About Workshop
A 3-day online workshop on microplastics detection, data analytics, risk assessment, and mitigation strategies. Participants will learn to analyze microplastics datasets, assess contamination risks, map hotspots, and design circular economy-based intervention plans using open-access tools like Google Colab, Python, QGIS, and OpenLCA.
Aim
What Participants Will Learn
- To understand the sources, pathways, and environmental impact of microplastics.
- To learn about key detection and characterization technologies used in microplastics research.
- To clean, analyze, and visualize microplastics datasets using open-access tools.
- To assess contamination risks based on particle size, polymer type, concentration, and location.
- To map microplastics hotspots and identify high-risk zones.
- To explore mitigation approaches for wastewater, packaging, textiles, and industrial systems.
- To design circular economy-based intervention strategies for microplastics reduction.
- To connect microplastics analytics with sustainability, ESG, policy, and environmental management applications.
Structure
📅 Day 1: Microplastics Detection, Characterization & Environmental Data Analytics
- Microplastics and nanoplastics: sources, pathways, and environmental fate
- Primary and secondary microplastics in water, soil, sediment, food chains, and air
- Sampling and contamination-control protocols for microplastics research
- Detection technologies: microscopy, FTIR, Raman spectroscopy, Py-GC/MS, SEM, and image-based analysis
- Data preprocessing for particle count, size, morphology, polymer type, and concentration
- AI-assisted image analysis and classification opportunities in microplastics research
🛠️ Hands-on Activity:
- Microplastics Dataset Cleaning & Exploratory Analytics in Google Colab: Participants will work with a sample microplastics dataset to clean particle-level data, analyze polymer types, visualize size distribution, identify dominant microplastic categories, and generate basic contamination insights.
🧰 Tools Covered: Google Colab, Python, Pandas, NumPy, Matplotlib, OpenRefine, Zotero
📅 Day 2: Risk Assessment, Exposure Pathways & Spatial Distribution Mapping
- Microplastics exposure pathways in aquatic, terrestrial, atmospheric, and food systems
- Risk assessment frameworks: hazard identification, exposure assessment, toxicity relevance, and uncertainty
- Environmental concentration indicators and contamination indices
- Polymer-specific, size-specific, and shape-specific risk considerations
- Spatial analysis of microplastics contamination hotspots
- Data-driven prioritization of high-risk zones and vulnerable ecosystems
🛠️ Hands-on Activity:
- Microplastics Risk Scoring & Hotspot Mapping: Participants will create a simple risk scoring model using sample concentration, polymer type, particle size, and location-based variables. They will visualize contamination hotspots and classify locations into low, moderate, and high-risk categories.
🧰 Tools Covered: Google Colab, Python, Scikit-learn, QGIS, Google Earth Engine, Plotly
📅 Day 3: Mitigation Pathways, Circular Economy & Intervention Strategy Design
- Microplastics mitigation across product design, wastewater systems, packaging, textiles, and industrial processes
- Wastewater treatment, filtration, membrane systems, and advanced removal technologies
- Circular economy strategies for plastics reduction and material recovery
- Life Cycle Assessment perspectives for plastic alternatives and interventions
- Policy, regulation, ESG, and extended producer responsibility considerations
- Designing measurable intervention roadmaps for microplastics reduction
🛠️ Hands-on Activity:
- Circular Intervention Strategy & Mitigation Dashboard: Participants will develop a basic intervention-prioritization framework that compares mitigation options based on feasibility, impact, cost, circularity potential, and environmental benefit. The output can be visualized as a simple decision matrix or dashboard.
🧰 Tools Covered: OpenLCA, KNIME Community Edition, Orange Data Mining, Python, Plotly, Streamlit
Important Dates
Registration Ends
4: 30 PM IST
Workshop Dates
2026-07-20
05:30 PM IST
05:30 PM IST
What You Will Gain
Outcomes
- Participants will understand microplastics sources, pathways, and environmental impacts.
- Participants will be able to identify key detection and characterization technologies.
- Participants will learn to clean, analyze, and visualize microplastics datasets.
- Participants will be able to interpret particle size, polymer type, concentration, and contamination patterns.
- Participants will apply basic risk scoring methods for microplastics assessment.
- Participants will learn to map contamination hotspots and classify risk zones.
- Participants will understand mitigation technologies and circular economy strategies.
- Participants will be able to design practical intervention frameworks for microplastics reduction.
- Participants will connect microplastics analytics with ESG, sustainability, policy, and environmental management applications.
Who Should Attend
- Researchers and PhD scholars working in environmental science, sustainability, pollution monitoring, or related fields
- Academicians, faculty members, and postgraduate students interested in microplastics research
- Environmental scientists, sustainability professionals, and ESG professionals
- Policy analysts, waste management professionals, and circular economy practitioners
- Industry professionals working in plastics, packaging, wastewater treatment, environmental management, or sustainability
- Beginners with an interest in microplastics analytics, environmental risk assessment, and mitigation strategies can also participate
- Basic knowledge of environmental science or sustainability is helpful but not mandatory