Christophe Waterlot

• PhD, HDR
• Senior Researcher at Yncréa Hauts-de-France

This study proposes a phytomanagement strategy to produce plant-derived eco-catalysts from Lolium perenne (ryegrass) and Trifolium incarnatum (clover), cultivated in contaminated or nutrient-rich soils from two French regions (Pompey and Bordeaux, respectively) and two Belgium sites (Duferco and Vieille Montagne, respectively), for the sustainable...

The use of sensor‐ or model‐based decision support tools (DSTs) is encouraged to manage crop nitrogen (N) fertilisation, but studies evaluating the obtained advice at the crop succession scale are lacking. The aim of this work was to compare the agronomic performance between the advice obtained by DSTs and that obtained by the reference balance she...

Scarce dihydro‐1,4‐diazinoisoindole framework bearing two points of diversity was prepared through a cascade process based on concomitant Csp³−N and Csp²−N bond formation. This approach consists of an amidation in basic medium of a tosyl group by nucleophilic substitution followed by Cu‐mediated Goldberg reaction in the same operation. The required...

Background and Aims Litter decomposition is poorly investigated in young temperate alley cropping (AC) systems but may be an integrative indicator to explore the early effect of trees on overall biological activity throughout soil profile. We evaluated the effect of four-year-old trees on recalcitrant-rooibos and labile-green tea mass loss at diffe...

As many contaminated agricultural soils can no longer be used for food crops, lignocellulosic energy crops matter due to their ability to grow on such soils and to produce biomass for biosourced materials and biofuels, thereby reducing the pressure on the limited arable lands. Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench, can potentially produce a high biomass suit...

Competition or complementarity between associated plants due to belowground interactions has been observed in alley-cropping systems (ACs), but the initialization of these processes remains poorly investigated. Here, we used the core-break and soil coring method to quantify the vertical tree and wheat fine root abundance and biomass down to 120 cm...

The current study highlights the synthesis of Zn-enriched biosourced catalysts (BIOCATs) obtained from ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) cultivated on contaminated soils located in the North of France (Noyelles-Godault and Auby, Hauts-de-France). These cultures were located on brownfield land, next to two former industrial sites where the zinc and lead...

Abstract The need of biofuels from biomass, including sustainable aviation fuel, without using agricultural land dedicated to food crops, is in constant demand. Strategies to intensify biomass production using mycorrhizal fungi, biostimulants and their combinations could be solutions for improving the cultivation of lignocellulosic plants but stil...

The choice of plants dedicated to the phytomanagement of metal-contaminated soils is a crucial factor in the successful rehabilitation of polluted sites. To assess the resistance of these plants to the contaminated environment, their physiological responses may constitute good indicators of the potential toxicity effects of metals. Two agricultural...

This study aims to investigate the ability of an imidazolium biobased Zwitterionic Ionic Liquids (ZILs) in enhancing the phytoavailability of copper from garden (G) and vineyard (V) soils using the model plant ryegrass. Uncontaminated and artificially contaminated CuSO4 soils, unamended and ZIL-amended soil modalities were designed. The copper/ZIL...

Competition or complementarity between associated plants due to belowground interactions has been observed in alley-cropping systems (ACs), but the initialization of these processes remains poorly investigated. Here, we used the core-break and soil coring method to quantify the vertical tree and wheat fine root abundance and biomass down to 120 cm...

Pyroglutamide derivatives have emerged as promising inhibitors of human farnesyltransferase (FTIs), an important target in oncology and also in rare diseases such as Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome (HGPS). This report describes the chemical efforts to enrich the pyroglutamide series using greener and recyclable catalysts. The central reaction...

The hop plant (Humulus lupulus L.) has been exploited for a long time for both its brewing and medicinal uses, due in particular to its specific chemical composition. These last years, hop cultivation that was in decline has been experiencing a renewal for several reasons, such as a craze for strongly hopped aromatic beers. In this context, the pre...

Heavy metal (HM) pollution in agricultural fields reduces crop productivity and quality, and poses a risk for human health. On these areas, the cultivation of crops devoted to biomaterial and bioenergy production thus constitutes an attractive alternative to food crop production. To maintain the soil productivity and to obtain a biomass compatible...

Background information High-yielding lignocellulosic crops such as miscanthus and industrial hemp have the ability to grow on contaminated and/or degraded soils, making them suitable for phytomanagement. These plants are a promising alternative for the bioenergy / biofuel and ecomaterials sectors and in the meantime an opportunity for managing deg...

