Buoyant Fluid Composition

• US 20160046857A1
• Filed: 08/13/2015
• Published: 02/18/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 08/15/2014
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Aubin Limited (Italmatch Chemicals S.p.A)
• Original Assignee: Aubin Limited (Italmatch Chemicals S.p.A)
• Inventors: Collins, Patrick
• Application Number:
  US14/825,809
• Publication Number:
  US 20160046857A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B63B 22/00 Buoys floating decoys, e.g. for waterfowl A01M31/06; means for indicating the location of underwater objects B63C7/26; life-buoys, e.g. rings B63C9/08; mountings of acoustic transducer in underwater equipment, e.g. sonobuoys G10K11/006; electric cables supported on or from floats H02G9/12
• CPC Class Codes: B63C 2007/125 using buoyant masses, e.g. foams, or a large plurality of small buoyant objects
• CPC Class Codes: C09K 8/882 obtained by reactions only involving carbon-to-carbon unsaturated bonds
• CPC Class Codes: C09K 8/90 of natural origin, e.g. polysaccharides, cellulose
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 17/012 with buoyancy elements E21B17/015 takes precedence

Abstract

A buoyant fluid comprising a base fluid, microspheres and a viscosifying agent. The viscosifying agent comprises a block copolymer.

Claims

1. A buoyant fluid comprising:

a base fluid,

microspheres, and

a viscosifying agent,

wherein the viscosifying agent comprises a block copolymer; and

the base fluid is an oil.

2. A buoyant fluid according to claim 1, wherein the base fluid has a low toxicity to marine life, the aquatic toxicity for fish LC₅₀ being greater than or equal to 1000 mg/l.

3. A buoyant fluid according to claim 1, wherein the base fluid comprises water.

4. A buoyant fluid according to claim 1, comprising from 0.5 to 5% vol/vol of the viscosifying agent.

5. A buoyant fluid according to claim 1, wherein the block copolymer is a diblock copolymer.

6. A buoyant fluid according to claim 1, wherein the block copolymer is a linear diblock copolymer of styrene and one or more of ethylene, propylene and butadiene.

7. A buoyant fluid according to claim 6, wherein the styrene content of the linear diblock copolymer is from 20 to 35% wt/wt.

8. A buoyant fluid according to claim 6, wherein in use the viscosifying agent forms a plurality of micelles, the plurality of micelles comprising a core of poly(styrene) heads and a corona of poly(ethylene-co-propylene) or hydrogenated p(isoprene) tails.

9. A buoyant fluid according to claim 1, wherein the viscosifying agent is a polysaccharide.

10. A buoyant fluid according to claim 1, wherein the microspheres each have a sealed chamber containing a gas.

11. A buoyant fluid according to claim 1, wherein the microspheres are from 5 to 500 μ

m in diameter.

12. A buoyant fluid according to claim 1, comprising less than 55% vol/vol of the microspheres.

13. A buoyant fluid according to claim 1, further comprising a dispersant.

14. A buoyant fluid according to claim 13, comprising from 0 to 3% vol/vol of the dispersant.

15. A buoyant fluid according to claim 13, wherein the dispersant is an imidazoline.

16. A buoyant fluid according to claims 13, wherein the dispersant is poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) dioleate.

17. A buoyant fluid according to claim 1, having a specific gravity of less than 0.70 g/cm³.

18. A buoyant fluid according to claim 1, having a viscosity of from 9000 to 12000 mPa·

s at a shear rate of 1.1 s<sup>−

1</sup> at 293K.