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Updated: Nov 3, 2025
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Sampling, Sorting, and Characterizing Microplastics in Aquatic Environments with High Suspended Sediment Loads and Large Floating Debris
Published on: July 28, 2018
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Field-Portable Microplastic Sensing in Aqueous Environments: A Perspective on Emerging Techniques.
Morgan G Blevins1,2,3,4, Harry L Allen5, Beckett C Colson1,2,6
1MIT-WHOI Joint Program in Oceanography/Applied Ocean Science & Engineering, Cambridge and Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA.
Sensors (Basel, Switzerland)
|June 2, 2021
Summary
Researchers are developing new technologies to quickly identify and measure microplastics (MPs) in water. These methods aim for field deployment, overcoming limitations of current lab-based techniques for environmental monitoring.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Science
- Analytical Chemistry
- Technology Development
Background:
- Microplastics (MPs) are pervasive pollutants in aquatic environments globally.
- Current methods for MP characterization are often lab-bound, requiring extensive sample preparation.
- Existing techniques yield variable data quality and content, hindering accurate environmental assessment.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review and demonstrate prospective technologies for microplastic measurement.
- To focus on field-deployable solutions for rapid MP identification and quantification.
- To assess technologies based on their data products (count, size, polymer type) and field-readiness.
Main Methods:
- Exploration of multiple prototype systems for MP analysis.
- Evaluation of techniques including pyrolysis-differential mobility spectroscopy and short-wave infrared imaging.
- Demonstration of methods like Nile Red labeling, acoustophoresis, ultrasound, impedance spectroscopy, and dielectrophoresis.
Main Results:
- Preliminary experimental results from various prototype systems are presented.
- These systems measure diverse physical properties of microplastics.
- The focus is on transitioning measurement techniques from laboratory settings to field applications.
Conclusions:
- There is a critical need for rapid, accurate, and field-deployable technologies for microplastic characterization.
- Several promising techniques are being developed to address current analytical limitations.
- Advancing these technologies will improve environmental monitoring of microplastic pollution.
