Mixed metal hydroxide-clay adducts as thickeners for water and other hydrophylic fluids
AssigneeThe Dow Chemical Company
InventorsJohn L. Burba, III, Audrey L. Barnes
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Novel compositions useful as fluid gelling agents, especially for use in subterranean applications such as drilling fluids, are prepared by reacting an aqueous dispersion of a clay, such as bentonite, with an aqueous gel of a monodispersed mixed metal layered hydroxide of the formula Li.sub.m D.sub.d T(OH).sub.(m+2d+3+na) A.sub.a.sup.n, where D is a divalent metal, such as Mg, T is a trivalent metal, such as Al, and A represents other monovalent or polyvalent anions, the formula being described in detail in the disclosure.
Claims23
A method for reacting a mineral clay with a monodispersed monolayer mixed metal hydroxide of the formula:
- Li.sub.m D.sub.d T(OH).sub.(m+2d+3+na) A.sub.a.sup.n,
- where
- m is an amount of Li in the range of zero to about 1;
- D is a divalent metal ion, and d is an amount of D in the range of zero to about 4;
- T is a trivalent metal ion;
- A represents monovalent or polyvalent anions of valence -n, with a being the amount of A anions;
- (m+d) is greater than zero and (m+2d+3+na) is equal to or greater than 3;
- said method comprising adding a small amount of a hydrophylic organic material to an aqueous gel of the above described compound, than drying the said aqueous gel sufficiently to obtain the compound in powder form, subsequently redispersing the powder in an aqueous media, and than combining the redispersed powder with an aqueous dispersion of clay to form an adduct therewith.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.