CHARACTERISTICS AND POTENTIAL OF MICROPLASTICS OCCURRENCE IN WASTEWATER FROM SHOWER GEL USAGE AS PERSONAL CARE AND COSMETIC PRODUCTS (PCCPS) FOR BODY CARE

• Main Author: Nathania Pamio, Indira
• Format: Final Project
• Language: Indonesia
• Subjects: Teknik saniter dan perkotaan; teknik perlindungan lingkungan
• Online Access: https://digilib.itb.ac.id/gdl/view/76434
• Institution: Institut Teknologi Bandung

Personal Care Cosmetic Products (PCCPs) are used on the exterior of the body, such as the skin, nails, hair, lips, external genitalia, teeth, and oral membranes. PCCPs aim to clean body parts, protect body parts from germs, prevent from foul odours, change body parts look, and keep body parts in excellent condition (Ray et al., 2020). The focus of this study will be on the quality of wastewater generated by the use of shower gel. According to this study, the pH value of wastewater was in the range of 7.26 – 7.33; total P value in the range of 1.71 – 3.09 mg/L; value of NTK in the range of 2.45 – 4.03 mg/L; total COD value in the range of 380.97 – 506.16 mg/L; dissolved COD values in the range of 310.92 – 393.68 mg / L; TSS value in the range of 62 – 229.50 mg/L; and TDS values in the range of 283 – 376.67 mg/L. The potential loading rate that generated from shower gel usage for individual class is 0,009 g/capital.day for total P; 0,012 g/capital.day untuk TKN; 1,856 g/capital.day untuk total COD; 1,428 g/capital.day for dissolved COD; 0,601 g/capital.day for TSS; and 1,276 g/capital.day for TDS. Besides the pollution it carries, the existence of microplastics in liquid body soap requires attention. Typically, microplastics are incorporated into PCCPs to enhance their cleansing or exfoliating properties. Furthermore, microplastics serve as encapsulators for fragrances in PCCPs (Anagnosti, et al., 2021). In this study, the occurrence of microplastics in wastewater from the use of shower gel was identified, with 423 ± 74 particles/L found in product A; 852 ± 17 particles/L in product B; and 271 ± 91 particles/L in product C. Furthermore, the estimated number of microplastic produced from shower gel usage is 482,624,073,866 particles/year.