3. Green" analytical techniques

Once the sample has been processed, an additional separation step is often required to improve selectivity. Numerous methodological and instrumental efforts are being made to make this separation step more compatible with the environment. In parallel with these investigations, other techniques are being developed to bypass these chemical sample preparation steps. In particular, spectrometric techniques are increasingly used to carry out elemental or molecular analyses directly on site or in the laboratory. In certain specific cases, the use of analysis techniques directly on solid samples can greatly reduce environmental pollution. Finally, electrochemical techniques and chemical or biochemical sensors are well suited to characterizing chemical species on site.