US4670501A
Expired / Lapsed
US
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Polymeric compositions and methods of using them
Assignee: Ciba Specialty Chemicals Water Treatments Ltd
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Filing: 1985-05-16
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Granted: 1987-06-02
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Expires: 2005-05-16
Abstract
Abstract 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 μm and at least 30% by weight are preferably in the range 0.5 to 5 μm. 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.
Inventors
- 👤 Brian Dymond
- 👤 John Langley
- 👤 Malcolm Hawe
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-08 21:20
CPC Classifications
C; C09; C09K; C09K8/00; C09K8/02; C09K8/32; C09K8/36; C09K3/00; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S524/00; Y10S524/923
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 30
Claim 1
Independent Claim
100 words
A water-immiscible liquid thickened by water insoluble polymer particles having a dry weight average particle size of below 10 μm and that are insoluble in the water-immiscible liquid but are swollen by the liquid and that comprise a polymer which has a glass transition temperature of less than about 25° C. and formed from monomers of which 80-100% are hydrophobic and 0-20% are hydrophilic, in which at least 25% of the monomers are both polar and hydrophobic and in which not more than 30% of the monomers are hydrophobic aromatic hydrocarbon monomers, all percentages being by weight of total monomer.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
100 words
A water-immiscible liquid thickened by water insoluble polymer particles having a dry weight average particle size of below 10 μm and that are insoluble in the water-immiscible liquid but are swollen by the liquid and that comprise a polymer which has a glass transition temperature of less than about 25° C. and formed from monomers of which 80-100% are hydrophobic and 0-20% are hydrophilic, in which at least 25% of the monomers are both polar and hydrophobic and in which not more than 30% of the monomers are hydrophobic aromatic hydrocarbon monomers, all percentages being by weight of total monomer.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
20 words
A liquid according to claim 1 in which the particles are swollen to 4 to 50 times their dry volume.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
25 words
A liquid according to claim 1 in which at least 30% by weight of the particles have an unswollen size of 0.05 to 5 μm.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
42 words
A liquid according to claim 1 in which the polymer is formed from 80 to 100% C 1-30 alkyl (meth) acrylate monomers of which 50% to 100% are C 6-18 alkyl (meth) acrylate monomers, and 0 to 20%, by weight hydrophilic monomers.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
41 words
A liquid according to claim 1 in which the polymer is formed from 90 to 100% alkyl (meth) acrylate of which at least 50% by weight is C 6-10 alkyl (meth) acrylate, and 0.5 to 10%, by weight water soluble monomer.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
45 words
A liquid according to claim 1 in which the particles are formed of a copolymer of ethylenically unsaturated monomers and have an external hydrophilic shell formed of a monomer that is hydrophilic but that is miscible with the other monomer or monomers in the copolymer.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
36 words
A liquid according to claim 1 in which the polymer is formed from monomers that include 0.1 to 5% of a hydrophilic monomer selected from unsaturated carboxylic acids, acrylamide, dialkylaminoalkyl (meth) acrylates and hydroxyalkyl (meth) acrylates.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
13 words
A liquid according to claim 1 in which the polymer is substantially uncross-linked.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
20 words
A liquid according to claim 1 in which the polymer has a glass transition temperature of less than -20° C.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
16 words
A liquid according to claim 1 in which the polymer is film forming at 20° C.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
17 words
A liquid according to claim 1 in which the polymer particles have been formed by emulsion polymerisation.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
37 words
A liquid according to claim 1 in which the polymer particles have been made by emulsion polymerisation and the liquid has been formed by adding to the water-immiscible liquid the resultant aqueous emulsion of the polymer particles.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
17 words
A liquid according to claim 1 and that is a downhole fluid that is a water-in-oil emulsion.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
19 words
A liquid according to claim 1 in which at least 50% of the monomers are both polar and hydrophobic.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
19 words