Copper (Cu) contamination of soils may alter the functioning and sustainability of vineyard ecosystems. Cultivating Cu-extracting plants in vineyard inter-rows, or phytoextraction, is one possible way currently under consideration in agroecology to reduce Cu contamination of vineyard topsoils. This option is rarely used, mainly because Cu phytoextr...

Moderately contaminated garden soils can benefit from gentle remediation options such as soil amendments, which improve soil functions and agronomic potentialities while decreasing environmental and human risk. This study aimed to analyze the effects of doses of various common soil amendments generally applied by gardeners on the predicted bioavail...

Two industrial wastes (IW1 and IW2) were investigated as potential sorbents to retain cadmium and lead from contaminated water. The sorption experiments have been conducted through lab-engineered cartridge filtration system in order to get as close as possible to industrial processes. The effectiveness of IW1 and IW2 were compared to that of activa...

Two ecocatalysts Eco-MG1 and Eco-MG2 were obtained from the biomass of Miscanthus x giganteus cultivated in situ on metal-contaminated soils from the North-of-France region. Ecocatalysts have been characterized by SEM-EDS analyses and flame atomic absorption spectrometry and used to synthesize new urolithins A and B derivatives, metabolites of ella...

This study is focused on the evaluation of the accumulation of Cd, Pb and Zn in five cultivars of Cichorium intybus L. (chicory) which were produced on contaminated agricultural soil. Over a growth period of 211 days, the roots and leaves were collected in four stages and then analyzed by flame atomic absorption spectrometry to measure the concentr...

The ultrastructural changes on the hepatopancreas of Porcellio laevis individuals were investigated after their exposure to a mixture of cadmium (Cd) and zinc (Zn) during four weeks. At the end of the experiment, trace element (TE) concentrations were determined using atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS). The growth of individuals was calculated an...

Phytomanagement is proposed as a cost-effective and environmentally-friendly suggestion for sustainable use of large metal-contaminated areas. In the current work, the energy crop miscanthus (Miscanthus × giganteus) was grown in ex situ conditions on agricultural soils presenting a Cd, Pb and Zn contamination gradient. After 93 days of culture, sho...

The conception of two biosourced catalysts (biocatalysts) using stems of miscanthus from the first part of this study are described herein. The temperature and the process used to extract metals from plant as mixture of Lewis acids were investigated in detail and proved to be essential in the design of the biosourced catalysts and their catalytic e...

Lolium perenne L., a common plant perennial ryegrass from Europe, northern Africa and Asia, was selected to produce biomass under field conditions. The biomass of this nonfood crop was from a highly contaminated agricultural soil by potentially toxic metals (Cd, Pb and Zn) with the aim of maintaining the agricultural vocation of these soils. In thi...

The effects of P-fertilizers (mono- and di-calcium phosphates) on the bioavailability of metals and nutrients in leaves and stems of Miscanthus × giganteus were studied in mesocosm and field experiments in order to propose a new way for the valorization of miscanthus biomass. The concentration of potentially toxic elements was generally higher in s...

La contamination par le cuivre (Cu) des sols altère le fonctionnement et la durabilité des écosystèmes viticoles. Dans l’inter-rang des vignes, la culture de plantes extractrices de Cu, ou phytoextraction, est une solution envisagée en agroécologie pour réduire la teneur en Cu des sols viticoles. Cette solution reste pour l’heure peu utilisée en vi...

Three plant biomasses (miscanthus, ryegrass and wheat) have been considered for the preparation of five different sorbents evaluated for their potential to sorb cadmium and lead and four emergent organic compounds (diclofenac, sulfamethoxazole, 17α-ethynylestradiol and triclosan) from artificially contaminated water. Lab-created cartridges were fil...

Three plant biomasses (miscanthus, ryegrass and wheat) have been considered for the preparation of five different sorbents evaluated for their potential to sorb cadmium and lead and four emergent organic compounds (diclofenac, sulfamethoxazole, 17α-ethynylestradiol and triclosan) from artificially contaminated water. Lab-created cartridges were fil...

Trace element contaminants in kitchen garden soils can contribute to human exposure through the consumption of homegrown vegetables. In urban areas, these soils can be contaminated to various degrees by trace element (TE). They are characterized by a great variability in their physicochemical parameters due to the high anthropization level, the wid...

