US2015101673A1PendingUtilityA1
Drag reducing copolymers for cold fluid applications
Assignee: LUBRIZOL SPECIALTY PRODUCTS INCPriority: Jul 31, 2008Filed: Dec 18, 2014Published: Apr 16, 2015
Est. expiryJul 31, 2028(~2 yrs left)· nominal 20-yr term from priority
Inventors:Stuart N. Milligan
C10L 1/10C10L 1/195Y02E60/34C10L 1/1963C10L 1/2364Y10T137/0391C10L 1/125C08L 33/10C08F 2/20F17D 1/16F17D 1/17
65
PatentIndex Score
0
Cited by
0
References
0
Claims
Abstract
Drag reducing compositions comprising polymer particles, where the polymer particles include copolymers comprising the residues of at least one methacrylate monomer and at least one comonomer having a polymerizable vinyl group, where the comonomer has no more than one pendant substituent per vinyl carbon. The drag reducing compositions can have improved dissolution rates in hydrocarbon-containing fluids. The drag reducing compositions can be added to a hydrocarbon-containing fluid to decrease the pressure drop associated with the turbulent flow of the hydrocarbon-containing fluid through a conduit.
Claims
exact text as granted — not AI-modifiedWhat is claimed is:
1 . A drag reducing composition comprising: a continuous phase and a plurality of drag reducing polymer particles, wherein at least a portion of said polymer particles comprise copolymers containing the residues of at least one methacrylate monomer and the residues of at least one comonomer, wherein said comonomer comprises a polymerizable vinyl group having no more than one pendant substituent per vinyl carbon.
2 . The composition of claim 1 , wherein said copolymers comprise saturated hydrocarbon backbones comprising a plurality of carbon atoms, wherein fewer than 50 percent of said carbon atoms have more than one pendant substituent.
3 . The composition of claim 1 , wherein said copolymers comprise saturated hydrocarbon backbones comprising a plurality of carbon atoms, wherein fewer than 45 percent of said carbon atoms have more than one pendant substituent.
4 . The composition of claim 1 , wherein said methacrylate monomer has the following structure:
wherein R 1 is a C 1 to C 20 alkyl, isoalkyl, cycloalkyl, aryl, or aryl-substituted alkyl.
5 . The composition of claim 1 , wherein said methacrylate monomer comprises C 4 -C 20 alkyl, C 6 -C 20 substituted or unsubstituted aryl, or aryl-substituted C 1 -C 10 alkyl esters of methacrylic acid.
6 . The composition of claim 1 , wherein said methacrylate monomer comprises 2-ethylhexyl methacrylate.
7 . The composition of claim 1 , wherein said comonomer comprises one or more of the following structures:
wherein R 2 is —C(O)OR 3 , phenyl or aryl, heterocyclic, —OR 4 , or —O(O)CR 5 ; wherein R 3 is a C 1 to C 20 alkyl, isoalkyl, cycloalkyl, aryl, or aryl-substituted alkyl; wherein R 4 is a C 1 to C 20 alkyl, isoalkyl, cycloalkyl, aryl, or aryl-substituted alkyl; wherein R 5 is a C 1 to C 20 alkyl, isoalkyl, cycloalkyl, aryl, or aryl-substituted alkyl; and/or
wherein X is O, or N—R 6 , wherein R 6 is H, C 1 to C 20 alkyl, isoalkyl, cycloalkyl, aryl, aryl-substituted alkyl, or ring-opened alkyl diesters; and/or
wherein R7 and R8 can independently be H, C 1 to C 20 alkyl, isoalkyl, cycloalkyl, aryl, aryl-substituted alkyl, or heterocyclic.
8 . The composition of claim 1 , wherein said comonomer is an acrylate having the following structure:
wherein R 9 is a straight or branched aliphatic alkyl group having 8 or fewer carbon atoms.
9 . The composition of claim 8 , wherein R 9 is a straight or branched aliphatic alkyl group having 6 or fewer carbon atoms.
10 . The composition of claim 1 , wherein said comonomer is selected from the group consisting of n-butyl acrylate; 2-ethylhexyl acrylate; 3,5,5-trimethylhexyl acrylate; tert-butyl acrylate; 2-phenylethyl acrylate; iso-butyl acrylate; isobornyl acrylate; n-hexyl acrylate; sec-butyl acrylate; ethyl acrylate; and lauryl acrylate.
11 . The composition of claim 1 , wherein said comonomer comprises n-butyl acrylate.
12 . The composition of claim 1 , wherein said copolymers comprise residues of said comonomer in an amount in the range of from about 1 to about 90 weight percent based on the total weight of the copolymer.
13 . The composition of claim 1 , wherein said copolymers comprise residues of said comonomer in an amount in the range of from about 3 to about 80 weight percent based on the total weight of the copolymer.
14 . The composition of claim 1 , wherein said copolymers comprise residues of said methacrylate monomer in an amount in the range of from about 10 to about 99 weight percent based on the total weight of the copolymer.
