Drone-based sampling device for microplastics in water in Iceland

Microplastics contamination is a growing concern in water bodies, and there are no standards for sample collection, filtration and quantification focused only on mi- croplastics. Assessing the impact of this pollutant on different environments and on human life is a challenge without methods to study the extent of this pollutant. Cur- rently the methods used for microplastics sampling, as the manta trawls and pump, are focused on taking large quantities of water, need a vehicle, human effort and tend to contaminate the sample, making them less convenient. In this context, develop- ing a device to sample and filter microplastics in water using drones is an innovative and convenient solution for researchers. This research is aimed to collect microplas- tics samples conveniently from different bodies of water around Iceland. T device is mounted on a waterproof drone, and the user flies it to the area where the sample will be taken. Once the drone lands in the water, the user activates the device. Upon activation, the actuator passes water through a set of filters for approximately 3 min- utes, ensuring that the drone does not run out of battery power. After 3 minutes the device deactivates and 10 L of water would have been sampled, with an accuracy of 0.2%. Then the user can fly the drone back to shore. Once on shore, the user can remove the filters, place a new set and take a new sample. This device takes sam- ples 100 millimeters below the surface and allows the change of filters to take more samples without returning to base camp, and is attachable to drones. This research provides a more convenient, inexpensive and low user-interaction way to sample mi- croplastics in water. Keywords / Efnisord: Microplastics, sampling, drone.2022 SIF grant “Drone-based water sampler for micro- plastics research”, 22207