Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Detection and classification of microplastics in marine environment using a low-cost, compact, and fast sensor

Engineers developed a low-cost, compact sensor using three infrared photodiodes that can identify the most common floating marine microplastics with about 90% accuracy. The sensor is designed to be mounted on ocean floats for large-scale marine monitoring.

2023 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Polymer Type Identification of Marine Plastic Litter Using a Miniature Near-Infrared Spectrometer (MicroNIR)

Researchers tested a miniature near-infrared spectrometer (MicroNIR) for rapidly identifying polymer types in marine plastic litter collected from beaches, finding it could accurately distinguish common plastics like polyethylene and polypropylene. Low-cost, portable identification tools are important for large-scale monitoring of marine plastic pollution.

2020 Applied Sciences 59 citations
Article Tier 2

Compact low-cost sensor for microplastics detection and classification in marine and aquatic environments

Researchers developed a compact, low-cost sensor for detecting and classifying microplastics in marine and aquatic environments, designed to reduce the economic burden of MP monitoring along coastlines and enable more frequent and scalable environmental surveillance.

2025 Instrumentation viewpoint
Article Tier 2

Compact low-cost sensor for microplastics detection and classification in marine and aquatic environments

Researchers developed a compact, low-cost sensor for detecting and classifying microplastics in marine and aquatic environments, designed to reduce the economic burden of MP monitoring along coastlines and enable more frequent and scalable environmental surveillance.

2025
Article Tier 2

Quantification of ternary microplastic mixtures through an ultra-compact near-infrared spectrometer coupled with chemometric tools

Researchers developed a miniaturized near-infrared spectrometer paired with chemometric analysis to quantify mixtures of the three most common environmental microplastics — polypropylene, polyethylene, and polystyrene — demonstrating its promise as a portable, field-deployable detection tool.

2022 Environmental Research 32 citations
Article Tier 2

A Portable Optical Sensor for Microplastic Detection: Development and Calibration

Researchers built a portable, low-cost optical sensor prototype designed to detect microplastics by shining multiple wavelengths of light through water samples. The device measures how different plastic particles absorb and scatter light, producing color spectra that can help identify microplastics. The sensor offers an affordable field-deployable option for environmental monitoring, with potential future improvements using machine learning for automated identification.

2025 Applied Sciences 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Designing a Low-Cost Microcontroller-Based Rover for Microplastic Detection Using Deep-Learning Image Detection and Near-Infrared Spectroscopy

Researchers designed a low-cost microcontroller-based rover for detecting nurdle microplastics in shoreline environments, integrating a compressed deep-learning object detection model trained on 150 images of polyethylene pellets with an AS7263 near-infrared sensor for spectral confirmation of polyethylene. The Raspberry Pi 3-based system demonstrated efficient microplastic identification across varying lighting conditions and burial depths in sand.

2023 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Study on marine microplastics monitoring based on infrared spectroscopy technology

Researchers developed an infrared spectroscopy-based monitoring system for marine microplastics, applying support vector machine algorithms to hyperspectral images to identify plastic types and abundances in seawater. The study found microplastic abundances ranging from roughly 5 to 39 particles per litre across sampling sites, with fibers (53-68%) and debris (23-34%) as dominant shapes, demonstrating the method's feasibility for rapid environmental monitoring.

2023 Materials Express 3 citations
Article Tier 2

A Hybrid MIR-spectrum Processing Algorithm for Microplastics Analysis

Researchers developed a hybrid algorithm for classifying microplastics using their mid-infrared spectral signatures, targeting polypropylene, polyethylene, and polystyrene. The model combines principal component analysis with machine learning techniques to improve classification accuracy. The study offers an automated approach that could make routine microplastic identification faster and more reliable for environmental monitoring.

2024 2 citations
Article Tier 2

On the Potential for Optical Detection of Microplastics in the Ocean

This study examines the potential for optical methods to detect microplastics in ocean water at large spatial scales, noting that while optical detection is promising for overcoming the limitations of discrete water sampling, methods remain in early development and reference libraries of microplastic optical properties are sparse.

2023 Oceanography 13 citations
Article Tier 2

From macro to micro: Comprehensive marine beach litter analysis using portable NIR

Researchers conducted a comprehensive analysis of marine beach litter using portable near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy, combining macro-litter surveys with microplastic characterisation to assess polymer composition and pollution levels. The study demonstrated that portable NIR technology can bridge the gap between macro- and micro-scale beach litter monitoring, offering a practical tool for national marine litter surveillance programmes.

2025 Marine Pollution Bulletin
Article Tier 2

Handheld portable FTIR spectroscopy for the triage of micro and meso sized plastics in the marine environment incorporating an accelerated weathering study and an aging estimation

Researchers tested a handheld portable FTIR spectrometer for rapidly identifying micro and mesosized plastic debris on beaches and in the marine environment. Portable FTIR devices enable fast field identification of plastic polymer types, making marine litter surveys more efficient.

