Renovation of autoclaves and safety measures in the "high-pressure" laboratory

Project description

The "Synthesis and experimentation" section of the Geochemistry-Mineralogy platform comprises 2 laboratories. Each of these laboratories comprises a set of pressure- and temperature-controlled reactors and autoclaves used either to synthesise reference minerals or to carry out experiments under hydrothermal conditions to study natural geochemical processes. All these experiments are carried out over a wide range of pressures and temperatures, up to 4,000 bars and 600°C. This ability to reproduce the conditions under which minerals are formed in such a wide range of conditions is relatively unique in France, and is a major asset for the platform. These facilities are used mainly by the Mineralogy and Geochemistry teams for internal research projects at ISTerre, but also as part of collaborations with external teams (including international teams).
This project is aimed specifically at updating the high-pressure/high-temperature autoclaves and making the high-pressure laboratory safe.