This study was designed to assess the impact of the mixture of cadmium (Cd) and zinc (Zn) on the bioaccumulation and the ultrastructural changes in the hepatopancreas of Porcellio laevis (Latreille, 1804) after 4 weeks of exposure to contaminated Quercus leaves under laboratory conditions. For each metal, four concentrations were used with four rep...

Incidental ingestion of polluted soil particles exposes the population to toxic metal(loid)s. To refine the methods of exposure and risk assessment, it is relevant to use bioaccessible concentrations of metal(loid)s determined via in vitro digestion methods. However, some validated methods are complex and costly, involving high technical skills and...

A new environmentally friendly approach for the synthesis of idrocilamide (1), a marketed myorelaxant and anti‐inflammatory agent, is reported herein. The synthetic strategy involves a solvent‐free aminolysis reaction catalyzed by zinc‐containing species (ZnCl2, montmorillonite K10 (MK10) impregnated with ZnCl2 or eco‐catalysts). The latter have be...

The present study experimented five biochars, one made from wood (400 °C, 12 h) and four made from miscanthus cultivated on contaminated soils (temperature 400/600 °C, duration 45/90 min). They were used as amendments at a 2% application rate on soil, cultivated or not cultivated with ryegrass, contaminated with (i) metals (Cd, Pb, and Zn), (ii) ei...

A restoration of highly contaminated garden soil is proposed as a greener alternative to the production of vegetables. Depending on potentially toxic elements and their concentration, ryegrass shoots accumulate these elements in sufficient quantity to be used as a catalyst in organic synthesis. The analysis of Cd, Pb, Zn, Cu, Fe, Mn, and Al in ashe...

Phytomanagement used on soils contaminated with metals aims to stabilize them in the soil. It generally uses less demanding tree species such as maple, poplar, and black locust. However, it is important to consider the rate of accumulation of metals in the leaves as well as their location (leaf blade/petiole) together with the contents of cell wall...

Effects of three phosphorus fertilizers on the shoot biomass and on the accumulation of alkali, alkaline earth, and transition metals in the shoots and roots of ryegrass were studied with two contaminated garden soils. Phosphates were added in sustainable quantities in order to reduce the environmental availability of carcinogenic metals (e.g., Cd...

Two kitchen garden soils (A and B) sampled in contaminated areas were amended using phosphates in sustainable quantities in order to reduce the environmental availability of potentially toxic inorganic elements (PTEs) and to favour the availability of alkali, alkali earth and micronutrients. The environmental availability of PTEs was evaluated usin...

This study aimed at determining the competition of cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), zinc (Zn) and copper (Cu) on their assimilation, on the food consumption and the growth of terrestrial isopod Porcellio laevis. Individuals were exposed to artificially contaminated litter of Quercus for 4 weeks and were weekly weighed. At the end of the experiment, the con...

Two smelters in the North of France emitted potentially toxic metals for more than a century and today, the resulting contamination represents a risk to human health and affects also the biodiversity. To limit health risks and to improve the soil quality, a study using calcium phosphates (monocalcium phosphate, dicalcium phosphate and a mixture of...

Although growing vegetables in urban gardens has several benefits, some questions in relation with the safety of foods remain when the self-production is carried out on highly contaminated garden soils. To better assess the local population’s exposure to Cd and Pb induced by the past activities of a lead smelter, a participatory program was initiat...

Aided phytoremediation was studied for 48 weeks with the aim of reducing extractable and phytoavailable toxic elements and producing potential marketable biomass. In this sense, biomass of ryegrass was produced under greenhouse on two contaminated garden soils that have been amended with two successive additions of phosphates. After the first addit...

The current study reports the effects of heavy metals issued from the emissions of phosphate and their bioaccumulation in the soils, leaf litter, and the terrestrial isopod Porcellionides pruinosus in the vicinity of Gabes-Ghannouch industrial complex. Cd, Pb, Zn, and Cu concentrations were measured in soils, leaf litter, and P. pruinosus individua...

An improved procedure for the synthesis of meloxicam drug (methyl 4-hydroxy-2-methyl-2H-1,2-benzothiazol-2-amine-3-carboxylate 1,1-dioxide) was described in one-step using mainly impregnated montmorillonite K10 (MK10) with ZnCl2 as a heterogeneous catalyst. This innovative method was compared to the last described procedure employed in the manufact...

