Process and apparatus for emulsifying butyl rubber

Claim 1

A CONTINUOUS PROCESS FOR PREPARING ON A COMMERCIAL SCALE LARGE QUANTITIES OF EMULSIONS OF VISCOUS SOLUTIONS OF BUTYL RUBBER WHICH IS A COPOLYMER OF A MAJOR PROPORTION OF ISOBUTYLENE AND A MINOR PROPORTION OF A CONJUGATED DIOLEFIN OF 4 TO 14 CARBON ATOMS, WHICH COMPRISES DISSOLVING BUTYL RUBBER IN AN ALIPHATIC HYDROCARBON HAVING 4 TO 14 CARBON ATOMS TO FORM A CEMENT HAVING A VISCOSITY OF 5000 TO 7000 CENTIPOISE, MIXING SAID CEMENT WITH WATER CONTAINING AN EMULSIFIER, PASSING THE MIXTURE THROUGH A FIRST MIXING ZONE TO PRODUCE A CRUDE LATEX HAVING A VISCOSITY BELOW 50 CENTIPOISE, DIVIDING SAID CRUDE LATEX INTO A PLURALITY OF EQUAL STREAMS AND PASSING EACH OF SAID STREAMS SEPARATELY THROUGH A SECOND MIXING ZONE TO PREPARE SEPARATE STREAMS OF RAW LATEX HAVING AN AVERAGE PARTICLE SIZE OF ABOUT ONE MICRON, COMBINING SAID SEPARATE STREAMS AND HOMOGENIZING THE SAME UNTIL A LATEX HAVING AN AVERAGE PARTICLE SIZE OF ABOUT 0.5 MICRON IS OBTAINED.