US 4,288,639 AGranted

Alpha-olefin oxide-modified liquid polyether thickeners

AssigneeBASF Wyandotte Corporation

InventorRonald L. Camp

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Abstract

New liquid thickeners for aqueous liquids are obtained by capping a liquid straight chain polyoxyalkylene compound derived from ethylene oxide or ethylene oxide and at least one other lower alkylene oxide by reacting said alkylene oxides with at least one active hydrogen-containing initiator having only one active hydrogen atom. The new thickeners are prepared at a molecular weight of about 1000 to about 25,000 utilizing an alpha-olefin oxide having a carbon chain of about 12 to about 18 aliphatic carbon atoms. Both block and heteric polyoxyalkylene compounds are useful. Alternatively, the new thickeners can be made by copolymerizing ethylene oxide or mixed lower alkylene oxides in the presence of said alpha-olefin oxide. The new thickeners exhibit an unexpected increase in viscosity in aqueous systems as compared with prior art liquid polyether thickening agents. The alpha-olefin oxide modified polyether thickening agents of the invention are useful in both water-based and water-glycol based hydraulic fluids.

Claims7

Dependent claims

A polyether thickener for aqueous systems having a molecular weight of about 1000 to about 25,000 which is selected from the group consisting of at least one of

(A) polyethers prepared by reacting ethylene oxide and at least one lower alkylene oxide having 3 to 4 carbon atoms with at least one monohydric alcohol active hydrogen compound initiator containing no more than one active hydrogen and about 12 to about 18 aliphatic carbon atoms to prepare a heteric or block copolymer and further reacting said copolymer with at least one alpha-olefin oxide having a carbon length of about 12 to about 18 aliphatic carbon atoms and wherein said alpha-olefin oxide is present in the amount of about 1 to about 20 percent by weight based on the total weight of said thickener, and
(B) polyethers prepared by reacting ethylene oxide with at least one monohydric alcohol active hydrogen compound initiator to prepare a homopolymer and further reacting said homopolymer with at least one alpha-olefin oxide wherein said initiator is an aliphatic or alkylaromatic compound which contains no more than one active hydrogen, has a carbon chain length of about 12 to about 18 aliphatic carbon atoms and wherein said alpha-olefin oxide has a carbon chain length of about 12 to about 18 aliphatic carbon atoms, and is present in the amount of about 1 to about 20 percent by weight based on the total weight of said thickener.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.