Process for manufacturing water based adhesive

A process for manufacturing a water based adhesive having essentially no organic solvents contained therein, said process comprising the steps of:

• (1) supplying an elastomer emulsion, said elastomer emulsion having a measure pH within the range of 9.0 to 12.0;
• (2) preparing a water solution comprising water and a pH adjuster, said pH adjuster being added to said water in an effective mount to adjust the pH of said water solution to within about .+-.10% of the measured pH of said elastomer emulsion;
• (3) preparing a carbon black dispersion comprising carbon black, water, surfactants, and a pH adjuster, said pH adjuster being added to said dispersion in an effective mount so as to yield a pH of said dispersion within about .+-.10% of the measured pH of said elastomer emulsion;
• (4) mixing said elastomer emulsion of Step (1) with said water solution of Step (2) to create an elastomer emulsion/water solution mixture;
• (5) mixing said carbon black dispersion of Step (3) with the elastomer emulsion/water solution mixture of Step (4) to form said water based adhesive;
• and
• wherein the water based adhesive of Step (5) comprises:
• from about 25.0 to about 50.0%, by weight, of an elastomer selected from the group consisting of natural rubber, synthetic rubber, butadiene rubber, polybutadiene rubber and mixtures thereof,
• from about 40.0 to about 60.0%, by weight, water;
• and
• from about 0.5 to about 10.0%, by weight, carbon black, said carbon black being selected from the group consisting of N-300 and N-200 series and mixtures thereof.