Water-dispersible adhesive composition and process

A water-dispersible adhesive composition according to the present invention comprising a branched water-dispersible polyester composition made of the moieties of reaction products;

• (I) at least one difunctional dicarboxylic acid which is not a sulfomonomer;
• (II) about 2 to 15 mol percent, based on the total of all acid, hydroxyl and amino equivalence, of residues of at least one difunctional sulfomonomer containing at least one sulfonate group bonded to an aromatic ring wherein the functional groups are hydroxyl, carboxyl, or amino;
• (III) at least one diol or a mixture of a diol and a diamine comprising:
• (A) about 0.1 to 85 mol percent, based on the total mol percent of diol moieties or diol and diamine moieties, of a diol or diamine having the formula H(--OCH.sub.2 CH.sub.2 --).sub.n OH and HRN(.paren open-st.CH.sub.2 CH.sub.2 O.paren close-st.).sub.n NHR wherein n is 2 to about 20 and R is hydrogen or C.sub.1 -C.sub.6 alkyl provided that the mol percent of such moieties is inversely proportional to the value of n;
• (B) about 0.1 to about 15 mol percent, based on the total mol percent of diol moieties or diol and diamine moieties, of moieties of a poly(ethylene glycol) having the formula H(--OCH.sub.2 CH.sub.2 --).sub.n OH wherein n is 2 to about 500, provided that the mol percent of such moieties is inversely proportional to the value of n;
• and
• (C) 0 to no greater than about 99 mol percent of the diol component or diol and diamine mixture being selected from the group consisting of a glycol and a mixture of glycol and diamine having two --NRH groups, the glycol containing two --C(R.sup.1).sub.2 --OH groups wherein R.sup.1 in the reactant is a hydrogen atom, an alkyl of 1 to 5 carbon atoms, or an aryl group of 6 to 10 carbon atoms;
• (IV) 0 to about 40 mol % of a difunctional monomer reactant selected from the group consisting of hydroxycarboxylic acids having one --C(R--).sub.2 --OH group, aminocarboxylic acids having one --NRH group, aminoalkanols having one --C(R--).sub.2 OH group and one --NRH group and mixtures of said difunctional reactants wherein R in the reactant is hydrogen or an alkyl group of 1 to 6 carbon atoms;
• and
• (V) about 0.1 to 40 mol % of a multifunctional reactant containing at least three functional groups selected from the group consisting of hydroxyl, carboxyl, amino, and mixtures thereof;
• the polymer containing substantially equal mol proportions of acid equivalents (100 mol %) and diol or diol and diamine equivalents (100 mol %) wherein at least 20 weight percent of the groups linking the moieties of the monomeric units are ester linkages and wherein the inherent viscosity is at least 0.2 dL/g measured in a 60/40 parts by weight solution of phenol/tetrachloroethane at 25.degree. C. and at a concentration of about 0.25 g of polymer in 100 ml of the solvent, the glass transition temperature T.sub.g is no greater than 20.degree. C., and the ring and ball softening point (RBSP) is at least 70.degree. C.