Patent ID: 7290613

Claim:
A method of cementing a wellbore, comprising: (a) placing a cement composition comprising a water soluble aromatic sulfonated polymer into the wellbore, wherein the aromatic sulfonated polymer consists essentially of: (i) one or more monomers selected from the group consisting of partially or fully sulfonated polystyrene; polv(styrene sulfonic acid); a copolymer of styrene and sulfonated styrene; sulfonated gilsonite; sulfonated lignin; a copolymer comprising sulfonated styrene, sulfonated alpha-methylstyrene, allyloxybenzenesulfonic acid or sulfonated vinyl toluene; one or more compounds having one of chemical Structures A-F: where M is H, alkali or alkaline earth metal, or ammonium; and combinations thereof; and (ii) from 0 to, less than about 10 molar percent of one or more monomers selected from the group consisting of maleic anhydride, acrylic acid, 2-acrylamnido-2-methyl-1-propane sulfonic acid, methally sulfonic acid or combinations thereof; and (b) allowing the cement composition to set, wherein the cement composition has a transition time of less than or equal to about 60 minutes.