Spectrum Software Suite

It is estimated that there is in excess of 150 million tons of plastic materials in the world’s oceans. Much of this pollution consists of large items such as discarded drink bottles and plastic bags. However, there is increasing research into the amount of much smaller materials, termed microplastics, in the river and ocean systems which present a different type of problem for marine life. Infrared (IR) spectroscopy is the established technique for identifying polymer materials and has been used extensively for identifying large (over 100 micrometer) polymer materials. For microplastics, down to a few micrometers in size, an IR microscope can be used for the detection and identification of these materials. This application note demonstrates the detection of these microplastics using an IR microscope.

Plasticizers are additives that are added to polymeric material to increase flexibility. For example, phthalates are usually added to hard PVC plastics to make it soft. Many properties of the polymer will be changed by the addition of a plasticizer, such as the glass transition temperature (Tg) which will be reduced dramatically; the hardness which will be reduced; the strength which will decrease and the processability which will be improved. In this note, a complex mixture of solvent, plasticizer and polymers from a paint and varnish producer, who require data concerning the plasticizer and its percentage, is analyzed using ThermoGravimetric Analysis (TGA) and FT-IR.

This application note describes the utilization of Compare and Adulterant Screen within Spectrum 10 (and Spectrum 10 ES for regulated environments) to enable a fast and accurate verification of samples or to confirm the presence and concentration of the adulterant diethylene glycol down to sub per cent levels.