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Updated: Jun 14, 2026
Protocol for Microplastics Sampling on the Sea Surface and Sample Analysis
Published on: December 16, 2016
Feasibility Study for the Development of a Low-Cost, Compact, and Fast Sensor for the Detection and Classification of
Bruno Cocciaro1, Silvia Merlino2, Marco Bianucci2
1Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche-Istituto di Chimica dei Composti Organo-Metallici (CNR-ICCOM), U.O.S. di Pisa, Area della Ricerca del CNR, Via G. Moruzzi, 1, 56124 Pisa, Italy.
Abstract:
The detection and classification of microplastics in the marine environment is a complex task that implies the use of delicate and expensive instrumentation. In this paper, we present a preliminary feasibility study for the development of a low-cost, compact microplastics sensor that could be mounted, in principle, on a float of drifters, for the monitoring of large marine surfaces. The preliminary results of the study indicate that a simple sensor equipped with three infrared-sensitive photodiodes can reach classification accuracies around 90% for the most-diffused floating microplastics in the marine environment (polyethylene and polypropylene).
