Major UK break-through for non-stick chewing gum

"Does your chewing gum lose its flavour on the bedpost overnight?"

The new Bristol University invention of Clean Gum should make this a thing of the past.

New kind of gum

The latest answer to this perplexing question from well-known singer, Lonnie Donegan, back in 1958, seems to be both yes and no, following a breakthrough by Bristol University scientists who have produced a new kind of chewing gum.
The new Clean Gum is covered with a film of water and often won't stick to any surface, even a bedpost. It does though, according to the researchers, have a great taste.

Professor Terence Cosgrove and his colleagues in the University's School of Chemistry have developed the new gum, currently called Rev-7.

Spin-off company, Revolymer

Working through his spin-off company, Revolymer, Cosgrove sent six people out to various places in North Wales and Bristol to chew different gums for 20 minutes - including the new invention. They were then stuck on paving stones to see whether they degraded.

The professor and his team found that commercial chewing gums without the special ingredient were still stuck on the paving stones eight days later. But he was very pleased to report that "ours was gone".

Film of water the key

The film of water around Rev-7 is the key. All the chewed gums were put into phials of water and it was found that after seven weeks the commercial gum was still there with algae growing on it. The new gum, on the other hand, had dispersed in the water as a fine, white powder. This means "it will degrade in the environment," said Professor Cosgrove.

The phial on the left contains the ordinary chewing gum with algae growing on it. The special Clean Gum in the other phial has dissolved in the water. (c) Bristol University “The advantage of our Clean Gum", he said, "is that it has a great taste, it is easy to remove and has the potential to be environmentally degradable”. The research team report they have had the same success removing it from shoes, clothes and hair as they have from pavements.

Discarded gum less adhesive

“The basis of our technology", the Professor continued, "is to add an amphiphilic polymer to a modified chewing gum formulation which alters the interfacial properties of the discarded gum cuds, making them less adhesive to most common surfaces.”

Revolymer is planning to produce and launch the removable, degradable chewing gum next year.

Great help for local councils

The new invention could be of significant help to local councils in the UK - and elsewhere - who spend about £150 million a year cleaning up discarded chewing gum.

英国的重大发明――不粘口香糖

布里斯托尔大学发明的环保口香糖将使这种现象成为过去

新品种口香糖

提起口香糖，人们都会觉得头大，而英国著名歌手Lonnie Donegan，在1958年谈到口香糖时也表现出不置可否的态度。最近，英国布里斯托尔大学的科学家研制出一种具有突破意义的新品种口香糖。

这种环保口香糖表面有一层“亲水”外衣，不容易粘在诸如床柱等的物体表面。而且，研究员声称，这种口香糖的口味也极佳。

英国布里斯托尔化学系教授特伦斯•科斯格罗夫和他的同事是不粘口香糖的发明者，他们把这种口香糖命名为“Rev-7”。

分立公司Revolymer

科斯格罗夫为此特设立了分立公司Revolymer，并派六名员工到威尔士北部各地和布里斯托尔去做试验，具体做法是让他们咀嚼20分钟不同的口香糖，其中包括新发明的不粘口香糖，之后，考察哪些被粘在铺路石上的口香糖能自动降解。

8天后，教授及其研究小组发现，那些不含特殊成分的商业口香糖仍粘在铺路石上。对此，他很高兴地说：“将来不会再有这种情况发生了”。

 “亲水”外衣是关键

Rev-7表面的一层亲水外衣是环保口香糖不粘的奥秘。传统的口香糖在嚼过之后，被放在盛满水的杯子里7周之后，除了上面生有青苔之外，不会有任何的变化。而环保口香糖在放入同样的杯子后，会溶化成白色的粉末。这表示“它在环境中能自行降解”， 科斯格罗夫教授如是说。 

左边的瓶子里盛的是沾满青苔的普通口香糖，右边的则是已经溶解的环保口香糖(c) 布里斯托尔大学教授接着说：“我们这种环保口香糖的优势在于不仅口味好，而且易被清除，能自行降解，因而有利于环境”。研究小组还声称，环保口香糖在粘到鞋、衣服和头发上也一样容易被清除。

丢弃的口香糖粘性会降低

科斯格罗夫说：“新型口香糖中添加了一种能改变其属性的两亲聚合物，从而使它们的粘性降低，不易于粘到物体表面。”

这种含有特殊聚合物的、便于清除的可降解口香糖有望于明年上市。

给地方政府带来极大的帮助

这一新的发明有望为英国乃至世界各地的政府带来极大的帮助。据统计，英国地方政府每年要耗资1.5亿英镑清理废弃口香糖。