Grant: CCI Applied Research and Development Grants

Microplastics are plastic materials below 5mm in length and are an emerging contaminant of global concern since studies have linked them to several health concerns, including carcinogenesis and tissue damage, among others. Studies have also shown microplastics are widely dispersed in the environment and accumulate at multiple levels of the food chain. Microplastics are thought to enter the environment in numerous ways, including through landfills, municipal wastewater treatment plants, and industrial waste or discharge. Although there are currently no regulations regarding microplastic levels in drinking or process water in Canada, it is anticipated that legislation will soon be passed to monitor and control microplastic levels in water. However, it is currently very challenging to monitor microplastics inline in industrial applications given that microplastics are very small, hard to detect, and not very abundant in typical process flow. This project seeks to address this gap by developing and testing an inline microplastic detection system in partnership with Inter Pipeline Ltd, who operates a polypropylene plant. Our system will be equipped with various technologies used to detect and characterize microplastics, including Raman spectrometers and focused beam reflectance measurement (FBRM) probes. The system will also have a turbidity meter, vessel with mixing stand, domestic water filtration unit, and pumping system with automated control valve and ultrasonic flow meter. One of the challenges for inline microplastic detection is the low abundance of microplastics in samples such as industrial waste. To overcome this challenge, our prototype will test two different mechanisms to guide and isolate microplastics through the inline system. We will also rigorously verify our results by performing concomitant offline measurements and characterization of the sample liquids tested by our system. This will include Raman spectroscopy microscopy, µ-Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) microscopy for a molecular composition of solids, mapping of samples, material distribution, number, and size for particles, and scanning electron microscopy to obtain high resolution physical characteristics such as surface topography, size, and shape. By developing technology and methodology to quantify microplastics in effluent, our project will help drive evidence-based decisions to improve water quality, positively impacting local ecosystems and reducing risks to human health.