Patent ID: 7696276

Claim:
A process for producing a thermoplastic elastomer composition, said process comprising: synthesizing an elastomeric copolymer by polymerizing ethylene, an α-olefin, and optionally a diene monomer within the gas phase in the presence of a metallocene catalyst to thereby produce a gas-phase elastomeric copolymer; blending the gas-phase elastomeric copolymer with a thermoplastic polymer to form a mix of the elastomeric copolymer and thermoplastic polymer; and dynamically vulcanizing the gas-phase elastomeric copolymer within the mix of the elastomeric copolymer and thermoplastic polymer; wherein said gas-phase elastomeric copolymer has a Mooney Viscosity (ML(1+4@125° C.)) of from about 80 to about 450 and during the step of synthesizing elastomeric copolymer a carbon black dispersant is employed so that the resulting elastomeric copolymer has carbon black dispersed therein.