Cationic polyetheramine dispersants for preparing papermaking stock

1. A cationic polyether amine dispersant for papermaking fibers comprising the reaction product of a polyether diamine comprising the formula I:

NH 2 -Q-P 1 -Q-NH 2   I,

wherein,

P 1 is -(AO) u (EO) v (AO) w —, -(EO) x (AO) y (EO) z —, or combinations thereof;

Q is a C 1 -C 8 alkylene or a direct bond;

EO is oxyethylene (—(OCH 2 CH 2 )—);

AO is oxyalkylene comprising 3 to 6 carbon atoms; and

u+w or y is from 0 to 20, v or x+z is from 4 to 60;

a polyether bisepoxide comprising the formula II:

O(CH 2 —CH)—CH 2 —P 2 —CH 2 —(CH—CH 2 )O  II

wherein,

P 2 is -(AO) o (EO) p (AO) q — or -(EO) r (AO) s (EO) t ;

EO is oxyethylene (—(OCH 2 CH 2 )—);

AO is oxyalkylene comprising 3 to 6 carbon atoms; and

p or r+t is from 2 to 60, o+q or s is from 0 to 8;

and a quaternary ammonium salt comprising the formula III:

O(CH 2 —CH)—CH 2 —N + R 1 R 2 R 3 X −   III

wherein,

R 1 , R 2 , and R 3 are each independently C 1 -C 8 alkyl; and

X is a counteranion,

wherein the polyether diamine, the polyether bisepoxide and the quaternary ammonium salt reactants are reacted in the following molar ratios: the molar ratio of amine functionality of the polyether diamine to epoxide functionality of the polyether bisepoxide is from 0.5:1 to 2:1 and the molar ratio of the amine functionality of the polyether diamine to the epoxide functionality of the quaternary ammonium salt is from 10:1 to 40:1.

2. The cationic polyether amine dispersant for papermaking fibers according to claim 1 , wherein v or x+z is from 8 to 20.

3. The cationic polyether amine dispersant for papermaking fibers according to claim 1 , wherein p or r+t is from 6 to 16.

4. The cationic polyether amine dispersant for papermaking fibers according to claim 1 , wherein the molar ratio of amine functionality of the polyester diamine to the epoxide functionality of the polyether bisepoxide is from 0.75:1 to 1.5:1.

5. The cationic polyether amine dispersant for papermaking fibers according to claim 4 , wherein the molar ratio of amine functionality of the polyester diamine to the epoxide functionality of the polyether bisepoxide is from 0.9:1 to 1.25:1.

6. The cationic polyether amine dispersant for papermaking fibers according to claim 1 , wherein P 2 is -(EO) p —.

7. The cationic polyether amine dispersant for papermaking fibers according to claim 1 , wherein R 1 , R 2 , and R 3 are each independently C 1 -C 4 alkyl.

8. The cationic polyether amine dispersant for papermaking fibers according to claim 1 , wherein X is chloride, bromide, iodide, hydrogen sulfate, p-toluenesulfonate, or methanesulfonate.

9. The cationic polyether amine dispersant for papermaking fibers according to claim 1 , wherein the cationic polyether amine dispersant has a molecular weight, Mw, of from 50,000 to 200,000 Daltons.

10. A method for preparing papermaking stock comprising:

(a) providing an aqueous slurry of cellulosic papermaking fibers;

(b) dosing the aqueous slurry of cellulosic papermaking fibers with the cationic polyether amine dispersant of claim 1 ; and

(c) mechanically agitating the dosed slurry.

11. The method for preparing papermaking stock according to claim 10 , wherein the aqueous slurry is dosed with cationic polyether amine dispersant at an add-on level of from 0.5 to 200 pounds of the cationic polyether amine dispersant per ton of the cellulosic papermaking fibers.

12. The method for preparing papermaking stock according to claim 11 , wherein the aqueous slurry is dosed with the cationic polyether amine dispersant at an add-on level of from 2.5 to 40 pounds of the cationic polyether amine dispersant per ton of the cellulosic papermaking fibers.

13. The method for preparing papermaking stock according to claim 10 , wherein the aqueous slurry of cellulosic papermaking fibers has a consistency of less than 30%.

14. The method for preparing papermaking stock according to claim 13 , wherein the aqueous slurry of cellulosic papermaking fibers has a consistency of from 1% to 5%.

15. The method for preparing papermaking stock according to claim 13 , wherein the aqueous slurry of cellulosic papermaking fibers has a consistency of from 0.25% to less than 1%.

16. The method for preparing papermaking stock according to claim 10 , wherein the cellulosic papermaking fibers comprise fibers having an average length of 5 mm or more.

17. The method for preparing papermaking stock according to claim 10 , wherein the cellulosic papermaking fibers comprise naturally occurring fibers selected from hemp fibers, flax fibers or cotton fibers.

18. The method for preparing papermaking stock according to claim 10 , wherein the cellulosic papermaking fibers comprise regenerated cellulose fibers.

19. The method for preparing papermaking stock according to claim 18 , wherein the regenerated cellulosic papermaking fibers are lyocell fibers.

20. The method for preparing papermaking stock according to claim 19 , wherein the lyocell fibers have a coarseness of less than 25 mg/100 m.