PlastiSense A optics based microplastics sensing solution
Since the 1960's, we have created 8.3 billion metric tons of plastic. Although some of this plastic is recycled, much of it ends up in the landfill and some of it makes its way into our eco-systems. This plastic breaks down over time into tiny pieces (< 5mm) that we call microplastics. This plastic has been found in rainwater and some sources of drinking water, and some studies have found that we consume around a credit cards worth of microplastic per week. The health effects of consuming microplastics are not yet known, but we expect they are similar to those of consuming plastics, which include fertility issues and cancer.
Our goal is to design and build a system that is capable of detecting polyethylene, the most abundant type of microplastic. We chose to take an optics based approach, using Raman spectroscopy. Our system should be able to detect the presence of polyethylene in a sample, output real time CCD readings, be compact, and affordable compared to other Raman spectroscopy systems.
● The fully fitted chamber must be 0.25 cubic meters and must weigh less than 3 kg
● The system will identify microplastics within a 10% compared to the Ocean Insight spectrometer
● The whole system will take at most 10 minutes to run, from turning on the laser to outputting the plot with CCD sensitivity values