Journal of Sensor Science and Technology (센서학회지)

The Korean Sensors Society (한국센서학회)
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Development of a System for Analyzing the Types and Sizes of Microplastics in an Aquatic Environment

수계 내 미세플라스틱의 종과 크기를 분석하기 위한 시스템 개발

  • Su-jeong Jeon (Research Institute, MachTech Co., Ltd.) ;
  • Joon-seok Lee (Research Institute, MachTech Co., Ltd.) ;
  • Bo-ram Park (Research Institute, MachTech Co., Ltd.) ;
  • Kyung-hoon Beak (Research Institute, MachTech Co., Ltd.)
  • 전수정 (마하테크 부설연구소) ;
  • 이준석 (마하테크 부설연구소) ;
  • 박보람 (마하테크 부설연구소) ;
  • 백경훈 (마하테크 부설연구소)
  • Received : 2024.05.28
  • Accepted : 2024.06.26
  • Published : 2024.07.31
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Abstract

Every year, approximately 350 million tons of plastic waste are generated worldwide. This waste, can degrade into microplastics, owing to factors such as temperature changes and UV exposure. These smaller plastic particles are increasingly entering the food chain through marine life, thereby raising concerns about their impact on human health. Consequently, there is an increasing need to measure microplastics. Common methods involve direct collection by using a manta trawl equipped with a 330 ㎛ mesh net or performing spectroscopic and thermal analyses on collected samples. However, these methods require complex pre-processing, which risk sample destruction. In this study, we developed a system to directly sample microplastics in aquatic environments by using laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy. Through an analysis of the fluorescence spectra as well as, the with gradient and integration at specific points, we successfully distinguished microplastics of 100, 200, 300, and 500 ㎛ in size, and we also differentiated between polyethylene (PE) and polystyrene (PS) types.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

이 연구는 대한민국 정부(산업통상자원부 및 방위사업청) 재원으로 민군협력진흥원에서 수행하는 민군기술협력사업의 연구비 지원으로 수행되었습니다(22-DC-EL-06).

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