Recovered and Circular Carbon Blacks are Entering the Market, but More Progress is Needed to Meet Customer and Government Mandates

An emphasis on sustainability is driving tire and rubber manufacturers to seek renewable carbon blacks for use in their products. While recovered carbon black (rCB) is not yet a drop-in replacement for all tire and rubber applications, manufacturers are finding ways to incorporate rCB alongside virgin carbon blacks. In addition, virgin carbon blacks made from renewable or circular feedstocks such as Tire Pyrolysis Oil or bio-based feedstocks can be used in some applications, but often at a price and yield penalty when compared to traditional feedstocks. 

Going forward, the carbon black industry will be tasked with improving the sustainability, performance, and economics of the carbon black product slate to address customer demands and government requirements. This article in Rubber News covers the current state of play on these issues. 

As rCB and sustainable carbon black production increases, producers will face many of the same environmental, safety, health, and product stewardship challenges experienced by traditional carbon black manufacturers. In some ways, these newer products are similar to traditional carbon black, but in others they are very different, indicating that there may be important regulatory differences between the products.