Karakterisasi Mikroplastik pada Teh Celup Kemasan Berdasarkan Jenis Produk Komersial dan Pemanfaatannya Sebagai Book Chapter

Abstract

Tea bags are typically made of filter paper that uses materials such as plant fibers coated with plastic polymers, which have the potential to release microplastics when brewed. Although several studies have identified the presence of these particles in various types of tea, information regarding their characteristics in commercial products remains limited. This study aims to analyze the characteristics, types, and average concentration of microplastics in the brewed water of commercial packaged tea, as well as to use the findings as a book chapter. The experiment employed three treatment groups: the negative control (K-) used distilled water, the positive control (K+) consisted of loose leaf tea brewed in distilled water, and the treatment (P) consisted of bagged tea brewed in distilled water, with all samples brewed at a temperature of 80°C. The samples used were commercial tea bag products from three product variants, with the observed parameters being the density of microplastic fragments, size, shape, color, and type of microplastic fragments, which were analyzed using FTIR (Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy). The results showed the highest microplastic count in the P treatment of the Tpo variant (15.89 ± 6.43) fragment, dominated by sizes >1000 μm, fiber-shaped, and blue in color. All three variants belong to the polyamide or nylon polymer type, characterized by the presence of amide groups with N-H stretch functional groups. The conclusion of this study is that tea bags have been shown to release microplastics during the brewing process. The findings of this study were successfully developed into a book chapter that was deemed suitable by the validators as general reading material.