Sulfomethyl acrylamide

Copolymers or terpolymers of acrylic acid, which contain from 5 to 50 mole-percent of sulfoethyl acrylamide, acrylamide and sulfoethyl acrylamide, ethyl acrylate and sulfoethyl acrylamide, acrylamide and sulfophenyl acrylamide, and acrylamide and sulfomethyl acrylamide, are claimed to be calcium-tolerant deflocculants for drilling fluids [704]. In general, 0.1 to 2 lb of polymer per barrel of drilling fluid is sufficient to prevent flocculation of the additives in the drilling fluid. 

Radical copolymerization is used in the manufacturing of random copolymers of acrylamide with vinyl monomers. Anionic copolymers are obtained by copolymerization of acrylamide with acrylic, methacrylic, maleic, fu-maric, styrenesulfonic, 2-acrylamide-2-methylpro-panesulfonic acids and its salts, etc., as well as by hydrolysis and sulfomethylation of polyacrylamide Cationic copolymers are obtained by copolymerization of acrylamide with jV-dialkylaminoalkyl acrylates and methacrylates, l,2-dimethyl-5-vinylpyridinum sulfate, etc. or by postreactions of polyacrylamide (the Mannich reaction and Hofmann degradation). Nonionic copolymers are obtained by copolymerization of acrylamide with acrylates, methacrylates, styrene derivatives, acrylonitrile, etc. Copolymerization methods are the same as the polymerization of acrylamide. 

Bakalik and Kowalski investigated the sulfomethylation reaction in some detail using C-13 NMR.9 They found there was no detectable amount of amidomethylsulfonate under the condition described by Schiller and Suen. The major products are partially hydrolyzed poly(acrylamide) and the mono, bis, and tris sulfomethylamines. Since the sulfomethylamines are not titratable by the redox titration, the iodometric titration results are not a good indicator for the formation of amidomethylsulfonate product. 

Figure 4. IR spectrum of sulfomethylated poly(acrylamide) at pH 1 CONCLUSIONS...

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