2019 Repository@Hull (Worktribe) (University of Hull) 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Near-Infrared Light and OpenCV as Components for Low-Cost Airborne Microplastic Detection Machine

Researchers built a low-cost airborne microplastic detection machine using near-infrared light and OpenCV image processing, successfully differentiating polyethylene, polystyrene, and polyester particles smaller than 5 mm in testing at 1–5 minute intervals.

2024 ISPRS annals of the photogrammetry, remote sensing and spatial information sciences
Article Tier 2

Training and evaluating machine learning algorithms for ocean microplastics classification through vibrational spectroscopy

Researchers evaluated multiple machine learning algorithms for automatically classifying ocean microplastics using infrared spectroscopy data across 13 polymer types. The study found that Support Vector Machine classifiers provided the best balance of simplicity and accuracy, offering a practical tool for faster and more reliable identification of microplastic contaminants.

2021 Chemosphere 69 citations
Article Tier 2

Quantifying Marine Plastic Debris in a Beach Environment Using Spectral Analysis

Researchers analyzed shortwave infrared reflectance spectra of weathered marine plastic debris on sandy beaches, finding that polymer type significantly influences detection capability at sub-pixel surface covers relevant to remote sensing applications.

2021 Remote Sensing 25 citations
Article Tier 2

Rapid shipboard measurement of net-collected marine microplastic polymer types using near-infrared hyperspectral imaging

Researchers developed a rapid near-infrared hyperspectral imaging method for identifying polymer types in ship-collected marine microplastic samples, achieving results in minutes compared to hours for conventional methods and enabling higher-throughput ocean monitoring.

2023 Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry 24 citations
Article Tier 2

Developing and testing a workflow to identify microplastics using near infrared hyperspectral imaging

Researchers developed a near-infrared hyperspectral imaging workflow with an open spectral database to rapidly identify microplastics by polymer type, achieving over 88% accuracy for polypropylene, polyethylene, PET, and polystyrene particles larger than 500 micrometers.

2023 Chemosphere 54 citations
Article Tier 2

Towards a low-cost, rapid microplastic optical detection system using fluorescent staining through Nile Red for in situ ocean deployment

This study presents a proof-of-concept for a portable, low-cost microplastic detection device that uses fluorescent dye (Nile Red) and a simple optical sensor to detect plastic particles in water. The system produced a signal that scaled linearly with microplastic concentration in lab tests. Development of cheap, field-deployable sensors like this could dramatically improve our ability to monitor microplastic pollution in real time across oceans and waterways, where current lab-based methods are too expensive and slow for widespread use.

2023 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Outlook on optical identification of micro- and nanoplastics in aquatic environments

Researchers studied the optical properties of micro- and nanoplastics and evaluated near-infrared spectroscopy as a detection method for plastic particles in water, finding that optical techniques show promise for rapid, non-destructive identification. Improved optical detection methods could enable faster and more cost-effective monitoring of plastic pollution in aquatic environments.

2018 Chemosphere 66 citations
Article Tier 2

Development of a rapid detection protocol for microplastics using reflectance-FTIR spectroscopic imaging and multivariate classification

Reflectance-FTIR spectroscopy was evaluated as a faster and more automated detection method for microplastics in environmental samples, with results showing strong potential for high-throughput screening. The method could reduce the time and cost of routine microplastic monitoring programs.

2023 Environmental Science Advances 23 citations
Article Tier 2

Intelligent Visible-Near Infrared Micro-Hyperspectral Sensing System for Rapid Chemical Mapping of Microplastics and Metal Oxides

Identifying and mapping microplastics quickly and accurately is a major challenge for environmental monitoring, and this study introduces a low-cost imaging system combining visible and near-infrared light with deep-learning AI to classify different types of microplastics and other materials. The system achieved 97% accuracy in distinguishing between eight different chemical species — including spectrally similar plastics — while being far faster and cheaper than conventional methods like electron microscopy. This technology could make large-scale microplastic screening in food, water, and environmental samples much more practical.

2026 ACS Sensors
Article Tier 2

From Macro to Micro: Comprehensive coastal litter analysis using portable NIR

Researchers applied portable near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy to conduct comprehensive coastal litter analysis spanning both macro- and micro-size fractions, aiming to bridge the information gap between existing monitoring strategies that separately categorize macroplastics and microplastics on beaches.

2024 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

The applicability of reflectance micro-Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy for the detection of synthetic microplastics in marine sediments

Researchers developed and validated an optimized micro-FT-IR spectroscopy protocol for detecting microplastics in coastal marine sediments, providing a detailed operating procedure. The standardized method improves detection reliability and enables comparison of results across laboratories studying sediment microplastic contamination.

2012 The Science of The Total Environment 375 citations
Article Tier 2

Design and Development of an Advanced Sensor Prototype for the Detection of Microplastics

Researchers designed and developed an advanced sensor prototype for detecting microplastics in water, combining spectroscopic and signal processing technologies into a portable device. The prototype demonstrated accurate microplastic identification across multiple polymer types in field conditions.

2024 Preprints.org