Design and Synthesis of Biobased, Biodegradable Polyester for Chewing Gum

Conventional chewing gum (CG) consisting of sweeteners and unbiodegradable chewing gum base (CGB) has caused severe pollution to the environment. To address this issue, this work designs and synthesizes a partially crosslinked biobased and biodegradable polyester elastomer to replace the high molecular weight rubber in traditional CG for elasticity, along with a biobased biodegradable polyester resin with a glass transition temperature (T_g) of ≈38 °C to provide plasticity for CG. Subsequently, biobased biodegradable CG is prepared. Poly(1,3-propanediol/glycerol/sebacate/succinate) (PPGSeSu) elastomers with adjustable gel content and good elasticity are synthesized by adjusting the content of glycerol, and poly(2,3-butanediol/isosorbide/succinate) (PBIS) resins with a T_g of 8–65 °C are prepared by tuning the molar ratio of isosorbide and 2,3-butanediol. As a result, fully biobased, biodegradable CG with similar performance to that of commercially available ones is achieved by using PPGSeSu-25%P (with 8.58% gel content) and PB₅₀I₅₀S (T_g = 38 °C). The biodegradation rate of the new CG is 75.52% after 97 d, and its chewing properties are comparable to those of commercially available CG according to the texture profile analysis results.