Circular valorization of durian rind to microcrystalline cellulose and shrimp shells to chitosan for synthesis of composite antibacterial biodegradable packaging films

The increasing accumulation of petroleum-based plastics and the large volume of agricultural and seafood processing wastes have raised serious environmental concerns worldwide. Valorization of biowastes into biodegradable films represents a promising strategy for waste management and circular economy development. In this study, agricultural and marine wastes were used to develop antibacterial biodegradable films based on microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) derived from durian rind (DR) and chitosan extracted from shrimp shells (SS). Composites films were prepared via solvent casting and evaluated in terms of mechanical properties, antibacterial activity, biodegradability, structural characteristics, and food preservation performance. Among the developed formulations, the MCC-DR-Chit-SS (20:80) film exhibited the most favorable properties, with consistent thickness (0.118 ± 0.007 mm) and lowest coefficient of variation (6.34%), indicating good structural homogeneity. The film also demonstrated superior mechanical performance, including tensile strength (13.05 ± 0.81 MPa), elongation at break (28.85 ± 1.75%), and Young’s modulus (40.0 ± 0.33 MPa). Antibacterial testing revealed an inhibition zone of 3.8 ± 0.5 mm, confirming effective antimicrobial activity. In addition, the film exhibited promising environmental performance, achieving 57% biodegradation in soil within 30 days. Structural analyses using FTIR and XRD confirm strong hydrogen bonding interactions and relatively high crystallinity (77.2%), contributing to improved mechanical stability. Furthermore, food preservation tests showed that tomatoes wrapped with the films had significantly lower weight loss during 14 days of storage compared to unwrapped controls. Overall, the results showed the feasibility of valorizing durian rind and shrimp shells into sustainable biodegradable packaging materials within circular economy systems.