U.S. patent number RE28,474 [Application Number 05/413,831] was granted by the patent office on 1975-07-08 for process for rapidly dissolving water-soluble polymers.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Nalco Chemical Co.. Invention is credited to Donald R. Anderson, Alvin J. Frisque.
United States Patent |
RE28,474 |
Anderson , et al. |
July 8, 1975 |
Process for rapidly dissolving water-soluble polymers
Abstract
Water-soluble vinyl addition polymers and gums may be rapidly
dissolved in water by first dispersing these polymers into a
water-in-oil emulsion and then inverting these emulsions in water.
The inversion of the emulsion releases the polymer into water as a
solution.
Inventors: |
Anderson; Donald R. (Oswego,
IL), Frisque; Alvin J. (La Grange, IL) |
Assignee: |
Nalco Chemical Co. (Oak Brook,
IL)
|
Family
ID: |
26784730 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/413,831 |
Filed: |
November 8, 1973 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
|
Reissue of: |
092031 |
Dec 15, 1970 |
03624019 |
Nov 30, 1971 |
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
523/336;
252/363.5; 524/375; 524/475; 524/555; 524/922; 507/936;
507/225 |
Current CPC
Class: |
C02F
1/54 (20130101); C02F 1/5227 (20130101); C08J
3/03 (20130101); C08L 33/26 (20130101); C08L
33/26 (20130101); C08L 2666/02 (20130101); C08J
2300/10 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
C02F
1/54 (20060101); C02F 1/52 (20060101); C08L
33/00 (20060101); C08J 3/03 (20060101); C08L
33/26 (20060101); C08J 3/02 (20060101); C08f
047/16 (); C08f 047/18 () |
Field of
Search: |
;260/29.6H |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Other References
Davidson et al, Water Soluble Resins, Reinhold, New York, 1968,
pgs. 176-177 & 197..
|
Primary Examiner: Goldstein; Melvin
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Hume, Clement, Brinks, Willian,
Olds & Cook, Ltd.
Claims
We claim:
1. A method of rapidly dissolving an acrylamide polymer into water,
which comprises the steps of:
A. preparing a water-in-oil emulsion which contains dispersed
therein .[.a.]. .Iadd.between 5-75 percent by weight of
.Iaddend.finely divided acrylamide polymer; .[.thereby providing an
acrylamide polymer containing emulsion; and then,.]. .Iadd.said
emulsion having an oil-to-water ratio between 5:1 - 1:10 and said
oil being a hydrocarbon liquid; and then, .Iaddend.
B. inverting said emulsion in water which contains a water-soluble
surfactant whereby the acrylamide polymer is released into the
water as a solution.
2. A method of rapidly dissolving an acrylamide polymer into water,
which comprises the steps of:
A. preparing a water-in-oil emulsion which contains dispersed
therein .Iadd.between 5-75 percent by weight of
.Iaddend.finely-divided .[.an.]. acrylamide polymer and a
compatible water-soluble surfactant; .[.thereby providing an
acrylamide polymer containing emulsion.]. .Iadd.said emulsion
having an oil-to-water ratio of between 5:1 - 1:10 and said oil
being a hydrocarbon liquid; .Iaddend.and then,
B. inverting said emulsion by adding it to water whereby the
acrylamide polymer is released into the water as a solution.
3. A method of rapidly dissolving an acrylamide polymer into water,
which comprises the steps of:
A. preparing a water-in-oil emulsion having an oil to water ratio
between 5:1 - 1:10 which contains dispersed therein from .[.51.].
.Iadd.5.Iaddend.-75 percent by weight of .Iadd.acrylamide polymer
.Iaddend.particles .[.ranging in size.]. .Iadd.having an average
size in the range of .Iaddend.from 5 millimicrons to 5 millimeters
.Iadd.and said oil being a hydrocarbon liquid .Iaddend..[.of an
acrylamide polymer.].; and then,
B. inverting said acrylamide polymer containing emulsion by adding
it .Iadd.to water .Iaddend.in an amount to provide .Iadd.an aqueous
solution containing .Iaddend.from 0.1-20 percent by weight of the
acrylamide polymer .[.to water which contains.]., .Iadd.said water
containing .Iaddend.from 1.0-10 percent .[.by weight based on the
weight of the acrylamide polymer.]. of a water-soluble surfactant
.[.whereby the acrylamide polymer is released into the water as a
solution.]. .Iadd.based upon the weight of the acrylamide
polymer..Iaddend.
