Spectroscopy in Support of Sustainability
In recognition of the “Invest in Our Planet” theme for Earth Day 2022, we share several examples of Ocean Insight customers and products that are helping to support sustainable solutions to major environmental challenges.
Environmental stewardship is part of Ocean Optics' company heritage. After all, our first product was a fiber optic pH sensor deployed at sea to measure pH and investigate its possible correlation to carbon dioxide levels.
Today, Ocean Insight provides researchers, government regulators and manufacturers with the spectral products and application insight necessary to reduce waste, preserve natural resources, and maintain a clean, healthy environment. Here are some examples:
Recycling Efforts
Learn how spectroscopy can be used in plastics recycling to identify and sort plastics with a high degree of specificity. Integrating spectroscopy into recycling streams can streamline processes by mitigating the need for some sorting steps.
Our new industrial, high-throughput, in-line sorting technology is ideal for aluminum and nonferrous metals recycling.
Science is our way of understanding how to live within our (ecological) means, and technology is there to help us make the best of it.
Remediation Efforts
Kelsey Sakimoto of Biko Biolabs discusses the challenges of mitigating environmental plastics pollution.
Because many medications are not fully absorbed by patients and accounted for in wastewater treatment, environmental damage can result. In one remediation effort, researchers using optical emission spectroscopy tested the degradation efficiency of plasma-jet processes on solutions of the medication Valsartan.
Sustainability at Ocean Insight
In an effort to reduce our carbon footprint, Ocean Insight has invested in renewable energy credits (RECs) for its facilities in Orlando, Fla., and Rochester, N.Y. In the U.S., RECs are a vehicle for buying “clean” energy – i.e., energy generated from solar, wind and so on – that has been added to the grid. Learn more about RECs from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Follow Ocean Insight on social media for additional updates in the coming months on sustainability efforts.