Triple Ring Technologies and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution collaborate on micro-plastic sensing in water

Photo: Triple Ring Technologies.

Triple Ring Technologies announced a collaboration with Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) to provide a portable micro-plastic sensor that quantifies the number of plastic particles in water.

The core technology was developed at WHOI in the laboratory of Dr. Anna Michel, Associate Scientist, Department of Applied Ocean Physics and Engineering, with doctoral student Beckett Colson. Developing the proof-of-concept into a fieldable unit is being performed by Triple Ring Technologies under the leadership of Dr. Sheila Hemami, Sr. Director Growth Initiatives.

“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 micro-plastic pollution,” said Dr. Michel.

To further develop the technology, Triple Ring Technologies has been awarded an SBIR Phase I grant by the Environmental Protection Agency entitled “A fieldable, portable, reagent-free micro-plastic sensor enabling rapid readout and modular operation,“ and will work with WHOI to execute the grant.

“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,” said Dr. Hemami.