Chewing Gum Base with Encapsulated Degradable Precursor
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional chewing gum products are not environmentally friendly due to their stickiness, which causes littering, and existing degradable formulations have a limited shelf life due to moisture exposure affecting the degradation agent's effectiveness.
Innovation Solution
A chewing gum base comprising a hydrophilic precursor component with hydrolysable units encapsulated or dispersed in a barrier material, such as oils or waxes, to protect it from moisture and maintain degradability over time.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If degradable formulations are used to reduce stickiness and improve environmental friendliness, then degradability is improved, but shelf life deteriorates due to moisture exposure affecting the degradation agent
Solution Approach 1:
The gum base is segmented into distinct functional components: hydrophobic elastomers (polyisobutylene, polybutylmethacrylate/acrylic acid copolymer) that provide chewability and structural integrity, and hydrophilic precursors (carboxymethyl cellulose, alginates, pectins, starches) that provide degradability. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function without interfering with the other, resolving the contradiction between maintaining shelf life and ensuring degradability.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the chemical state of the degradability-providing component by using hydrophilic precursors that are stable in their original form but transform into active degrading agents under specific conditions (pH change, moisture exposure during chewing). This parameter change allows the material to remain stable during storage (maintaining shelf life) while becoming actively degradable when consumed, thus resolving the contradiction between shelf life and degradability.
2Ease of manufacture
If elastomer solvents are used to process solid elastomers, then ease of manufacture is improved, but stickiness increases causing environmental littering problems
Solution Approach 1:
The invention changes the processing approach by eliminating traditional elastomer solvents and using alternative processing methods that rely on mechanical energy (chewing, mixing) and controlled moisture exposure to transform solid elastomers into a processable state. This parameter change in the processing method allows manufacturing without adding sticky solvent residues, thus resolving the contradiction between ease of manufacture and reduction of stickiness.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention uses readily available, inexpensive hydrophilic precursors (food-grade materials like carboxymethyl cellulose, alginates, pectins, and starches) that can be easily incorporated during manufacturing. These materials provide the necessary processing aid functions without creating persistent environmental problems, as they are designed to degrade naturally, thus resolving the contradiction between ease of manufacture and environmental harm reduction.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution extends the shelf life of degradable gum formulations while ensuring the gum remains non-sticky and degrades effectively upon chewing, reducing littering and environmental impact.
Implementation Method 1
the ability of the gum to degrade decreases over time. This is due to an ingress of moisture into the agent present in such formulations to degrade the elastomer in the gum base. This moisture reacts with the hydrolysable units in the agent
Implementation Method 2
the hydrophilic precursor component comprising hydrolysable units is encapsulated or dispersed in a barrier material prior to incorporation into the gum base
Implementation Method 3
the hydrophilic precursor component comprising hydrolysable units is encapsulated or dispersed in a barrier material prior to incorporation into the gum base
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to a chewing gum base for use in chewing gum compositions wherein the chewing gum base contributes to the ability of the chewing gum compositions and products to degrade over time after chewing due to environmental influences or cleaning processes, while at the same time providing a significant shelf life for the final chewing gum composition product. The chewing gum base comprises a hydrophilic precursor component comprising hydrolysable units and an elastomer, wherein the hydrophilic precursor component comprising hydrolysable units is encapsulated or dispersed in a barrier material. Moreover, the invention relates to chewing gum compositions containing such chewing gum bases.