4. A method of rapidly dissolving an acrylamide polymer into water
which comprises the steps of:
A. preparing a water-in-oil emulsion having an oil to water
.[.ration.]. .Iadd.ratio .Iaddend.between 5:1-1:10 which contains
dispersed therein from 5-75 percent by weight of .Iadd.acrylamide
polymer .Iaddend.particles .[.ranging in size.]. .Iadd.having an
average size in the range of .Iaddend.from 5 millimicrons to 5
millimeters .[.of an acrylamide polymer.]. and from 1.0-10 percent
.[.by weight of the acrylamide polymer.]. of a compatible
water-soluble surfactant .Iadd.based upon the weight of the
acrylamide polymer, and said oil being a hydrocarbon
liquid.Iaddend.; and then,
B. inverting said acrylamide polymer containing emulsion by adding
it .Iadd.to water .Iaddend.in an amount to provide .Iadd.an aqueous
solution containing .Iaddend.from 0.1-20 percent by weight of the
acrylamide polymer .[.to water whereby the acrylamide polymer is
released into the water as a solution.]..
5. A method of rapidly dissolving an acrylamide polymer into water
which comprises the steps of:
A. preparing a water-in-oil emulsion .Iadd.having an oil-to-water
ratio between 5:1 and 1:10 .Iaddend.which contains dispersed
therein from 5-75 percent by weight of .Iadd.acrylamide polymer
.Iaddend.particles .[.ranging in size.]. .Iadd.having an average
size in the range of .Iaddend.from 5 millimicrons to 5 microns
.[.of an acrylamide polymer.]. and from 1.0-10 percent .[.by weight
of the acrylamide polymer.]. of a compatible water-soluble
surfactant .Iadd.based upon the weight of the acrylamide polymer,
and said oil being a hydrocarbon liquid.Iaddend.; and then
B. inverting said acrylamide polymer containing emulsion by adding
it .Iadd.to water .Iaddend.in an amount to provide .Iadd.an aqueous
solution containing .Iaddend.from 0.1-20 percent by weight of the
acrylamide polymer .[.to water whereby the acrylamide polymer is
released into the water as a solution.]..
6. A method of rapidly dissolving an acrylamide polymer into water
which comprises the steps of:
A. preparing a water-in-oil emulsion .Iadd.having an oil-to-water
ratio between 5:1 and 1:10 .Iaddend.which contains dispersed
therein from 5-75 percent by weight of .Iadd.acrylamide polymer
.Iaddend.particles .[.ranging in size.]. .Iadd.having an average
size in the range of .Iaddend.from 5 millimicrons to 5 microns
.[.of an acrylamide polymer.]., .Iadd.said oil being a hydrocarbon
liquid .Iaddend.and then
B. inverting said acrylamide polymer containing emulsion by adding
it .Iadd.to water .Iaddend.in an amount to provide .Iadd.an aqueous
solution containing .Iaddend.from 0.1-20 percent by weight of the
acrylamide polymer .[.to water which contains.]..Iadd., said water
containing .Iaddend.from 1.0-10 percent .[.by weight.].
.Iadd.water-soluble surfactant .Iaddend.based on the weight of the
acrylamide polymer .[.of a water-soluble surfactant whereby the
acrylamide polymer is released into the water as a solution.]..
.Iadd.
7. A method of rapidly dissolving an acrylamide polymer into water
which comprises inverting in water a water-in-oil emulsion
containing between 5-75 percent by weight of dispersed finely
divided acrylamide polymer, said emulsion having an oil-to-water
ratio between 5:1 - 1:10, said oil being a hydrocarbon liquid, and
said inversion being carried out by adding said emulsion to water
in the presence of a water-soluble surfactant. .Iaddend. .Iadd.8.