Background: Since the 1990s, technical developments and theoretical studies of columns packed with core-shell and sub-core-shell particles demonstrated improved efficiency separation, time reduction, solvent use than fully porous columns. Thanks to this chromatographic system, environmental pollutants are being analysed under green conditions. Obje...

This study aimed to observe the type of asymmetry exhibited by Porcellio laevis sampled from 15 sites belonging to Tunisian industrialized areas. Physicochemical parameters such as pH, organic matter and CaCO3 contents were measured in soils. Moreover, Cd, Pb, Zn, and Cu concentrations were determined in both soils and woodlice. Additionally, 10 me...

The sequential extraction scheme defined by the Standards, Measurements and Testing programme (SM&T) was applied on 8 samples from 8 plots, located in an urban area which was affected by the past emissions of a former lead smelter. The total cadmium, lead and zinc concentrations were determined in each soil sample as well as the carbonate contents...

Different remediation techniques have been used to restore metal-contaminated sites, including stabilizing metals by adding amendments to the soils. This study experimented three biochars, made from wood and miscanthus, cultivated on contaminated and uncontaminated soils, used as amendments at a 2% application rate on a metal-contaminated soil for...

The concept of green chemistry was appeared in the USA in the nineties. Since the publication of the 12 principles of this concept, many reactions in organic chemistry have been developed, chemical products have been synthesized under environmentally friendly conditions. Lewis acids-mediated synthetic transformations are by far the most numerous, b...

The fractionation of phosphorus in 9 soils was established according to the standards, measurements and testing (SMT) programme. Five fractions were so defined and phosphorus was analysed by spectrophotometry. In parallel, the phosphorus extracted in each fraction was determined using graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GFAAS) after va...

In this study, data on several metals (Cd, Pb, Zn and Cu) in soil and isopod Porcellio laevis taken at 21 sites from the most important industrial areas in Tunisia (Bizerte, Nabeul, Zaghouan, Sfax and Gabes) were presented. Heavy metal concentrations in both soil samples and isopods were determined using atomic absorption spectrometry. Soil contami...

The objective of this study was to evaluate the sorption efficiency of eight biochars, made from Miscanthus x giganteus cultivated on contaminated agricultural soil, in aqueous solutions contaminated with metals alone or mixed with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. These biochars were produced in different pyrolysis conditions (temperature, 400/600...

The most recent in vitro tests used to determine metal bioaccessiblility are generally time-consuming and expensive. This study aimed at determining potential relationships between the concentrations of metals extracted using single-extraction methods and the concentrations of bioaccessible metals assessed by a harmonised in vitro test, the Unified...

The behaviour of metals mainly depends on soil pH, carbonate contents and contamination level, which should be considered for the management of contaminated soils. In this study, kitchen garden topsoils (0–25 cm) were sampled from the area around three smelters in France, with different Cd and Pb contamination levels. Effect of a phosphate amendmen...

The C18 column (250 mm x 4.6 mm) packed with 5 µm core-shell particles was used in an effort to optimize the separation of 8 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons under very low pressure values (44 - 52 bars), low temperature (16 °C) and in 13 minutes. Chromatogram and peaks of each polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon studied, obtained using an ultra fast l...

Accumulation of heavy metals in soils poses a potential risk to plant production, which is related to availability of the metals in soil. The phytoavailability of metals is usually evaluated using extracting solutions such as salts, acids or chelates. The purpose of this study was to identify the most significant soil parameters that can be used to...

An initial exploration was conducted using mathematical and statistical methods to obtain relevant information about the determination of the physicochemical parameters capable of controlling As uptake by ryegrass grown on contaminated topsoils. Concentrations of As in the soils were from 10 to 47 mg/kg, mainly in the As(V) form (57%–73%). Concentr...

The energy crop Miscanthus presents high potentials for phytomanagement. Its shoot yield and nutrient accumulation has been extensively characterized in uncontaminated agricultural soils, while very little is known for metal-contaminated conditions. This study aimed at assessing potential differences in dry matter and metal and nutrient accumulatio...

Aided phytostabilisation using trees and fly ashes is a promising technique which has shown its effectiveness in the management of highly metal-contaminated soils. However, this success is generally established based on topsoil physicochemical analysis and short-term experiments. This paper focuses on the long-term effects of the afforestation and...

Effects of temperature on the reversed-phase chromatographic behavior of PAHs were investigated on three columns. The first was the recent C 18 column (250 mm × 4.6 mm) packed with 5 µ m core-shell particles while the others were more conventional C 18 columns (250 mm × 4.6 mm) packed with fully porous particles. Among the 16 PAHs studied, special...

