Allied Colloids Limited

Bp Chemicals Limited

Ciba Specialty Chemicals Water Treatments Limited

Malcolm Hawe

David Farrar

Peter Flesher

John G Langley

David Marshall

John R Walker

Brian Dymond

John R Field

John B Clarke

Malcolm Skinner

Michael Green

Ian S Biggin

Peter S Cartwright

Walter E Paget

Flocculating or viscosifying compositions and their production and use

A new process for producing allyl ethers, usually C.sub.8-30 alkyl (CH.sub.2 CH.sub.2 O).sub.5-100 allyl ether, by forming a solution of an alcohol, usually a surfactant alcohol, in a solvent capable of forming an azeotrope with water, azeotroping the mixture to remove substantially all the water, adding an alkalimetal alkoxide, usually sodium methoxide, removing the alkanol formed, usually by azeotroping with the solvent, adding a halide, usually allyl chloride, and recovering the allyl ether. The ethers are useful as monomers, for example to produce polymers by copolymerising with copolymerisable ethylenically unsaturated comonomers for a wide range of applications.

Monomer production

Fabric conditioners

This invention relates to aqueous acidic solutions which are thickened by cationic polymer, the polymer being added to the solution in the form of particles below 10 .mu.m in size. The useful cationic polymers are formed from a water soluble cationic ethylenically unsaturated monomer or blend of monomers comprising dialkylaminoalkylacrylics that includes a polyethylenically unsaturated cross-linking agent. A peak viscosity is achieved in the aqueous acidic solution at a particular cross-linker concentration. The concentration of cross-linking agent chosen is carefully controlled so that the viscosifying effect can be optimised whilst minimising the amount of polymer that has to be added. The amount of polymer in the aqueous acidic solution is typically in the range of from, 0.01% to 5% dry weight polymer.

Thickened acidic aqueous compositions using cross-linked

The properties of absorptive synthetic polymer particles formed by polymerisation of water soluble monomers such as sodium acrylate or acrylamide with a cross linking agent are improved, especially as regards absorptive capacity for aqueous electrolytes, by copolymerising the monomers with an ethylenically unsaturated monomer that includes a pendant group --A.sub.m B.sub.n A.sub.p R where B is ethyleneoxy, n is at least 2, A is propyleneoxy or butyleneoxy, m and p are each less than n and are preferably zero, and R is a hydrophobic group.

Absorbent polymers, their manufacture and uses

Water soluble, substantially linear, polymers having single point intrinsic viscosity above about 3 are formed from an ethylenically unsaturated monomer that includes a group --B.sub.n A.sub.m R where A is propoxy or butoxy, B is ethoxy, n is zero or an integer of 2 to 100 and m is zero or an integer less than n, and R is a hydrophobic group of at least 8 carbon atoms and comonomer selected from non-ionic monomers and dialkylamino alkyl (meth) -acrylates or -acrylamides wherein at least one of the monomers is tertiary amine acid addition or quaternary ammonium salt. The resultant water soluble, high molecular weight, cationic polymers are useful as flocculants and as viscosifiers of aqueous acid solutions such as downhole acid stimulation fluids.

Water soluble polymers

Polymers are made by polymerization of an ionic monomer such as methacrylic acid or dialkylaminoalkyl (meth)-acrylate or -acrylamide and/or a substantially non-ionic monomer, optionally a cross linking agent, and an allyl ether of the formula CH.sub.2 .dbd.CR'CH.sub.2 OA.sub.m B.sub.n A.sub.p R where R' is hydrogen or methyl, A is propyleneoxy or butyleneoxy, B is ethyleneoxy, n is zero or an integer, m and p are zero or an integer less than n, and R is a hydrophobic group of at least 8 carbon atoms. The polymers are preferably made by oil in water emulsion polymerization. They can be used as thickeners particularly in environments containing surfactant and/or electrolyte, including especially emulsion paints, print pastes, alkaline liquors and acidic liquors.

Polymeric thickeners and their production

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.

Water absorbing polymers

A dispersing agent for particles in aqueous media comprises a copolymer formed from ethyleneically unsaturated monomers including a water-soluble monomer and a monomer carying a pendant group A.sub.m B.sub.n A.sub.p R in which B is ethyleneoxy and n is at least 2, m and p are each generally 0 and R is a hydrophobic group, generally a C.sub.12-18 alkyl group or alkaryl group. The polymers generally have molecular weights in the range 500-100,000. The dispersants are particularly useful for suspending hydrophobic particles in aqueous media, for example to produce coal slurries, or to suspend hydrophilic particles in aqueous media having high electrolyte concentrations, for example for producing paints and, particularly, drilling muds formed in sea water.

Dispersing agents

Dispersions in water-immiscible liquid of water-soluble or water-swellable polymer particles are stabilized by use of an aqueous emulsion of water insoluble viscosifying polymer particles that are swellable or soluble in the water-immiscible liquid. After adding the emulsion to the water-immiscible liquid, water is removed from around the particles of the viscosifying polymer, preferably by absorption into the water swellable or soluble polymer particles. Water-immiscible liquids in general can be thickened particularly effectively by use of an aqueous emulsion of water insoluble viscosifying polymer particles that are swellable but insoluble in the water-immiscible liquid. These insoluble particles have a dry size below 10 .mu.m and are formed from monomers of which 80 to 100% are hydrophobic, 30 to 100% are polar and hydrophobic, 0 to 20% are hydrophilic and not more than 30% by weight are aromatic.

Polymeric compositions and methods of using them

The combination of adhesion and rheology properties of aqueous adhesives the adhesive component of which is a water soluble or water swellable polymeric material can be improved by copolymerizing the monomers from which the polymeric material is obtained with an ethylenically unsaturated monomer that includes a pendant group --A.sub.m B.sub.n A.sub.p R where B is ethoxy, n is at least 2, A is propoxy or butoxy, m and p are each less than n and are preferably zero, and R is a hydrophobic group.

Aqueous adhesives and their use

A thermal energy storage composition is formed of a thermal energy storage hydrate and a solid, water swellable, thermally conducting polymer by blending particles of the polymer with the thermal energy storage hydrate.

Thermal energy storage compositions

A suspension may be flocculated using a water soluble substantially linear polymer having a single point intrinsic viscosity above 3 and that is a copolymer of two or more ethylenically unsaturated monomers including at least 0.5% by weight of monomer carrying pendant hydrophobic groups. The cationic polymers are novel. Preferred polymers are those in which the hydrophobic group is introduced as an allyl ether.

Flocculants and their use

Water-immiscible liquids, for example oil-based drilling fluids, are thickened by the addition of an aqueous dispersion of polymeric particles that are water-insoluble, and insoluble but swellable polymer, in the water immiscible liquid. The particles have a unswollen average diameter of less than 10 .mu.m and at least 30% by weight are preferably in the range 0.5 to 5 .mu.m. Preferred polymers are formed from more than 80% by weight hydrophobic monomers, preferably alkyl (meth) acrylates, and up to 20% hydrophilic monomers, preferably unsaturated carboxylic acids, preferably acrylic acid.

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West Yorkshire, United Kingdom

Malcolm Hawe