The method as defined in claim 7 wherein said water-soluble
surfactant is contained in said emulsion. .Iaddend. .Iadd.9. The
method as defined in claim 7 wherein said water soluble surfactant
is contained in said water. .Iaddend. .Iadd.10. A method of rapidly
dissolving an acrylamide polymer into water which comprises
inverting a water-in-oil emulsion by adding it to water in the
presence of a water-soluble surfactant, said emulsion having an
oil-to-water ratio between 5:1 and 1:10 and containing from 5 to 75
percent by weight of dispersed acrylamide polymer particles having
an average size in the range of from 5 millimicrons to 5
millimeters, said surfactant being present in an amount of about
1.0 to 10 percent based on the weight of said acrylamide polymer,
said oil being a hydrocarbon liquid and said emulsion being added
in an amount sufficient to provide an aqueous solution containing
from 0.1 to 20 percent by weight of said acrylamide polymer.
.Iaddend..Iadd. 11. The method as defined in claim 10 wherein said
water-soluble surfactant is contained in said emulsion.
.Iaddend..Iadd. 12. The method as defined in claim 10 wherein said
water-soluble surfactant is contained in said water.
.Iaddend..Iadd. 13. A method of rapidly dissolving an acrylamide
polymer into water which comprises inverting a water-in-oil
emulsion by adding it to water in the presence of a water-soluble
surfactant, said emulsion having an oil-to-water ratio between 5:1
- 1:10 and containing from 5 to 75 percent by weight of dispersed
acrylamide polymer particles having an average size in the range of
from 5 millimicrons to 5 microns, said oil being a hydrocarbon
liquid and said surfactant being present in an amount of about 1.0
to 10 percent based on the weight of said acrylamide polymer, and
said emulsion being added in an amount sufficient to provide an
aqueous solution containing from 0.1 to 20 percent by weight of
said acrylamide polymer. .Iaddend..Iadd. 14. The method as defined
in claim 13 wherein said water-soluble surfactant is contained in
said emulsion. .Iaddend..Iadd.
The method as defined in claim 13 wherein said water-soluble
surfactant is contained in said water. .Iaddend..Iadd. 16. A method
of rapidly dissolving an acrylamide polymer into water, which
comprises the steps of:
A. preparing a water in oil emulsion which contains dispersed
therein between 5-75 percent by weight of finely divided acrylamide
polymer; said emulsion having an oil-to-water ratio between 5:1 -
1:10 and said oil being a hydrocarbon liquid; and then,
B. inverting said emulsion in water whereby the acrylamide polymer
is
released into the water as a solution. .Iaddend..Iadd. 17. The
method of claim 16 wherein the oil used in preparing said
water-in-oil emulsion is an aliphatic hydrocarbon liquid.
.Iaddend..Iadd. 18. A method of rapidly dissolving an acrylamide
polymer into water which comprises inverting in water a
water-in-oil emulsion containing between 5-75 percent by weight of
dispersed finely divided acrylamide polymer, said emulsion having
an oil-to-water ratio between 5:1 - 1:10 and said oil being a
hydrocarbon liquid. .Iaddend..Iadd. 19. The method of claim 18
wherein the oil contained in said water-in-oil emulsion is an
aliphatic hydrocarbon liquid. .Iaddend.
Description
Various synthetic and naturally occurring water-soluble polymers
have been developed which exhibit, in aqueous solution, superior
thickening and flocculating properties. These polymers are being
used increasingly in a number of commercial applications such as,
for example, in the clarification of aqueous solutions, in
papermaking operations, in the treatment of sewage and industrial
wastes, as stabilizers for drilling muds, and in the secondary
recovery of petroleum by water-flooding.
Although these polymers are most often available commercially as
powders or as a finely divided solid, they are most frequently
utilized as aqueous solutions. This necessitates that the solid
polymer material be dissolved in water. Although the various
polymers are more or less soluble in water, difficulty is often
experienced in preparing aqueous polymer solutions because of their
slow dissolution and because the solid polymer is not readily
dispersible in water. Furthermore, dispersion of solid polymers in
water is hindered by their tendency to clump or remain as
agglomerates on contact with water. Lumps of solid polymer
immediately form by the encapsulation of undissolved solids in an
outer coating of water-wet polymer which retards the penetration of
additional water into the agglomerate. Although many of these lumps
are eventually dissolved by continued agitation, it is frequently
impractical to agitate the solution for a sufficiently long period
to obtain complete dissolution.
