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In-line identification of Pb-based pigments in fishing nets and ropes based on hyperspectral imaging and machine learning
Summary
Researchers assessed microplastic contamination in drinking water sources across a large river basin, examining both surface water and groundwater at multiple sites. All sampled sources contained microplastics, with surface water generally showing higher concentrations, and fibers were consistently the dominant morphotype across all water types and locations.
Fishing lines, nets, and ropes represent a significant portion of plastic pollution in marine environments, and can contain hazardous additives. The development of less laborious and faster methods aiming at identifying plastic-related additives is therefore needed, in order to facilitate effective recycling. This work aims to develop an industrial inline method to identify lead-based pigments in fishnets by an industrial hyperspectral imaging (HSI) system working in visible-near-infrared spectral range (Vis-NIR, 450 to 1050 nm) and machine learning. A Vis-NIR spectral sample set comprising un-contaminated and lead contaminated (143 to 2430 mg L-1) plastic classes were used to build the classification model via Principal Component Analysis and clustering. The content of the samples was characterized by X-ray fluorescence (XRF), Attenuated Total Reflection (ATR-FTIR), differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis, and burning in astmospheric air. Fishnets containing lead-based pigments with lead concentrations > 1000 mg L-1 (0.1 wt%) were accurately identified by the industrial HSI, and the lead content was corroborated with ATR-FTIR and XRF measurements. In addition, lead contaminated plastic area and mass can be estimated via calibration curve using the pixels numbers vs mass of fibrous plastics with a detectability of 120 mg (R2 = 0.997).