Inverse Emulsion Copolymerization of Acrylamide and 2-Acrylamido-2-methylpropane Sulfonic Acid Sodium Salt for Preparing Water-Soluble Drag Reduction Additives

A copolymer of acrylamide (AA) and 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropane sulfonic acid sodium salt (AMPSNa) was prepared by inverse emulsion radical polymerization in the presence of azobisisobutyronitrile initiator. The effect of temperature, initiator, and sum of the monomers on the rate of inverse emulsion copolymerization of acrylamide and AMPSNa was studied by dilatometry. The kinetic parameters of the process were determined, including the effective copolymerization constants, reaction activation energy, reaction rate, and orders with respect to the initiator and monomers. The synthesized AA–AMPSNa copolymer was characterized by IR spectroscopy and elemental analysis. The intrinsic viscosity of the copolymers was determined, and the viscosity-average molecular weight was calculated by the Mark–Kuhn–Houwink equation. The drag reduction was studied by capillary turbulent viscometry. The AA–AMPSNa copolymers can be efficiently used as drag reduction additives to water flows.