock critical gaps in our understanding of thermal plasticity of life history. We will focus on a bimodal reproductive lizard (Zootoca vivipara), which offers a unique context to analyze how evolutionary transition between oviparity and viviparity influenced pace-of-life acceleration. Using long-term data sets and surveys across climatic gradients, we will document patterns of pace-of-life acceleration in response to climate warming in the two reproductive modes, focusing on vulnerable populations of the warm margin. In addition, we will perform outdoor and laboratory experiments to identify physiological tipping points in the context of day-night asymmetry of warming and extreme climate events. Given their major potential role in this thermal plasticity, non-energetic trade-offs will be quantified using longitudinal and cross-sectional assays of oxidative stress and telomere length dynamics. Altogether, this project will highlight patterns, mechanisms, and consequences on population viability of pace-of-life acceleration in response to climate warming.