Development of robust models for rapid classification of microplastic polymer types based on near infrared hyperspectral images.

Anal Methods

Marine Biodiversity and Environmental Assessment Research Center (BioEnv), Research Institute for Global Change (RIGC), Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), 2-15 Natsushima-cho, Yokosuka, Kanagawa 237-0061, Japan.

Published: May 2021

AI Article Synopsis

  • Hyperspectral data were analyzed for nine types of plastic particles in both large (1 mm) and small (100-500 μm) sizes on dry and wet glass fiber filters.
  • Smaller particles showed weaker reflectances, particularly on wet filters, due to the interaction between particle size and water absorption of infrared light.
  • Robust classification models were developed to accurately identify polymer types in wet conditions, even detecting microalgae-covered polystyrene beads, facilitating faster and easier analysis of microplastics.

Article Abstract

Hyperspectral data in the near infrared range were examined for nine common types of plastic particles of 1 mm and 100-500 μm sizes on dry and wet glass fiber filters. Weaker peak intensities were detected for small particles compared to large particles, and the reflectances were weaker at longer wavelengths when the particles were measured on a wet filter. These phenomena are explainable due to the effect of the correlation between the particle size and the absorption of infrared light by water. We constructed robust classification models that are capable of classifying polymer types, regardless of particle size or filter conditions (wet vs. dry), based on hyperspectral data for small particles measured on wet filters. Using the models, we also successfully classified the polymer type of polystyrene beads covered with microalgae, which simulates the natural conditions of microplastics in the ocean. This study suggests that hyperspectral imaging techniques with appropriate classification models allow the identification of microplastics without the time- and labor-consuming procedures of drying samples and removing biofilms, thus enabling more rapid analyses.

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Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/d1ay00110hDOI Listing

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