Method of Enhancing Hydration of Viscosifiers Using Controlled Mechanically Induced Cavitation

A method of enhancing hydration of a non-hydrated viscosifier containing particles, the method comprising the steps of:

• (a) obtaining a non-hydrated viscosifier to be hydrated;
• (b) obtaining a solvent to be used to hydrate the non-hydrated viscosifier;
• (c) combining the non-hydrated viscosifier and the solvent to produce a mixture;
• (d) generating cavitation events within the mixture resulting in shock waves and pressure variations that propagate through the mixture;
• (e) controlling one or more of a dwell time of the exposure of particles to the shock waves and pressure variations, an energy input, a rotor rotation rate, a temperature, a concentration of the mixture, or a particulate grind size to maximize straightening, separation, and untangling of polymer chains of the non-hydrated viscosifier particles without causing covalent bond breakage or polymer chain scission;
• (f) as a result of steps (d) and (e), separating the particles in the viscosifier allowing the solvent to surround the particles;
• (g) as a result of steps (d) and (e), forcing solvent molecules into and out of particles to untangle, straighten, and hydrate viscosifier molecule chains contained within the particles;
• (h) distributing the untangled, straightened, and hydrated molecule chains substantially evenly throughout the mixture;
• and
• (i) collecting the resulting mixture.

A method of hydrating a viscosifier using a solvent, the method comprising the steps of:

• (a) establishing a flow of the solvent through an inlet conduit;
• (b) introducing the viscosifier into the flow of the solvent to produce a mixture of viscosifier and solvent flowing through the inlet conduit;
• (c) directing the mixture from the inlet conduit into a controlled cavitation reactor having a generally cylindrical housing containing at least one cylindrical rotating rotor, the housing having an internal cylindrical wall and the rotor having a peripheral surface with radial bores spaced from the internal cylindrical wall to define a cavitation zone therebetween;
• (d) moving the mixture through the cavitation zone of the controlled cavitation reactor;
• (e) rotating the rotor to induce cavitation events in the mixture within the bores of the rotor, the cavitation events resulting in shock waves and pressure variations within the mixture in the cavitation zone, the rotation rate of the rotor of being controlled to maximize straightening, separation, and untangling of polymer chains of viscosifier particles without covalent bond breakage or polymer chain scission;
• (f) as a result of step (e), separating particles of the viscosifier and distributing the separated particles substantially uniformly throughout the mixture;
• (g) as a result of step (e), forcing molecules of the solvent into and out of the particles of the viscosifier to liberate and hydrate viscosifier molecules of the viscosifier;
• and
• (h) directing the hydrated viscosifier out of the controlled cavitation reactor through an outlet conduit.