Ocean Plastics and Pollution

About the project

Microplastics are now ubiquitous in the environment, pose risks to both human health and ecosystem stability, and are predicted to increase in abundance. Microplastics are generally considered to be between 1 and 5000 microns. Smaller particles, those less than 25 microns, are difficult to filter out in water and wastewater treatment plants, and are not easily characterized by current spectroscopic testing methods. Accessible ways to measure these smallest particles and fibers are necessary to ensure equitable access to clean drinking water and responsible effluent management.

AOS is building an ultrasonic sensor capable of detecting and characterizing the bulk abundance of these very small microparticles and microfibers in water, at a fraction of the cost, time, and labor of existing methods.

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