Process of milling synthetic rubber latex coagulum containing water

Claim 1

A PROCESS OF TREATING AN AQUEOUS COAGULUM OF A SYNTHETIC LATEX SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF POLYMERS OF ISOPRENE, POLYMERS OF VINYL CHLORIDE, POLYBUTADIENE, COPOLYMERS OF BUTADIENE-STYRENE, COPOLYMERS OF BUTADIENE-ACRYLONITRILE AND COPOLYMERS OF BUTADIENEACRYLONITRILE AND COPOLYMERS OF BUTADIENE-ISOBUTYLENE, SAID COAGULUM CONTAINING WATER IN AMOUNTS OF FROM 10% TO 50% BY WEIGHT, WHICH COMPRISES MECHANICALLY EXPRESSING FROM A BATCH OF SAID COAGULUM IN A CLOSED WORKING CHAMBER A SUBSTANTIAL PORTION OF THE WATER CONTENT OF SAID COAGULUM AND SUBJECTING THE THUS PARTIALLY DEWATERED BATCH IN SAID CHAMBER TO INTENSE SHEARING ACTION WHILE HELD UNDER MECHANICAL COMPRESSION TO DEVELOP AN ENERGY AVERAGING NOT LESS THAN 1.5 HORSEPOWER PER POUND BASED ON THE DRY WEIGHT OF THE BATCH, DURING A TREATING CYCLE OF THE ORDER OF 2 TO 10 MINUTES WHILE PERMITTING ESCAPE OF THE STREAM THEREBY GENERATED FROM THE CONTAINED WATER, CONTROLLING THE TEMPERATURE OF THE BATCH DURING SAID CYCLE SO THAT IT DOES NOT EXCEED ABOUT 300*F., AND CONTINUING SAID ACTION WITHIN THE CYCLE OF TREATMENT UNTIL THE BATCH HAS BEEN TRANSFORMED INTO A PLASTIC, SHEETABLE MASS.