Where NIR is most commonly applied
NIR is well-suited to materials where organic molecular absorptions can be measured and correlated to concentration. In practice, PAS positions NIR for field and operational use across several material types and contexts:
- Mineral and geological materials (mining and exploration): NIR can produce a high-quality spectrum for mineral identification and assessing material properties, supporting fast field decisions.
- Agricultural materials (crops and food production): NIR is used to assess crop parameters such as sugar content, water content, and indicators of ripeness, and can support decisions through the food production cycle from production to grading and sorting.
- Asbestos and waste-related materials: PAS references asbestos detection and broader waste management contexts where accurate identification of waste and demolition materials is important for safe handling and treatment decisions.
- Medical and clinical lab contexts: NIR is described as being used for clinical laboratory testing and non-invasive diagnosis applications.
Considering NIR for your application
If you need fast, non-destructive identification of materials on-site, start with the fundamentals of the Near Infra-Red Spectroscopy (NIR) technology, then review the portable NIR analysers available through Portable Analytical Solutions. If you want to sanity-check fit for your specific material and workflow, get in touch and outline what you need to analyse and where the testing will happen.