THE INVENTION
This invention is directed to the discovery that water-soluble
vinyl addition polymers and gums may be rapidly dissolved or
dispersed in water which comprises the steps of:
A. first preparing a water-in-oil emulsion which contains dispersed
therein finely divided particles of the water-soluble vinyl
addition polymer or gum. This produces what may be termed as
polymer-containing emulsion;
B. the polymer-containing emulsion is then inverted in water
whereby the water-soluble vinyl addition polymer or gum is released
into the water as a solution.
THE WATER-SOLUBLE VINYL ADDITION POLYMERS
These polymers are well known to the art and have been described in
numerous publications and patents. The polymers most commonly used
in many industrial applications are acrylamide polymers which
include polyacrylamide and its water-soluble copolymeric
derivatives such as, for instance, acrylamide-acrylic acid, and
acrylamide-acrylic acid salt copolymers which contain from about
95-5 percent by weight of acrylamide. Also useful are copolymers of
acrylamide with other vinyl monomers such as maleic anhydride,
acrylonitrile, styrene and the like. It is preferred in the
practice of this invention to use acrylamide polymers which are
water-soluble and which contain at least 5 percent by weight of
acrylamide.
Other water-soluble vinyl polymers are described in detail in the
following U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,418,237, 3,259,570 and 3,171,805.
In examining the disclosures of these patents it will be seen that
the water-soluble polymers may be either cationic or anionic and,
in some instances, the ionic charges are sufficiently slight so
that the polymers may be considered as nonionic.
For example, water-soluble polymers and copolymers of allyl,
diallyl amines, or dimethylaminoethylmethacrylate are cationic.
Polymers such as polyvinyl alcohol are nonionic, and polymers such
as polyacrylic acid or polystyrene sulfonates are anionic. All of
these polymers may be used in the practice of the invention.
The molecular weight of the polymers described above may vary over
a wide range, e.g: 10,000-25,000,000. The invention, however, finds
its greatest usefulness in preparing aqueous solutions or
dispersions of these polymers and, in particular, acrylamide
polymers whose molecular weight are in excess of 1 million.
Polymers having higher molecular weights are more difficulty
dissolved in water and tend to form extremely viscous solutions at
relatively low concentrations. Also, the polymers may be produced
by any known methods of conducting polymerization reactions. Thus,
solution suspension or emulsion polymerization techniques may be
used. The gums are well-known water-soluble polymers and are
described in Vol. 10 of the Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology,
2nd Edition, Interscience Publishers, 1966.
The invention is capable of producing rapidly aqueous solutions of
the water-soluble vinyl addition polymers or gums having
concentrations within the range of 0.1-20 percent by weight. The
invention most often finds usefulness when it is desired to form
aqueous solutions of polymers having a solution concentration of
0.2-2.0 percent by weight.
THE WATER-IN-OIL EMULSIONS
The water-in-oil emulsions may be prepared by any number of known
techniques. The oils used in preparing these emulsions may be
selected from a large group of organic liquids which include liquid
hydrocarbons and substituted liquid hydrocarbons.
A preferred group of organic liquids are the hydrocarbon liquids
which include both aromatic and aliphatic compounds. Thus, such
organic hydrocarbon liquids as benzene, xylene, toluene, mineral
oils, kerosenes, naphthas and, in certain instances, petrolatums
may be used. A particularly useful oil from the standpoint of its
physical and chemical properties is the branch-chain isoparaffinic
solvent sold by Humble Oil & Refining Company under the trade
name ISOPAR M. Typical specifications of this narrow-cut
isoparaffinic solvent are set forth below in table I:
TABLE I
__________________________________________________________________________
Specification properties Minimum Maximum Test method
__________________________________________________________________________
Gravity, API at 60/60.degree. F 48.0 51.0 ASTM D 287 Color, Saybolt
80 -- ASTM D 166 Aniline point, .degree. F 183 -- ASTM D 611
Sulfur, p.p.m. -- 10 ASTM D 1266.sup.1 Distillation, .degree. F --
-- ASTM D 86 IBP 400 410 Dry point -- 496 Flash point, .degree. F.
(Pensky-Martens closed 160 -- ASTM D 93 cup)
__________________________________________________________________________
.sup.1 Nephelometric mod.
The amount of oil used in relation to the water to prepare the
emulsion may be varied over wide ranges. As a general rule, the
amount of oil-to-water may vary between 5:1-1:10 with preferable
emulsions being prepared in the ratio of 1:2 to 1:10. These ratios
are illustrative of emulsions that can be prepared, although it
should be understood that the invention is not limited thereby.
