Preparation of latices

Claim 1

IN THE PROCESS FOR THE PRODUCTION OF A RUBBER LATEX WHEREIN A CEMENT COMPRISING 5-120% BY WEIGHT OF A RUBBERY POLYMER OF A CONJUGATED DIENE DISSOLVED IN A HYDROCARBON SOLVENT HAVING FROM 4 TO 8 CARBON ATOMS PER MOLECULE, SAID SOLVENT HAVING A MAXIMUM BOILING POINT BELOW THE DECOMPOSITION TEMPERATURE OF THE RUBBER AND HAVING A SOLUBILITY OF LESS THAN 5 CC. IN ONE LITER OF WATER, IS EMULSIFIED WITH 40-300 PARTS OF WATER PER 100 PARTS BY VOLUME OF CEMENT IN THE PRESENT OF 0.5-2% BY WEIGHT, BASED ON THE WATER, OF AN EMULSIFYING AGENT, SAID AGENT COMPRISING AN ALKALI METAL SOAP OF A MONOCARBOXYLIC ACID HAVING AT LEAST 12 CARBON ATOMS PER MOLECULE AND SOLVENT IS REMOVED LEAVING A LATEX COLLOIDALLY SUSPENDED IN WATER, THE STEPS COMPRISING: (A) HEATING THE EMULSION TO FORM A FOAM OF SUBSTANTIALLY ALL OF THE EMULSION COMPONENTS IN THE SUBSTANTIAL ABSENCE OF FLASHING, SAID FOAM COMPRISING VAPORIZED SOLVENT AND LIQUID WATER CONTAINING COLLOIDALLY DISSOLVED EMULSIFYING AGENT, AND COLLOIDALLY SUSPENDED RUBBER PARTICLES CONTAINING LESS THAN ABOUT 100 PARTS OF SOLVENT PER 100 PARTS BY WEIGHT OF RUBBER; (B) COLLAPSING THE FOAM BY COOLING WHEREBY THE VAPORS ARE LIQUIFIED AT THE PRESSURE EMPLOYED, DECANTING THE LIQUIFIED SOLVENT PHASE FROM THE AQUEOUS LATEX PHASE, SAID LATEX PHSE COMPRISING WATER, COLLOIDALLY DISSOLVED EMULSIFIER AND COLLOIDALLY DISPERSED RUBBER CONTAINING LESS THAN AOUT 40 PARTS OF SOLVENT PER 100 PARTS BY WEIGHT OF RUBBER AND A SLIME COMPRISING SOLVENT CONTAINING COLLOIDALLY SUSPENDED DROPLETS, SAID DROPLETS COMPRISING A CONTINUOUS WATER PHASE AND PARTIALLY STRIPPED RUBBER PARTICLES CONTAINING A SMALLER PROPORTION OF SOLVENT THAN IN THE ORIGINAL CEMENT; (C) PASSING THE SLIME THROUGH A COALESCRE WHEREBY IT IS RESOLVED INTO A SEPARATE SOLVENT PHASE AND A LATEX PHASE CONTAINING RUBBER PARTICLES OF SOLVENT CONTENT SUBSTANTIALLY REDUCED FROM THAT OF THE ORIGINAL EMULSION; (D) AND DECANTING SOLVENT FROM LATEX.