Dispersants for agricultural applications

1. An agrochemical formulation comprising an agrochemical active and a water-soluble dispersant polymer of structure (I):

wherein

R 1 and R 2 both represent H;

R 3 represents H or CH 3 ;

X represents —C(O)O—;

R hy represents benzyl;

B represents a moiety derived from polymerizing acrylic acid or methacrylic acid or a salt thereof;

C represents a moiety derived from polymerizing 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropane sulfonic acid or a salt thereof;

a represents 0.1 to about 30 mole %;

c represents 0 to 5 mole %; and

a+b+c=100 mole %.

2. The agrochemical formulation of claim 1 , wherein the formulation is in the form of a suspension concentrate (SC), suspension emulsion (SE), wettable powder (WP) or water dispersible granule (WDG).

3. The agrochemical formulation of claim 1 , wherein said agrochemical active is selected from the group consisting of herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, biocides, molluscicides, algaicides, plant growth regulators, anthelmintics, rodenticides, nematocides, acaricides, amoebicides, protozoacides, crop safeners and adjuvants.

4. An agrochemical dispersant polymer comprising the polymer of structure (I):

wherein

R 1 and R 2 both represent H;

R 3 represents H or CH 3 ;

X represents —C(O)O—;

R hy represents benzyl;

B represents a moiety derived from polymerizing acrylic acid or methacrylic acid or a salt thereof;

C represents a moiety derived from polymerizing 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropane sulfonic acid or a salt thereof;

a represents 0.1 to about 30 mole %;

c represents 0 to 5 mole %; and

a+b+c=100 mole %.

5. An agrochemical dispersant polymer according to claim 4 , wherein the number average molecular weight of structure (I) is less than 20,000 Daltons.

6. An agrochemical formulation comprising an agrochemical active and a water-soluble dispersant polymer of structure (I):

wherein

R 1 and R 2 both represent H;

R 3 represents H or CH 3 ;

X represents —C(O)O—;

R hy represents benzyl;

B represents a moiety derived from polymerizing acrylic acid or methacrylic acid or a salt thereof;

C represents a moiety derived from polymerizing 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropane sulfonic acid or a salt thereof;

a represents 0.1 to about 25 mole %;

c represents 0 to 10 mole %; and

a+b+c=100 mole %.

7. The agrochemical formulation of claim 6 , wherein the formulation is in the form of a suspension concentrate (SC), suspension emulsion (SE), wettable powder (WP) or water dispersible granule (WDG).

8. The agrochemical formulation of claim 6 , wherein said agrochemical active is selected from the group consisting of herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, biocides, molluscicides, algaicides, plant growth regulators, anthelmintics, rodenticides, nematocides, acaricides, amoebicides, protozoacides, crop safeners and adjuvants.

9. An agrochemical dispersant polymer comprising the polymer of structure (I):

wherein

R 1 and R 2 both represent H;

R 3 represents H or CH 3 ;

X represents —C(O)O—;

R hy represents benzyl;

B represents a moiety derived from polymerizing acrylic acid or methacrylic acid or a salt thereof;

C represents a moiety derived from polymerizing 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropane sulfonic acid or a salt thereof;

a represents 0.1 to about 25 mole %;

c represents 0 to 10 mole %; and

a+b+c=100 mole %.

10. An agrochemical dispersant polymer according to claim 9 , wherein the number average molecular weight of structure (I) is less than 20,000 Daltons.

11. An agrochemical formulation comprising an agrochemical active and a water-soluble dispersant polymer of structure (I):

wherein

R 1 and R 2 both represent H;

R 3 represents H or CH 3 ;

X represents —C(O)O—;

R hy represents benzyl;

B represents a moiety derived from polymerizing acrylic acid or methacrylic acid or a salt thereof;

C represents a moiety derived from polymerizing 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropane sulfonic acid or a salt thereof; and

a+b+c=100 mole %;

wherein the agrochemical formulation exhibits a suspensibility in an aqueous medium of at least 70% after 30 minutes.

12. The agrochemical formulation according of claim 11 , which is in the form of a water dispersible granule (WDG) and exhibits a suspensibility of 70% or greater in an aqueous medium containing 1000 ppm water hardness as CaCO 3 .

13. A method of making the agrochemical formulation of claim 1 , said method comprising the step of combining the agrochemical active and the dispersant polymer of structure (I).

14. A method of making an agrochemical formulation according to claim 13 , further comprising the steps of:

milling the combination to a particle size range in order to obtain a stable, readily-suspendible aqueous dispersion; and

stabilizing the aqueous dispersion to obtain a suspension concentrate formulation suitable for dilution in water for agricultural use.

15. A method of making an agrochemical formulation according to claim 13 , further comprising the step of:

milling the combination to a desired particle size to obtain a homogeneous wettable powder (WP) formulation.

16. A method of making an agrochemical formulation according to claim 13 , further comprising the steps of:

agglomerating the combination to form discrete granular materials; and

drying the granular materials to obtain a water dispersible granule (WDG) formulation.

17. A method of making the agrochemical formulation of claim 6 , said method comprising the step of combining the agrochemical active and the dispersant polymer of structure (I).

18. A method of making an agrochemical formulation according to claim 17 , further comprising the steps of:

milling the combination to a particle size range in order to obtain a stable, readily-suspendible aqueous dispersion; and

stabilizing the aqueous dispersion to obtain a suspension concentrate formulation suitable for dilution in water for agricultural use.

19. A method of making an agrochemical formulation according to claim 17 , further comprising the step of:

milling the combination to a desired particle size to obtain a homogeneous wettable powder (WP) formulation.

20. A method of making an agrochemical formulation according to claim 17 , further comprising the steps of:

agglomerating the combination to form discrete granular materials; and

drying the granular materials to obtain a water dispersible granule (WDG) formulation.