Morphology and motion parameters for detection and identification of microplastics in flowing water

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Abstract
Microplastics morphology, namely size, shape, and texture, play an important role in adhesion of different types of contaminants over a microplastic. In flowing water, this leads to formation of complex contaminant systems which are transported and become a potential hazard for virtually all Earth’s environmental compartments. Here, we provide methods to study morphology and motion of microplastics, and we derive parameters to aid in their early detection and identification in flowing water. On UPVC microplastic we demonstrate ultra-high-definition imaging paired with statistical parameters for light intensity distribution in analogy to surface roughness parameters and perceptual texture parameters derived from a Gray Level Co-occurrence matrix. Further, from LDPE and PS microplastics videos we derived distinct flow behavior parameters of each microplastic type. Finally, we analyse images of a complex water sample, a cellulose-rich influent of a paper mill wastewater treatment plant. The presented findings open a path towards new sensing solutions to detect and identify the type of MP contaminant, predict their location and fate during and after wastewater flow monitoring.

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