The Degradation Rate of Bio Microbeads Derived from Cellulose and Impregnated with Moringa Leaf Flavonoids Extract

Microbeads are primary microplastics made from synthetic polymers and are widely applied in cosmetics and personal care products. This wide application led to an increase in microbead production in 2020 from 2.3 billion USD to 3.5 billion USD in the global market, and the growth is directly proportional to the waste generated. Microbeads cannot be filtered by sewage treatment because of their small size, and materials made of synthetic polymers are difficult to degrade by the environment. It is possible to use bacterial cellulose (BC) as a raw material for the production of microbeads because of its physical features and its capacity to break down in the environment. In this review, the best method used for BC synthesis is mechanical fragmentation and drying using ambient pressure drying. BC had also impregnated using Moringa leaf extract to improve its physical properties and usability. After the BC microbeads have been produced, BC degradation analysis can be solved using mechanical degradation. Furthermore, the degradation kinetics of BC microbeads can be determined using the Ekenstam equation, surface degradation kinetics, and elementary reactions (zero, first, second, and third-order equations). The kinetic model of BC microbead degradation will be obtained based on the highest linear regression equation.