Hyperspectral imaging as new tool to analyze microplastics

, Faltynkova Andrea, Wagner Martin, Johnsen Geir.

A central challenge in microplastics (MP) research is the analysis of small particles in an efficient manner. To assess the feasibility and applicability of infrared hyperspectral imaging (HSI) to detect and characterize MPs, we conducted a systematic literature and identified XXX studies applying HSI in a MP context. This shows the early stage of application of the technology. We critically assessed the variety of approaches to HSI including instrumentation, data collection and data handling and compare the performance to best available technologies, including Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy. HSI was found to be a suitable MP analysis method for particles larger than 250 µm, with drastic improvements in analysis time as compared with other methods. Primary challenges are the improvement of spatial resolution to detect smaller MPs and development of robust models for analyzing hyperspectral data. Parameters and methodological details which were applied with success are summarized and recommendations are made for future research. While HSI requires specialization for this new application, it represents a promising technology for MP analysis.

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