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A polyelectrolyte complex composition capable of viscosifying or thickening an aqueous high salt-containing system comprises a mixture of at least one anionic polymer and at least one cationic polymer in an inorganic salt-containing aqueous medium. The anionic polymer and cationic polymer can each b

A polyelectrolyte complex composition capable of viscosifying or thickening an aqueous high salt-containing system comprises a mixture of at least one anionic polymer and at least one cationic polymer in an inorganic salt-containing aqueous medium. The anionic polymer and cationic polymer can each be linear and water-soluble, crosslinked and water-soluble, or crosslinked and water-insoluble or swellable.

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1. A polyelectrolyte complex composition capable of viscosifying or thickening an aqueous high salt-containing system, which comprises a mixture of at least one anionic polymer and at least one cationic polymer in an inorganic salt-containing aqueous medium, wherein the anionic polymer has a charge

1. A polyelectrolyte complex composition capable of viscosifying or thickening an aqueous high salt-containing system, which comprises a mixture of at least one anionic polymer and at least one cationic polymer in an inorganic salt-containing aqueous medium, wherein the anionic polymer has a charge density of greater than 50% of the anionic monomer used to make the anionic polymer or >2.4 meq/g active copolymer, and the cationic polymer has a charge density of greater than 35% of the cationic monomer used to make the cationic polymer or >1.6 meq/g active polymer and the anionic polymer is a weak polyelectrolyte and the cationic polymer is a strong polyelectrolyte or the anionic polymer is a strong polyelectrolyte and the cationic polymer is a weak polyelectrolyte. 2. The polyelectrolyte complex according to claim 1, wherein the anionic polymer and cationic polymer are each, independently of the other, linear and water-soluble, crosslinked and water-soluble, or crosslinked and water insoluble or swellable. 3. The polyelectrolyte complex according to claim 1, wherein the anionic polymer contains carboxyl, sulfonic acid, sulfuric acid, phosphorous acid or phosphoric acid groups, and/or salts thereof. 4. The polyelectrolyte complex according to claim 1, wherein the anionic polymer is a reaction product of 0.1 to 100 weight percent of at least one anionic monomer Ia, 0 to 99.9 weight percent of one or more other copolymerizable monomers II, and optionally, 0 to 10 weight percent of a crosslinking agent. 5. The polyelectrolyte complex according to claim 4, wherein the anionic polymer is obtained from homopolymerization of at least one anionic monomer Ia or copolymerization of Ia with of at least one other copolymerizable monomer II, in which the anionic monomer is selected from (meth)acrylic acid (or salts), maleic acid (or anhydride), styrene sulfonic acid (or salts), vinyl sulfonic acid (or salts), allyl sulfonic acid (or salts), acrylamidopropyl sulfonic acid (or salts), or mixtures thereof, wherein the salts of the said carboxylic acid and sulfonic acids are neutralized with an ammonium cation or a metal cation selected from the group consisting of Groups IA, IIA, IB and IIB of the Periodic Table of Elements. 6. The polyelectrolyte complex according to claim 4, wherein the copolymerizable monomer is acrylamide or an ester of (meth)acrylate. 7. The polyelectrolyte complex according to claim 1, wherein the cationic polymer is a reaction product of 0.1 to 100 weight percent of at least one cationic monomer Ib, 0 to 99.9 weight percent of one or more other copolymerizable monomers II, and optionally, 0 to 10 weight percent of a crosslinking agent. 8. The polyelectrolyte complex according to claim 7, wherein the cationic polymer is obtained from homopolymerization of at least one cationic monomer Ib or copolymerization of Ib with a copolymerizable monomer II, wherein the cationic monomer is selected from diallyldimethyl ammonium chloride, diallyldimethyl ammonium bromide, diallyldimethyl ammonium sulfate, diallyldimethyl ammonium phosphates, dimethallyldimethyl ammonium chloride, diethylallyl dimethyl ammonium chloride, diallyl di(beta-hydroxyethyl) ammonium chloride, and diallyl di(beta-ethoxyethyl) ammonium chloride; aminoalkyl acrylates; N,N′-dimethylaminopropyl acrylamide and its salts, allylamine and its salts, diallylamine and its salts, vinylamine and its salts, vinyl pyridine and its salts, and mixtures thereof. 9. The polyelectrolyte complex according to claim 1, wherein the cationic polymer contains groups selected from primary, secondary, and tertiary amines and their salts, and quaternary ammonium and phosphonium salts, and mixtures thereof. 10. The polyelectrolyte complex according to claim 1, wherein the ratio of the cationic polymer to the anionic polymer, expressed as the molar ratio of mixed cationic charge from the cationic polymer to the anionic polymer, n+/n−, ranges from 0.001 to 1000. 11. The polyelectrolyte complex according to claim 10, wherein the ratio of the cationic polymer to the anionic polymer, expressed as the molar ratio of mixed cationic charge from the cationic polymer to the anionic polymer, n+/n−, ranges from 0.1 to 10. 12. The polyelectrolyte complex according to claim 1, wherein the anionic polymer contains weakly ionic carboxyl groups and the cationic polymer contains strongly ionic quaternary ammonium groups. 13. The polyelectrolyte complex according to claim 1, wherein the anionic polymer contains strongly ionic sulfate, sulfonic, phosphate or phosphonic groups and the cationic polymer contains weakly ionic primary, secondary or tertiary amino groups. 14. The polyelectrolyte complex according to claim 1, wherein the anionic polymer is a copolymer of acrylic acid and a copolymerizable monomer in a molar ratio ranging from 1 to 0.001 and the cationic polymer is a copolymer of diallyldimethyl ammonium chloride and a copolymerizable monomer in molar ratio ranging from 1 to 0.001. 15. The polyelectrolyte complex according to claim 1, wherein the anionic polymer is a copolymer of sodium acrylate in water-in-oil emulsion form and the cationic polymer is a homopolymer of diallyldimethyl ammonium chloride. 16. A method of increasing the viscosity of a salt solution of the polyelectrolyte complex according to claim 1, which comprises a) increasing the pH of the salt solution of the polyelectrolyte complex to above pH 8.0 with a base; orb) after the step a), decreasing the pH of the salt solution of the polyelectrolyte complex to below pH 5 with an acid and then adjusting the pH back to above 8.0 with a base. 17. A method of preparing a thickened aqueous inorganic salt-containing solution of the polyelectrolyte complex as defined in claim 1, which comprises a) mixing separately prepared high ionic strength aqueous solutions of at least one anionic polymer and at least one cationic polymer together with agitation, orb) forming a highly viscous polyelectrolyte concentrate in an aqueous solution or a solid precipitate, and then dissolving said polyelectrolyte concentrate or precipitate in a high ionic strength aqueous solution, orc) preparing a solid blend comprising at least one anionic polymer and at least one cationic polymer in bead or powder form, and then dissolving said solid blend in a high ionic strength aqueous solution.