The emulsions may be prepared by any number of techniques. For
example, the emulsions may be prepared by using high-speed
agitation or ultrasonic techniques. In most instances, however, it
is desirable that the emulsion be a stable emulsion and to achieve
the end it is often necessary to employ an oil-soluble emulsifying
agent. The amount of emulsifying agent to provide an emulsion will
have to be determined by routine experimentation. As a general rule
it may be said that the amount of oil-soluble emulsifier may range
from 0 to 30 percent by weight based on the weight of the oil. To
produce stable emulsions the amount of emulsifier will normally be
within the range of 12-20 percent by weight of the oil.
Rather than provide a listing of suitable emulsifiers, we prefer to
generally recommend as being satisfactory the so-called low HLB
materials which are well documented in the literature and are
summarized in the Atlas HLB Surfactant Selector. Although these
emulsifiers are useful in producing good .Iadd.water-in-oil
.Iaddend..[.waterin-oil.]. emulsions, other surfactants may be used
as long as they are capable of producing these emulsions. For
instance, we have found that certain high HLB surfactants are
capable of producing stable water-in-oil emulsions. A typical low
HLB emulsifier is sorbitan monooleate.
DISPERSING THE POLYMERS INTO THE WATER-IN-OIL EMULSIONS
In accordance with the first step or procedure of the invention,
the water-soluble vinyl addition polymers or the gums are dispersed
into the water-in-oil emulsion. The polymers as produced by most
manufacturing processes are in the form of powders or lumplike
agglomerates of varying particle size. It is desirable that the
particles, before being placed into the emulsion, be comminuted by
grinding, abrading or the like so that their average particle size
is less than 5 millimeters and preferably is within the range of
1-5 microns. After the powders have been comminuted, they may be
dispersed into the water-in-oil emulsion by means of agitation
provided by such devices as stirrers, shakers and the like. To be
commercially practical, the amount of polymer in the emulsion
should be at least 2 percent by weight. The invention contemplates
using emulsions containing between 5-75 percent by weight with
preferred emulsions having a polymer concentration within the range
of 10-45 percent by weight. In some cases the starting emulsions
are converted to suspensions due to the nature and the amount of
the polymer present therein.
From a commercial standpoint it is beneficial that the polymer
emulsions thus described be stable, yet at the same time contain
relatively large amounts of polymers. One method of insuring that
the polymers do not precipitate when dispersed in the emulsion is
that the particle size of the polymer be as small as possible. Thus
polymers dispersed in the .Iadd.emulsion .Iaddend..[.emulsifiers.].
are quite stable when the particle size is within the range of 5
millimicrons up to about 5 microns. To produce particle sizes
within these limitations, spray dryers with appropriate size
nozzles may be used. It also is possible to prepare the
polymer-containing emulsion of the water-soluble vinyl addition
polymers directly from the vinyl monomers from which these polymers
are synthesized. Such polymer-containing emulsion may be
synthesized by using the water-in-oil emulsion polymerization
technique set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 3,284,393. The teachings of
this patent comprise forming a water-in-oil emulsion of
water-soluble ethylenic unsaturated monomers. The emulsion is
formed by utilizing a water-in-oil emulsifying agent. To this
monomer is added a free radical-type polymerization catalyst and
then heat is applied under free radical-forming conditions to form
water-soluble polymer latices. The polymeric latices produced by
this patent are relatively unstable and frequently must be treated
with additional emulsifiers to render the products stable.
INVERTING THE EMULSION
The major discovery upon which this invention is predicated resides
in the discovery that when the polymer-containing emulsions of the
type described are inverted in the presence of water, that the
polymer rapidly goes into solution. The polymer-containing
emulsions release the polymer in the water in a very short period
of time when compared to the amount of time required to dissolve a
solid form of the polymer.
The polymer-containing emulsions may be inverted by any number of
means. The most convenient means resides in the use of a surfactant
added to either the polymer-containing emulsion or to the water
into which it is to be dissolved. The placement of a surfactant
into the water causes the emulsion to rapidly invert and release
the polymer in the form of an aqueous solution. When this technique
is used to invert the polymer-containing emulsion the amount of
surfactant present in the water may vary over a range of 0.01 to 50
percent based on polymer. Good inversion often occurs within the
range of 1.0-10 percent based on polymer.
