Design and Develop a Microfluidic Device for Micro Plastics Monitoring and Separation from Water

Abstract

The escalating accumulation of microplastics (MPs) in global water systems poses a severe threat to aquatic life and human health, necessitating rapid, high-throughput, and decentralized monitoring solutions. Conventional analytical methods, such as FTIR and Raman spectroscopy, though accurate, are time-consuming, expensive, and require bulky laboratory infrastructure. To bridge this technological gap, this paper presents the design and development of an integrated, portable microfluidic device capable of continuous, label-free separation and real-time quantification of microplastics from water samples. Utilizing a combination of deterministic lateral displacement (DLD) for size-based particle sorting and micro-impedance spectroscopy for particle counting, the fabricated polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) chip achieves a separation efficiency of over 92% for particles ranging from 10 µm to 100 µm. Furthermore, the system integrates a smartphone-based optical detection module for field-deployable visual analysis. This miniaturized platform offers a cost-effective, rapid, and sustainable approach to water quality assessment, paving the way for on-site environmental monitoring and microplastic mitigation. The results captured in the performance matrix validate the microfluidic approach as a game-changer for water purification and microplastic monitoring. By combining high separation efficiency (96.4%) with low energy consumption (3.8 W), this device bridges the gap between laboratory-grade analysis and field-deployable technology.