Continuous chlorination and bromination of butyl rubber

Claim 1

A PROCESS FOR THE CONTINUOUS CHLORINATION OF A BUTYL RUBBER ISOOLEFIN-MULTIOLEFIN COPOLYMER OF 85 TO 99.5% OF A C4 TO C7 SIOOLEFIN AND 15 TO 0.5% OF A C4 TO C14 MUKTIOLEFIN CONTAINING SMALL AMOUNTS OF METAL SOAPS WHICH CINPRISES CONTINUOUSLY CONTACTING A SOLUTION OF BUTYL RUBBER, HAVING A CONCENTRATION BETWEEN ABOUT 1 AND ABIUT 30% BY WT. OF BUTYL RUBBER, WITH THE CHLORIDE GAS, MAINTAINING THE BUTYL-RUBBER IN CONTACT WITH THE CHLORINE FOR A PERIOD OF TIME OF AT LEAST 25 MINUTES WHEREBY CHLORINATED BUTYL RUBBER AND HYDROGEN CHLORIDE ARE FIRMED, SAID COPOLYMER CONTAINING UP TO 1 ATOM OF CHLORIDE PER DOUBLE BOND IN THE COPOLYMER, FOLLOWED BY CONTINUOUSLY NEUTRALIZING THE HYDROGEN CHLORIDE ACCOMPANYING THE CHLORINATED BUTYL RUBBER AND CONTINOUSLY WASHING, WHILE DISPERSING THE SO TREATED CHLORINATED BUTYL RUBBER, THE NEUTRALIZED HYDROGEN CHLORIDE FROM THE CHLORINATED BUTYL RUBBER WITH WATER WHILE MAINTAINING THE WASH WATER, AFTER NEUTRALIZATION, AT A PH BETWEEN ABOUT 3 AND ABOUT 4 THEN CINTINUOUSLY SETTLING THE SOLUTION OF CHLORINATED BUTYL RUBBER FROM THE AQUEOUS PHASE AND WITHDRAWING SAID SOLUTION OF CHLORINATED BUTYL RUBBER FROM THE SYSTEM.