Metal contamination of urban soils and homegrown vegetables has caused major concern. Some studies showed that cadmium (Cd) was among the most significant hazards in kitchen garden soils and prolonged exposure to this metal could cause deleterious health effects in humans. In general, most risk assessment procedures are based on total concentration...

An ultrafast liquid chromatography method with fluorescence detection has been optimized for the determination of 15 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) using a recent Kinetex-C18 column (250 mm × 4.6 mm). This column has been recently packed with a new brand of porous shell particles with an average particle size of 5 μm to separate various co...

Emissions from primary lead smelters have been recognized as one of the mainly factor which has contributed to the contamination of soils by metals. Less attention has been paid to volatile metalloids such as arsenic (As) which accompanies lead (Pb) smelting activities. One of the objectives of this study was to determine the As concentrations in v...

The in situ stabilization of metals in soils using plants with great biomass value is a promising, cost-effective, and ecologically friendly alternative to manage metal-polluted sites. The goal of phytostabilization is to reduce the bioavailable concentrations of metals in polluted soil and thus reduce the risk to the environment and human health....

As inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), the electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ETAAS) is a method of choice for the analysis of arsenic at concentrations around 0.1 μg.L-1. These two methods are subject to various interferences for which a control is essential to determine As at trace and ultra-trace concentration leve...

Hydride generator with a continuous flow accessory coupled with atomic absorption spectrometry (HGAAS) is often free from interferences. However, the performance of this analytical technique depends on the operating conditions. Associated with an electrothermal atomizer (ETAAS), antimony (Sb) is determined regardless of its oxidation state but is h...

Solutions, including the extracting solutions used in the sequential procedure recommended by the Standard, Measurements and Testing Program, with different cadmium and iron concentrations were prepared and analyzed using combined electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ETAAS) and two background compensation techniques. The first was based o...

Soil contamination by metals from anthropogenic activities (e.g., mining and smelting) is a major concern for the environment and human health. Environmental availability of cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), and indium (In) in 27 urban soils located around two former Pb and Zn smelters in Northern France were studied by analysing the...

An investigation was undertaken to evaluate the empirical model developed by Pelfrêne et al. (2012), predicting the human bioaccessibility of Cd and Pb in smelter-contaminated agricultural topsoils, by including other soil uses: 50 urban and 65 woody habitat topsoils collected in the same area. The results showed that land use significantly affecte...

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are ubiquitous in the environment (soils, sediments, atmospheric particles, suspended particles in water) and in the food chain. These compounds are known for their impacts on the health due to their genotoxic, mutagenic and carcinogenic effects and thus are subject of many studies about the risks they genera...

Concentrations of cadmium (Cd) in extracting solutions (neutral salts) from contaminated soils are often too low to be determined by conventional flame atomic absorption spectrometry. For this reason, determination of Cd requires sensitive analytical methods free from interference problems generated by samples. In this context, vapor generation ato...

Cadmium concentrations in CaCl2 extracting solutions at various concentrations were determined by graphite furnace atomic absorption using two background correctors: the deuterium and the high-speed self-reversal background correction systems. Under- and overestimation of the Cd absorbance signals in CaCl2 solutions were observed for concentrations...

The effects of grinding size and shaking process on the results of Cd (cadmium), Pb (lead) and Zn (zinc) distribution measurements three agricultural and three kitchen garden soils highly contaminated by past atmospheric fallout of two lead and zinc smelters in northern France were studied. The physico-chemical parameters and pseudo-total concentra...

An investigation was undertaken to identify the most significant soil parameters that can be used to predict Cd, Pb, and Zn bioaccessibility in smelter-contaminated agricultural soils. A robust model was established from an extended database of soils by using: (i) a training set of 280 samples to select the main soil parameters, to define the best...

Zinc and iron concentrations were determined after digestion, water, and three-step sequential extractions of contaminated soils. Analyses were carried out using flame absorption spectrometry with two background correctors: a deuterium lamp used as the continuum light source (D(2) method) and the high-speed self-reversal method (HSSR method). Regar...

In contrast to the inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, the electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ETAAS) is not a widely used analytical technique for the determination of rare elements such as indium in contaminated soils. Based on the data from the literature, this work has aimed to define the optimal conditions of the ETAAS usi...