THE SURFACTANTS
The preferred surfactants are .Iadd.hydrophilic
.Iaddend..[.hydrophylic.]. and are further characterized as being
water-soluble. Any hydrophilic-type surfactant such as ethoxylated
nonyl phenols, ethoxylated nonyl phenol formaldehyde resin, dioctyl
esters of sodium sulfosuccinate, and octyl phenol polyethoxy
ethanol can be used.
Other surfactants that may be employed include the soaps such as
sodium and potassium myristate, laurate, palmitate, oleate,
stearate, resinate, and hydroabietate, the alkali metal alkyl or
alkylene sulfates, such as sodium lauryl sulfate, potassium stearyl
sulfate, the alkali metal alkyl of alkylene sulfonates, such as
sodium lauryl sulfonate, potassium stearyl sulfonate, and sodium
cetyl sulfonate, sulfonated mineral oil, as well as the ammonium
salts thereof; and salts of higher means like lauryl amine
hydrochloride, and stearyl amine hydrobromide.
Any anionic, cationic, or nonionic compound can be used as the
surfactant. Examples of suitable anionic surfactants are alkali
metal, ammonium and amine soaps; the fatty acid part of such soaps
contains preferably at least 16 carbon atoms because soaps based on
lauric and myristic acids have a great tendency to develop abundant
foam.
Other examples of suitable anionic surfactants are alkali metal
salts of alkyl-aryl sulfonic acids, sodium dialkyl sulfosuccinate,
sulfated or sulfonated oils, e.g., sulfated castor oil; sulfonated
tallow, and alkali salts of short chain petroleum sulfonic
acids.
Examples of suitable cationic surfactants are salts of long-chain
primary, secondary, or tertiary amines, such as oleylamine acetate,
cetylamine acetate, di-dodecylamine lactate, the acetate of
.[.aminoethyl-.]. aminoethyl stearamide, dilauroyl triethylene
tetramine diacetate, 1-aminoethyl-2-heptadecenyl imidazoline
acetate; and quaternary salts, such as cetylpyridinium bromide,
hexadecyl ethyl morpholinium chloride, and diethyl di-dodecyl
ammonium chloride.
Examples of suitable nonionic surfactants are condensation products
of higher fatty alcohols with ethylene oxide, such as the reaction
product of oleyl alcohol with 10 ethylene oxide units; condensation
products of alkyl-phenols .[.and.]. .Iadd.with .Iaddend.ethylene
oxide, such as the reaction products of isooctylphenol with 12
ethylene oxide units; condensation products of higher fatty acid
amides with five, or more, ethylene oxide units; polyethylene
glycol esters of long chain fatty acids, such as tetraethylene
glycol monopalmitate, hexaethyleneglycol monolaurate,
nonaethyleneglycol monostearate, nonaethyleneglycol dioleate,
tridecaethyleneglycol monoarachidate, tricosaethylene glycol
monobehenate, tricosaethyleneglycol dibehenate, polyhydric alcohol
partial higher fatty acid esters such as sorbitan tristearate,
ethylene oxide condensation products of polyhydric alcohol partial
higher fatty esters, and their inner anhydrides
(mannitolan-hydride, called Mannitan, and sorbitol-anhydride,
called Sorbitan), such as .[.the emulsion even reacted they.].
.Iadd.glycerol monopalmitate reacted with .Iaddend.10 molecules of
ethylene oxide, pentaerythritolmonooleate reacted with 12 molecules
of ethylene oxide, sorbitan monostearate reacted with 10 to 15
molecules of ethylene oxide; long chain polyglycols in which one
hydroxyl group is esterified with a higher fatty acid and the other
hydroxyl group is etherified with a low molecular alcohol, such as
methoxypolyethylene glycol 550 monostearate (550 meaning the
average molecular weight of the polyglycol ether). A combination of
two or more of these surfactants may be used, e.g. a cationic may
be blended with a nonionic or an anionic with a nonionic.