A liquid according to claim 14 in which at least 80% of the monomers are both polar and hydrophobic.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
17 words
A liquid according to claim 1 that is the continuous phase of a dispersion of polymer particles.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
41 words
A liquid according to claim 1 in which the polar and hydrophobic monomers are ethylenically unsaturated monomers carrying a carboxylic ester group or amine group substituent and that have a solubility of below 3% by weight in water at 20° C.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
48 words
A liquid according to claim 1 in which the hydrophobic monomers are selected from ethylene and polar hydrophobic monomers which are ethylenically unsaturated monomers carrying a carboxylic ester group or amide group substituent and that have a solubility of below 3% by weight in water at 20° C.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
56 words
A liquid according to claim 1 in which the hydrophilic monomers are selected from dialkyl amino alkyl (meth) acrylate and their quaternary addition and acid salts, acrylamide, N-(dialkyl amino alkyl) acrylamide and meth acrylamide and their quaternary addition and acid salts, hydroxy alkyl (meth) acrylates and unsaturated sulphonic or carboxylic acids and their alkyl amino salts.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
27 words
A liquid according to claim 1 in which the polymer is formed from 40-100% 2-ethyl hexyl acrylate, 0-10% hydrophilic groups and 0-50% C 6-30 alkyl (meth) acrylates.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
27 words
A liquid according to claim 1 in which the polymer is formed from 40-100% 2-ethyl hexyl acrylate, 0-10% hydrophilic groups and 0-50% C 12-18 alkyl (meth) acrylates.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
14 words
A liquid according to claim 1 in which the monomers include 0.3-3% acrylic acid.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
18 words
A liquid according to claim 5 in which the C 6-10 alkyl (meth) acrylate is 2-ethyl hexyl acrylate.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
14 words
A liquid according to claim 7 in which the unsaturated carboxylic is acrylic acid.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
21 words
A liquid according to claim 12 in which the emulsion polymerisation was conducted in the presence of a nonionic oil-in-water emulsifier.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
30 words
A liquid according to claim 12 in which water has been removed from around the said water insoluble polymer particles after addition of the aqueous emulsion to the water-immiscible liquid.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
25 words
A liquid according to claim 1 in which the liquid has been formed by adding to the water-immiscible liquid an emulsion of the polymer particles.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
153 words
A water-immiscible liquid thickened by water insoluble polymer particles having a dry weight average particle size of below 10 μm and that are insoluble in the water-immiscible liquid but are swollen to 4 to 50 times their dry volume by the liquid, and that comprises a polymer which has a glass transition temperature of less than about 25° C., said polymer particles having been made by emulsion polymerisation of from 80 to 100% C 1-30 alkyl (meth)acrylate monomers of which 50 to 100% are hydrophobic C 6-18 alkyl (meth)acrylate monomers and 0 to 20% are hydrophilic monomers, in which at least 25% of the monomers are both polar and hydrophobic, and in which not more than 30% of the monomers are hydrophobic aromatic hydrocarbon monomers, all percentages being by weight of total monomer, and said liquid having been formed by adding to the water-immiscible liquid the resultant aqueous emulsion of the polymer particles.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
153 words
A water-immiscible liquid thickened by water insoluble polymer particles having a dry weight average particle size of below 10 μm and that are insoluble in the water-immiscible liquid but are swollen to 4 to 50 times their dry volume by the liquid, and that comprises a polymer which has a glass transition temperature of less than about 25° C., said polymer particles having been made by emulsion polymerisation of from 80 to 100% C 1-30 alkyl (meth)acrylate monomers of which 50 to 100% are hydrophobic C 6-18 alkyl (meth)acrylate monomers and 0 to 20% are hydrophilic monomers, in which at least 25% of the monomers are both polar and hydrophobic, and in which not more than 30% of the monomers are hydrophobic aromatic hydrocarbon monomers, all percentages being by weight of total monomer, and said liquid having been formed by adding to the water-immiscible liquid the resultant aqueous emulsion of the polymer particles.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1990-06-01 | 1990-12-01 | 1991-06-02 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1994-06-01 | 1994-12-01 | 1995-06-02 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1998-06-01 | 1998-12-01 | 1999-06-02 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |