Papers

20 results
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Article Tier 2

Evaluating chemometric strategies and machine learning approaches for a miniaturized near-infrared spectrometer in plastic waste classification

Not relevant to microplastics — this study compares machine learning and chemometric methods (including PCA, SVM, and neural networks) for classifying plastic waste types using a handheld near-infrared spectrometer, focused on improving plastic recycling sorting rather than microplastic detection.

2023 ACTA IMEKO 10 citations
Article Tier 2

Rapid and Nondestructive On-Site Classification Method for Consumer-Grade Plastics Based on Portable NIR Spectrometer and Machine Learning

Researchers used a portable near-infrared spectrometer combined with machine learning to rapidly identify and classify seven types of consumer plastic waste on-site without damaging the samples. Faster and cheaper plastic identification tools are important for improving plastic recycling efficiency and ultimately reducing the amount of plastic that ends up as microplastic pollution.

2020 Journal of Spectroscopy 43 citations
Article Tier 2

The potential of NIR spectroscopy in the separation of plastics for pyrolysis

This study examined the potential of near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy to identify and sort different plastic types for chemical recycling, finding it can effectively distinguish major polymer types. Better plastic sorting technology could improve recycling rates and reduce the amount of plastic that ends up as environmental microplastic pollution.

2021 Electronic Imaging 14 citations
Article Tier 2

An investigation on the applications of advanced Infrared Spectroscopy, Spectral Imaging and Machine Learning for Polymer Characterization, including microplastics

This study integrated advanced infrared spectroscopy, spectral imaging, chemometrics, and machine learning to identify and characterize microplastics and polymer degradation products. The combination of techniques improved both the accuracy and throughput of MP analysis compared to conventional methods.

2025 Research Repository UCD (University College Dublin)
Article Tier 2

Mid-infrared spectroscopy and machine learning for postconsumer plastics recycling

Mid-infrared spectroscopy combined with machine learning was developed to sort and identify postconsumer plastics, aiming to prevent contamination and improve recycling stream purity. The approach could help close material loops and reduce the volume of plastic ultimately entering the environment.

2023 Environmental Science Advances 21 citations
Article Tier 2

A comparison of machine learning techniques for the detection of microplastics

This German-language study compared machine learning algorithms for classifying microplastics based on their infrared spectra, finding that several methods could reliably distinguish polymer types. Automating microplastic identification through machine learning could greatly increase the speed and throughput of environmental monitoring.

2020 reposiTUm (TU Wien)
Article Tier 2

A comprehensive and fast microplastics identification based on near-infrared hyperspectral imaging (HSI-NIR) and chemometrics

Researchers developed a near-infrared hyperspectral imaging method combined with chemometric analysis for rapid, high-throughput identification of microplastic types in mixed samples, achieving high classification accuracy and offering a faster alternative to FTIR and Raman methods for routine monitoring.

2021 Environmental Pollution 118 citations
Article Tier 2

Machine Learning Method for Microplastic Identification Using a Combination of Machine Learning and Raman Spectroscopy

Researchers developed a machine learning method for identifying microplastics using a combination of multiple spectroscopic techniques, improving classification accuracy beyond single-method approaches and enabling automated polymer identification.

2024 1 citations
Article Tier 2

A New Chemometric Approach for Automatic Identification of Microplastics from Environmental Compartments Based on FT-IR Spectroscopy

Researchers developed a new chemometric approach for automatic identification of microplastics from environmental samples, designed to handle the challenges of biofilm contamination and surface aging that typically impede standard spectroscopic characterisation methods.

2017 Analytical Chemistry 117 citations
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

Identification of Polymers with a Small Data Set of Mid-infrared Spectra: A Comparison between Machine Learning and Deep Learning Models

Researchers compared multiple machine learning and deep learning models for identifying polymer types from mid-infrared spectral data using a small reference dataset, finding that certain deep learning architectures outperformed traditional methods even with limited training examples, supporting automated microplastic identification.

2023 Environmental Science & Technology Letters 19 citations
Article Tier 2

Advancing Plastic Waste Classification and Recycling Efficiency: Integrating Image Sensors and Deep Learning Algorithms

Researchers developed a deep learning approach combined with image sensors to improve plastic waste classification and recycling efficiency. The study demonstrates that this method can distinguish between chemically similar plastics like PET and PET-G that conventional near-infrared spectroscopy struggles to differentiate, potentially improving automated sorting systems.

2023 Applied Sciences 46 citations
Article Tier 2

A Comparative Study of Machine Learning and Deep Learning Models for Microplastic Classification using FTIR Spectra

Researchers compared machine learning and deep learning models for classifying microplastics using FTIR spectra, evaluating multiple algorithmic approaches against standardised spectral datasets. The study assessed classification accuracy and computational efficiency, identifying which model architectures best discriminate between polymer types in environmental microplastic samples.

2023 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Classifying polymers with mid-IR spectra and machine learning: From monitoring to detection

Researchers applied machine learning to mid-infrared spectra to automatically classify different types of plastic polymers found in the environment. Accurate polymer identification is essential for microplastic research, and this automated approach could improve monitoring efficiency and data consistency across studies.

2023 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Traceability of Microplastic Fragments from Waste Plastic Express Packages Using Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Combined with Chemometrics

Researchers used near-infrared spectroscopy combined with chemometric machine learning to identify which type of plastic packaging material a microplastic fragment came from — essentially tracing the source of express delivery packaging debris. Being able to trace microplastic fragments back to their original packaging type could help identify which industries and products contribute most to microplastic pollution and inform more targeted regulation.

2024 Molecules 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Rapid detection of colored and colorless macro- and micro-plastics in complex environment via near-infrared spectroscopy and machine learning.

Researchers developed a near-infrared spectroscopy method combined with machine learning classifiers -- including PLS-DA, random forest, and XGBoost -- to rapidly identify both colored and colorless plastic fragments across different polymer types, thicknesses, and environmental backgrounds. The approach improved detection of colorless plastics that are typically underestimated in environmental surveys, with random forest achieving the highest classification accuracy.

2025 Journal of environmental sciences (China)
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

Microplastic Analysis in Soil Using Ultra-High-Resolution UV–Vis–NIR Spectroscopy and Chemometric Modeling

Researchers tested a new method using UV-visible-near infrared spectroscopy combined with machine learning to identify microplastics in soil samples. They found the technique could rapidly and accurately distinguish between different plastic polymers and natural soil particles. The study offers a promising alternative to current labor-intensive identification methods, potentially making large-scale microplastic soil monitoring more practical.

2024 Microplastics 8 citations
Article Tier 2

Deep learning for chemometric analysis of plastic spectral data from infrared and Raman databases

A novel deep learning architecture called PolymerSpectraDecisionNet was trained to identify common recyclable plastics from infrared and Raman spectral databases. The model outperformed conventional chemometric methods for polymer classification and was designed to handle real-world spectral variability relevant to the plastics recycling industry.

2022 Resources Conservation and Recycling 55 citations
Article Tier 2

Spectral Classification of Large-Scale Blended (Micro)Plastics Using FT-IR Raw Spectra and Image-Based Machine Learning

Researchers developed and compared four machine learning classifiers for identifying microplastic types from Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy data using large-scale blended plastic datasets. The study found that a 1D convolutional neural network achieved the best overall accuracy at over 97%, outperforming decision tree and random forest models, offering a scalable alternative to traditional library-search methods for microplastic identification.

2023 Environmental Science & Technology 61 citations