Stable pumpable slurries of ethylene oxide polymers

Claim 1

A STABLE SLURRY FORMULATION WHICH COMPRISES: A. PARTICULATE WATER-SOLUBLE ETHYLENE OXIDE POLYMER WHICH HAS AN AVERAGE MOLECULAR WEIGHT GREATER THAN ABOUT 500,000 AND A DENSITY OF ABOUT 1.15 TO ABOUT 1.26; B. AN INERT LIQUID VEHICLE BEING A MIXTURE OF AT LEAST TWO MUTUALLY SOLUBLE LIQUIDS, OR A SOLUTION OF A SOLID IN A LIQUID, ONE COMPONENT OF SAID MIXTURE HAVING A DENSITY LOWER THAN gIN A LIQUID, ONE COMPONENT OF SAID MIXTURE HAVING A DENSITY LOWER THAN THAT OF THE ETHYLENE OXIDE POLYMER POLYMER AND BEING SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF PROPYLENE GLYCOL, 1,3BUTYLENE GLYCOL, 1,6-HEXYLENE GLYCOL, ETHYLENE GLYCOL, 2METHYL-PENTANE-2-4-DIOL, DIPROPYLENE GLYCOL, BUTANE DIOL, TO ABOUT 600, AND WATER-SOLUBLE POLY(ALKYLENE OXIDES) ABOUT 200 TO ABOUT 20,000 MOLECULAR WEIGHT AND THE OTHER COMPONENT OF SAID MIXTURE HAVING A DENSITY HIGHER THAN THAT OF THE ETHYLENE OXIDE POLYMER AND BEING SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF GLYCERINE, 1, 2, 3, 4 BUT 5,6 HEXANE HEXOL, 1, 2, 3, 4 BUTANE TETROL, PENTAERYTHRITOL AND ETHYLENE CARBONATE CHARACTERIZED IN THAT THE DENSITY OF THE LIQUID VEHICLE IS FROM ABOUT 96.5 PERCENT TO ABOUT 103.5 PERCENT OF THE DENSITY OF SAID ETHYLENE OXIDE POLYMER, SAID VEHICLE BEING PRESENT AT A TOTAL VOLUME PER UNIT VOLUME OF POLYMER POWDER WHICH EXCEEDS THE VOID VOLUME OF SAID ETHYLENE OXIDE POLYMER BY AT LEAST 3 PERCENT BUT BY LESS THAN 500 PERCENT PREFERABLY BY AT LEAST 45 PERCENT BUT BY NOT MORE THAN 350 PERCENT, AND C. A THICKENING AGENT WHICH IS NON-REACTIVE WITH SAID ETHYLENE OXIDE POLYMER AND SAID LIQUID VEHICLE AND WHICH IS EMPLOYED IN AN AMOUNT OF ABOUT 0 PERCENT TO ABOUT 3 1/2 BASED ON LTHE WEIGHT OF THE SLURRY FORMULATION.