15 . The composition of claim 1 , wherein said polymer particles have a hydrocarbon dissolution rate constant of at least about 0.01 min −1 at 20° C. in a mixture of kerosene and isopropyl alcohol (“IPA”) in a volume ratio of 95:5 kerosene:IPA.
16 . The composition of claim 1 , wherein said continuous phase comprises water, one or more alcohols, and/or one or more polyols.
17 . The composition of claim 1 , wherein said drag reducing composition comprises said polymer particles in an amount in the range of from about 10 to about 60 weight percent based on the total weight of said drag reducing composition.
18 . The composition of claim 1 , wherein said polymer particles have a weight average molecular weight of at least 1×10 6 g/mol.
19 . The composition of claim 1 , wherein said drag reducing composition comprises an emulsion drag reducing polymer wherein said polymer particles have an average particle size in the range of from about 10 to about 500 nm.
20 . The composition of claim 1 , wherein said drag reducing composition comprises a suspension drag reducing polymer wherein said polymer particles have an average particle size in the range of from about 1 to about 500 micrometers.
21 . A method of making a drag reducer, said method comprising:
(a) combining water, at least one surfactant, at least one methacrylate monomer, and at least one comonomer to thereby form a reaction mixture; and (b) subjecting said reaction mixture to polymerization to thereby form a composition comprising a continuous phase and a plurality of drag reducing copolymer particles comprising residues of said methacrylate monomer and residues of said comonomer, wherein said comonomer comprises a polymerizable vinyl group having no more than one pendant substituent per vinyl carbon.
22 . The method of claim 21 , wherein said copolymers comprise saturated hydrocarbon backbones comprising a plurality of carbon atoms, wherein fewer than 50 percent of said carbon atoms have more than one pendant substituent.
23 . The method of claim 21 , wherein said copolymers comprise saturated hydrocarbon backbones comprising a plurality of carbon atoms, wherein fewer than 45 percent of said carbon atoms have more than one pendant substituent.
24 . The method of claim 21 , wherein said methacrylate monomer has the following structure:
wherein R 1 is a C 1 to C 20 alkyl, isoalkyl, cycloalkyl, aryl, or aryl-substituted alkyl.
25 . The method of claim 21 , wherein said methacrylate monomer comprises 2-ethylhexyl methacrylate.
26 . The method of claim 21 , wherein said comonomer comprises one or more of the following structures:
wherein R 2 is —C(O)OR 3 , phenyl or aryl, heterocyclic, —OR 4 , or —O(O)CR 5 ; wherein R 3 is a C 1 to C 20 alkyl, isoalkyl, cycloalkyl, aryl, or aryl-substituted alkyl; wherein R 4 is a C 1 to C 20 alkyl, isoalkyl, cycloalkyl, aryl, or aryl-substituted alkyl; wherein R 5 is a C 1 to C 20 alkyl, isoalkyl, cycloalkyl, aryl, or aryl-substituted alkyl; and/or
wherein X is O or N—R 6 , wherein R 6 is H, C 1 to C 20 alkyl, isoalkyl, cycloalkyl, aryl, aryl-substituted alkyl, or ring-opened alkyl diesters; and/or
wherein R7 and R8 can independently be H, C 1 to C 20 alkyl, isoalkyl, cycloalkyl, aryl, aryl-substituted alkyl, or heterocyclic.
27 . The method of claim 21 , wherein said comonomer is an acrylate having the following structure:
wherein R 9 is a straight or branched aliphatic alkyl group having 8 or fewer carbon atoms.
28 . The method of claim 21 , wherein said comonomer comprises n-butyl acrylate.
29 . The method of claim 21 , wherein said copolymers comprise residues of said comonomer in an amount in the range of from about 1 to about 90 weight percent based on the total weight of the copolymer.
30 . The method of claim 21 , wherein said copolymers comprise residues of said methacrylate monomer in an amount in the range of from about 10 to about 99 weight percent based on the total weight of the copolymer.
31 . The method of claim 20 , wherein said polymer particles have a hydrocarbon dissolution rate constant of at least about 0.01 min −1 at 20° C. in a mixture of kerosene and isopropyl alcohol (“IPA”) in a volume ratio of 95:5 kerosene:IPA.
32 . The method of claim 21 , wherein said drag reducing composition comprises said copolymer particles in an amount in the range of from about 10 to about 60 weight percent based on the total weight of said drag reducing composition.
33 . The method of claim 21 , wherein said copolymer particles have a weight average molecular weight of at least 1×10 6 g/mol.
34 . The method of claim 21 , wherein said drag reducing copolymer comprises an emulsion drag reducing polymer wherein said copolymer particles have an average particle size in the range of from about 10 to about 500 nm.
35 . The method of claim 21 , wherein said drag reducing copolymer comprises a suspension drag reducing polymer wherein said polymer particles have an average particle size in the range of from about 1 to about 500 micrometers.
