RITMER NETWORK FOR THE RESEARCH ANDINNOVATION IN OIL AND CHEMICAL ANTIPOLLUTIONTECHNOLOGY : A FRENCH TOOL FOR INNOVATIVEPROJECTS

摘要

The Technological Research and Innovation Network RITMERrnwas created by the French Ministry of research in 2001 after thernERIKA oil spill, in order to structure the French research, and torndevelop links between public and private research and developmentrnin the fight against accidental pollution domain. The networkrnis a tool created to stimulate the innovative research and is complementaryrnto activities carried out by Ifremer and Cedre. It bringsrntogether representatives of academic research, industry andrnauthorities responsible for spill control preparedness and operations.rnIfremer and the Brest University are the moderators of thernnetwork, and Cedre is one of its most active members.rnThe main activity of the Ritmer is to define priority areas andrnto publish calls for proposals, and organize the selection of innovativernprojects to be supported by the French Ministries. Thesernprojects must associate research institutes or universities, withrnindustry or other users of the R&D results, and they should haverndirect potential application in the fight operations.rnSince 2001, 25 projects have been selected, representing morernthan 13 million Euros of budget and 7.7 million Euros of supportrnby the ministries. These projects concern the main problems encounteredrnin case of accident: detection tools, evaluation, models,rnrecovery at sea and on the coast, waste treatment, organization,rncommunication . Two of them deal with chemical spills.rnThe paper describes the main projects and gives more detailedrndescription of seven of them which have already produced significantrnresults after two years of work: remote sensing of sunken oil,rnthermal treatment of oily waste, oil biodegrading parameters,rnbehavior of chemical products at sea.rnThe future priorities for the French research are also presentedrnin relation to two Ritmer seminars organized in 2003 and 2004,rnrespectively on detection devices and probes, and on innovativerntools and methods for the response in coastal areas. Several internationalrnactions which have been conducted for the coordination of research in Europe, and in cooperation with Japan and Spainrnare also described.