Harnessing invasive plants for use in industry
From pests to products: a chemist turns invasive plant species in France into ecocatalysts - used by various industries like cosmetics. Removing the plants mitigates their environmental impact and provides a sustainable source of raw materials.
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00:00It may look and sound like a weed, but Japanese knotweed, Fallopia japonica, can actually
00:08be a useful plant.
00:11Harvested by hand to prevent damage, it grows almost everywhere along this tributary of
00:15the River Rhône in southern France.
00:18Chemist Claude Grison discovered it here.
00:21Left unchecked, this invasive species is extremely harmful.
00:27It grows three to four times faster than the other plants, so it suffocates biodiversity
00:32in this area, which has an exceptional array of plants, so it's a real catastrophe from
00:37an ecological point of view, but also from an economic point of view, because it chokes
00:42this tributary that should be regulating excess water from the Rhône.
00:48One possibility would be to try and clear out the plants, but Claude Grison found a
00:53way to put them to good use.
00:55She developed a unique process to acquire natural catalysts.
00:59These are widely used in drug research and cosmetics production, because they're highly
01:03efficient at speeding up complex chemical reactions to create new molecules.
01:09The plant has a unique physiology.
01:11It can emit molecules that poison its neighbours.
01:16Claude Grison has long been fascinated by the incredible abilities of plants.
01:21More than ten years ago, she worked with a group of students researching the unique
01:25properties of indigenous species in New Caledonia, a French overseas territory in the Pacific.
01:33In New Caledonia, I discovered some exceptional plant species that tolerate pollution, so
01:38to speak.
01:40Better still, they can actually extract metals from their surroundings and store them in
01:45their leaves.
01:47With these plants, it's possible to regenerate soil that's been completely degraded by the
01:51presence of metals.
01:55Here in France, Grison has been focusing on invasive plants.
01:59Some species can purify polluted water.
02:02Others like Japanese knotweed are now being processed in the lab for use in industrial
02:06applications.
02:09The Compagnie Nationale du Rhône is in charge of managing land along the river and controlling
02:14invasive species here.
02:16Together with scientists, they harvest the plants across several administrative areas.
02:21We're looking to develop pest control techniques that can be used on a large or small scale
02:27and on different plants.
02:29The benefit is that we're promoting a type of chemistry that is green and sustainable.
02:34It's a kind of circular economy that integrates various species.
02:42Today the team has only managed to clear a few hundred metres of land.
02:46The plants are taken to a warehouse where they're dried for at least three days or longer
02:50in wet weather.
02:52Then they're shredded and sent to the laboratory.
02:56Here the plant material is placed in the oven to dry for a few hours.
03:02Only then is it ready for the chemical process in the lab.
03:06The resulting organic catalyst is mixed with water and a few natural additives to create
03:10a final product that's indispensable in cosmetics, for example.
03:14The final product is entirely natural, a clean alternative for an industry looking
03:19to shift away from harmful petroleum substances in personal care products.
03:28People think of chemistry as a discipline with a terrible environmental impact, which
03:32is true.
03:33But chemistry also gives us a better understanding of ecology, how a plant or insect functions
03:38on a molecular level.
03:40And so chemistry can have a positive impact on the environment.
03:44I'm interested in reconciling these two disciplines.
03:51Crizon's discoveries about plants in New Caledonia and France are so groundbreaking
03:55she received the European Inventor Award in 2022.
03:59The winner is Claude Crizon.
04:12Claude Crizon has already founded two companies, proof that her organic catalysts are in high
04:17demand.