36 . A method for reducing the pressure drop associated with the turbulent flow of a hydrocarbon-containing fluid through a pipeline, said method comprising:
(a) introducing a drag reducing composition into said hydrocarbon-containing fluid, wherein said drag reducing composition comprises a continuous phase and a plurality of drag reducing polymer particles comprising copolymers containing the residues of at least one methacrylate monomer and the residues of at least one comonomer, wherein said comonomer comprises a polymerizable vinyl group having no more than one pendant substituent per vinyl carbon; and (b) flowing the resulting treated hydrocarbon-containing fluid through said pipeline, wherein said hydrocarbon-containing fluid has an average temperature of 25° C. or less.
37 . The method of claim 36 , wherein said copolymers comprise saturated hydrocarbon backbones comprising a plurality of carbon atoms, wherein fewer than 50 percent of said carbon atoms have more than one pendant substituent.
38 . The method of claim 36 , wherein said copolymers comprise saturated hydrocarbon backbones comprising a plurality of carbon atoms, wherein fewer than 45 percent of said carbon atoms have more than one pendant substituent.
39 . The method of claim 36 , wherein said methacrylate monomer has the following structure:
wherein R 1 is a C 1 to C 20 alkyl, isoalkyl, cycloalkyl, aryl, or aryl-substituted alkyl.
40 . The method of claim 36 , wherein said methacrylate monomer comprises C 4 -C 20 alkyl, C 6 -C 20 substituted or unsubstituted aryl, or aryl-substituted C 1 -C 10 alkyl esters of methacrylic acid.
41 . The method of claim 36 , wherein said methacrylate monomer comprises 2-ethylhexyl methacrylate.
42 . The method of claim 36 , wherein said comonomer comprises one or more of the following structures:
wherein R 2 is —C(O)OR 3 , phenyl or aryl, heterocyclic, —OR 4 , or —O(O)CR 5 ; wherein R 3 is a C 1 to C 20 alkyl, isoalkyl, cycloalkyl, aryl, or aryl-substituted alkyl; wherein R 4 is a C 1 to C 20 alkyl, isoalkyl, cycloalkyl, aryl, or aryl-substituted alkyl; wherein R 5 is a C 1 to C 20 alkyl, isoalkyl, cycloalkyl, aryl, or aryl-substituted alkyl; and/or
wherein X is O, or N—R 6 , wherein R 6 is H, C 1 to C 20 alkyl, isoalkyl, cycloalkyl, aryl, aryl-substituted alkyl, or ring-opened alkyl diesters; and/or
where R 7 and R 8 can independently be H, C 1 to C 20 alkyl, isoalkyl, cycloalkyl, aryl, aryl-substituted alkyl, or heterocyclic.
43 . The method of claim 36 , wherein said comonomer is an acrylate having the following structure:
wherein R 9 is a straight or branched aliphatic alkyl group having 8 or fewer carbon atoms.
44 . The method of claim 36 , wherein said comonomer is selected from the group consisting of n-butyl acrylate; 2-ethylhexyl acrylate; 3,5,5-trimethylhexyl acrylate; tert-butyl acrylate; 2-phenylethyl acrylate; iso-butyl acrylate; isobornyl acrylate; n-hexyl acrylate; sec-butyl acrylate; ethyl acrylate; and lauryl acrylate.
45 . The method of claim 36 , wherein said comonomer comprises n-butyl acrylate.
46 . The method of claim 36 , wherein said copolymers comprise residues of said comonomer in an amount in the range of from about 1 to about 90 weight percent based on the total weight of the copolymer.
47 . The method of claim 36 , wherein said copolymers comprise residues of said methacrylate monomer in an amount in the range of from about 10 to about 99 weight percent based on the total weight of the copolymer.
48 . The method of claim 36 , wherein said polymer particles have a hydrocarbon dissolution rate constant of at least about 0.01 min −1 at 20° C. in a mixture of kerosene and isopropyl alcohol (“IPA”) in a volume ratio of 95:5 kerosene:IPA.
49 . The method of claim 36 , wherein said hydrocarbon-containing fluid has an average temperature of 22° C. or less.
50 . The method of claim 36 , wherein said treated hydrocarbon-containing fluid has a cumulative concentration of said copolymers in the range of from about 0.1 to about 500 ppmw.
51 . The method of claim 36 , wherein said hydrocarbon-containing fluid comprises a liquid phase hydrocarbon, a non-liquid phase hydrocarbon, and/or a non-hydrocarbon fluid, wherein said hydrocarbon-containing fluid comprises said liquid phase hydrocarbon in an amount of at least about 50 weight percent based on the total weight of the hydrocarbon-containing fluid.
52 . The method of claim 36 , wherein said hydrocarbon-containing fluid comprises crude oil.Join the waitlist — get patent alerts
Track US2015101673A1 — get alerts on status changes and closely related new filings.
We store only your email — no account needed. See our privacy policy.