Close-up photograph of colorful microplastics on finger tips with gray background.

Ocean Microplastics Monitor

Client

Various

Challenge

Addressing a critical unmet need in environmental sensing, Triple Ring Technologies supported the integration of a fieldable, portable microplastics sensor system. The system enables quantitation of plastic particles in aqueous environmental samples and separates plastics from non-plastics for subsequent polymer identification. Triple Ring experts created an integrated and miniaturized unit that replaced a high-end instrument in a benchtop system. This unit was designed to successfully count microplastics under conditions expected in field use – not only measuring plastic but also working correctly in the presence of interferents, such as air bubbles and non-plastics (biological particles, sand, silt, and other non-organic materials).

 

Outcomes

The resulting system could be deployed beyond the benchtop and provided successful demonstrations to funders and partners as the research group furthers its work on microplastics.

 

Value Propositions

  • Relevant expertise in low-cost, ruggedized life sciences assay platforms
  • Rapid design and development process that met strict timelines for delivery
  • Flexible and highly collaborative design teams that interface seamlessly with research institutes
Comparison of current vs triple ring's microplastic testing methods, highlighting efficiency, cost, and portability differences.

Background

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) saw value in funding the Triple Ring and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution teams to produce a fieldable microplastics monitoring system. Triple Ring personnel brought previous experience of shipboard microplastic measurement from past collaborations with EPA in the Northwest Hawaiian Islands. Woods Hole scientists invented a novel means of measuring ocean microplastics and Triple Ring provided integration support.

Illustration of real-time microplastics concentration data being transmitted via satellite or cellular tower to a centralized mapping system.
Two researchers in life jackets on a boat testing for microplastics in the surrounding water.

Combining WHOI’s core sensing technology with Triple Ring’s experience in delivering integrated products will significantly move the needle on the understanding of microplastic pollution and will drive data-based mitigation solutions.

Dr. Sheila Hemami
Senior Director Growth Initiatives at Triple Ring Technologies

 

My lab is especially interested in developing technologies that enable us to robustly count the number of microplastics in drinking water, ponds, lakes, and oceans. We need field-deployable sensors that provide us this information in order for us to understand microplastic pollution.

Dr. Anna Michel
Associate Scientist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution