From manual handling to robotic arm-based automated retrieval and AI-driven recognition, the efficiency of microplastic analysis in water has increased twentyfold—a small Chinese factory has once again rewritten the rules of the game in the industry.
AIMOLI Hebei Technology Co., Ltd. recently announced the successful development of the AML518, the world’s first fully automated microplastic analyzer for water samples. Utilizing Raman spectroscopy, the instrument automates the entire workflow—from sample processing to report generation—transforming what was once a tedious manual task into an efficient, automated machine operation.
“Huawei is truly remarkable and brings glory to China; as a small factory, we at AIMOLI also hope to contribute to the prestige of ‘Made in China,’” the AIMOLI technical team stated. “We may be operating in a niche market within groundwater environmental instrumentation, but we have achieved a breakthrough that our global peers have yet to realize.”
Three years of R&D and validation: Reliability rivaling senior engineers
Comparative testing shows that the AML518 achieves recovery rates of 91% and 97% for 300μm and 1000μm microplastics, respectively, delivering stable and reliable data.
“Its greatest value lies not merely in automation, but in its capacity for sustainable, standardized performance,” the project lead emphasized. “A single AML518 unit handles the workload of at least three senior engineers—without fatigue, errors, or the risk of quitting for another job.”
A true value-for-money choice: Chinese innovation in a niche market
Although international brands still dominate the high-end instrument market, AIMOLI has achieved a genuine technological leap with the AML518 in the specialized field of microplastic detection.
The device is the subject of multiple pending invention patents, and it is difficult to find another manufacturer globally that offers this level of automation.
The emergence of the AIMOLI AML518 signifies that “Made in China” is no longer confined to capturing mass markets; it is now gaining the ability to define products and set standards in niche sectors and cutting-edge instrumentation.
Microplastic detection is merely the starting point; the era of fully automated analysis has only just begun.