Patent ID: 9458040
Filing Date: 2016-10-04
CPC Classification: C02F

Claim Text:
1. A method of removing particulate matter from a fluid, comprising: treating a first fluid stream comprising the particulate matter with an activator polymer that complexes the particulate matter to form a first treated fluid stream comprising the activator polymer complexed with the particulate matter; adding a tether polymer to a second fluid stream containing anchor particles so that the tether polymer coats the anchor particles, thereby forming a second treated fluid stream comprising coated anchor particles; and mixing the first treated fluid stream and the second treated fluid stream comprising coated anchor particles to form removable complexes comprising the particulate matter and the anchor particles bound together by the interaction of the activator polymer and the tether polymer, wherein the activator polymer is an anionic partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide, wherein the tether polymer is a cationic polymer, and wherein the method further comprises removing the removable complexes from the fluid.