Allied Colloids Limited

Ciba Specialty Chemicals Water Treatments Limited

John B Clarke

Peter Flesher

David Marshall

John F Firth

David Farrar

Malcolm Skinner

Malcolm Hawe

John R Walker

Christopher Robert Walker

Leslie Pitts

A pigment dispersant, for instance for incorporation in an emulsion paint containing non-reactive or reactive pigment, is a water-soluble copolymer of monomer units derived from two or more monomers of the formula CH &boxH;CR &mdash;COOR wherein R is methyl in 75 to 85 mol % of the monomer units and is hydrogen in the remainder, and R is hydrogen or a cation in 75 to 85 mol % of the monomer units and is C alkyl in the remainder of the monomer units and wherein at least 80% of the R alkyl groups are butyl groups.

Dispersants for emulsion paints

A water absorbing particulate polymer material wherein the polymer material when in dry powder form has a particle size of about 50 .mu.m to about 500 .mu.m and wherein the particles consist of internally bonded finer particles which finer particles have a size below 50 .mu.m. The process of using the water absorbing polymer, material to convert a wet sticky mass of inorganic particulate such as coal fines into a crumbly or flowable solid. A process using a water absorbing particulate polymer material to convert a wet sticky mass of organic particulate material into a crumbly or flowable solid wherein the organic matter can be, for example, food waste or sewage.

Water absorbing polymers

A wet filter cake of coal fines or other inorganic particulate material is converted to a crumbly mass by blending with water absorbent polymer particles.

Process of forming prepasted wallcovering comprising a porous surface that carries a dry coating of polymer particles that become adhesive when wetted by water is made by applying to the surface a dispersion of the particles in a non-aqueous liquid that is stabilized by a polymeric stabilizer and then evaporating the non-aqueous liquid. A dried residue of the dispersion must not form a coherent film and should have a softening point substantially independent of the softening point of the polymeric stabilizer. The polymeric stabilizer is preferably an oil. The non-aqueous liquid is preferably relatively non-volatile.

Process of forming prepasted wallcoverings

A slurry or cake is converted to a crumbly state by admixture, in the absence of a polymeric binder, with water swellable, cross-linked, non-sticky, wholly synthetic polymer particles formed of a polymer of acrylic acid (as free acid or water soluble salt) with cross-linking agent and, optionally, acrylamide and/or other monomers.

A wallcovering comprises a substrate carrying a water-moistenable coating formed of at least two layers. The layer adjacent to the substrate generally comprises unswollen particles of an anionic polymer that is substantially non-swellable in water and that is swellable in aqueous alkali and the upper layer contains an alkali which on contact with water forms an alkaline solution which swells the anionic polymer and a water soluble cationic polymer. The anionic polymer generally comprises beads of cross-linked copolymers of lower alkyl acrylates and methacrylic acid having a molecular weight of about 5 million. Processes for producing the wallcoverings comprise coating the substrate separately with an aqueous dispersion of the anionic polymer and an aqueous solution containing both the cationic polymer and the alkaline material to give at least two separate layers.

Prepasted wallcoverings

Substantially non-ionic polyacrylamide cross linked with a low amount of cross linking agent is used as an additive for a plant growth medium.

The adhesive coating of a water wettable prepasted wallcovering is formed of a blend of water insoluble but water swellable anionic polymer particles and water insoluble but water swellable cationic polymer particles. The coating may be applied from a dispersion of the particles in volatile organic liquid.

Adhesives for prepasted wallcoverings

Quaternized ammonium synthetic polymers having a solution viscosity, as measured on a 1% solution in deionized water at 25.degree. C. using a suspended level viscometer of from 1 to 500 cs are used as dispersing agents in aqueous slurries of water and solid particulate carbonaceous material.

Dispersing solid carbonaceous material in water

A liquid polymeric composition comprises a suspension in an organic liquid of particulate water insoluble but water swellable polymer, the particles being less than 10 microns in size. To reduce viscosity in water the swellable polymer may be a copolymer and/or a water soluble polymer may be included. A composition of polymer particles that are swellable and contain both soluble and insoluble polymer can be made by inverse emulsion polymerization. An aqueous adhesive, that may be made by mixing this composition with water, comprises water swollen particulate polymer that may be a copolymer and that may be used with a dissolved polymer in order to reduce the viscosity. Pregummed substrates, such as wallpaper, that can be rendered adhesive by contacting with water are obtained by applying the aqueous or non-aqueous composition to the substrate and drying it on the substrate. Wallcovering can be stuck to a surface using the aqueous adhesive.

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Bradford, United Kingdom

John B Clarke