Following is a list of suitable surfactants that could be used in
the practice of this invention. Any water-soluble surfactant could
be used, but naturally some are more efficient than others. Useful
surfactants include, but are not limited to: polyoxyethylene alkyl
phenol, polyoxyethylene (10 mole) cetyl ether, polyoxyethylene
alkyl-aryl ether, polyoxyethylene monolaurate, polyoxyethylene
vegetable oil, polyoxyethylene sorbitan monolaurate,
polyoxyethylene esters or mixed fatty and resin acids,
polyoxyethylene sorbitol lanolin derivative, polyoxyethylene (12
mole) tridecylether, polyoxyethylene sorbitan esters of mixed fatty
and resin acids, polyoxyethylene sorbitan monostearate,
polyoxyethylene sorbitan monooleate, polyoxyethylene monostearate,
polyoxyethylene (20 mole) stearyl ether, polyoxyethylene (20 mole)
oleyl ether, polyoxyethylene (15 mole) tridecyl ether,
polyoxyethylene fatty alcohol, polyoxyethylene alkyl amine,
polyoxyethylene glycol monopalmitate, polyoxyethylene sorbitan
monopalmitate, polyoxyethylene (20 mole) cetyl ether,
polyoxyethylene oxypropylene stearate, polyoxyethylene lauryl
ether, polyoxyethylene lanolin derivative, sodium oleate,
quaternary ammonium derivative, potassium oleate, N-cetyl N-ethyl
morpholinium ethosulfate, and pure sodium lauryl sulfate.
In addition to using the water-soluble surfactants described above,
other surfactants may be used such as silicones, clays and the
like, which are included as surfactants since, in certain
instances, they tend to invert the emulsion even though they are
not water-soluble.
In other specific cases the surfactant may be directly added to the
polymer-containing emulsion; thereby rendering it self-inverting
upon contact with water. These products, while capable of being
used in certain systems, must be carefully formulated since the
surfactants may tend to interact with the emulsifier or the
emulsion and destroy it prior to its being used.
Other techniques for inverting the emulsions include the use of
agitation, high voltage electrical fields, heat and pH shift, as
well as the placement into the water, into which the
polymer-containing emulsion is to be dissolved, certain
electrolytes. For any particular polymer-containing emulsion a
suitable method for its inversion may be readily determined by
routine experimentation.
EXAMPLES
To illustrate the invention the following presented examples are
set forth below in table II. A variety of emulsions were prepared
containing different water-soluble vinyl addition polymers. The
emulsions were then inverted using different techniques. Inversion
method No. 1 was the placement of a surfactant into the water into
which the polymer was to be dissolved. Inversion method No. 2
incorporated the surfactant into the emulsion. Inversion method No.
3 was agitation without the presence of surfactant.
TABLE II
__________________________________________________________________________
Percent Water (percent Oil (percent in Polymer particle Inver-
Dissolution by weight) by weight) Polymer emul- size range sion
time sion method
__________________________________________________________________________
72 28 (I) 93% acrylamide, 7% methacrylic acid 35 5-70 microns
.sup.2 2 <5 min. 72 28 (I) do. 35 do. .sup.3 3 30-45 min. 72 28
(T) 70% acrylamide, 30% acrylic acid 35 do. .sup.1 2 <5 min. 72
28 (T) Acrylamide 35 do. .sup.1 2 <5 min. 67 33 (I) 93%
acrylamide, 7% methacrylic acid 32 <30 microns .sup.2 1 3-10
min. 67 33 (I) 75% acrylamide, 25% DMAEM 30 do. .sup.2 1 5-10 min.
67 33 (T) Acrylamide 35 10 microns-1 mm. .sup.2 1 3-10 min. 50 50
(I) 70% acrylamide, 30% acrylic acid 34 do. .sup.2 1 Immediate 48
52 (I) Sodium polyacrylate 87 <1 mm. .sup.1 1 <15 min. 23 67
(I) Acrylamide (dry solids into emulsion) 23 10 microns-1 mm.
.sup.1 1 <1
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hour. .sup.1 Octyl phenol Rx with 3 moles of EtO. .sup.2 Octyl
phenol Rx with 10 moles of EtO .sup.3 Complex organic phosphate
ester? NOTE. I-Isopar M; T-Toluene;
DMAEM-Dimethylaminoethylmethacrylate; 1-Surfactant added to water;
2-Surfactant added to Emulsion; 3-Agitation without Surfactant.
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