Recent development of biodegradable network polyesters obtained from renewable natural resources

Current technological interests in chemistry have involved research into renewable carbon to help supply the world's chemical needs. Renewable and natural resources-based biodegradable polymers are environmentally useful for the establishment of recycled systems. In the past decade, novel network polyester and films of glycerol with dicarboxylic acids with various lengths of methylene units have been developed and their favorable properties of enzymatic degradability and biodegradability have been reported. In the present paper, optically active network polyesters are prepared from malic acids and their biodegradability in enzymatic solution and in activated sludge is investigated. In addition, biodegradable polyesters of gluconolactone with citric acid are developed. The application and biodegradability of these network polyesters for future technological applications are also discussed.