Recycled Carbon Black vs Carbon Black29 Jul 2024 13:59
There's been a few mentions of recycling tyres and obviously the best option is to repurpose and reuse them where possible, from kids playgrounds to patch surfaces.
That's not PHE's market, but this is, however they would have to be run as a single feedstock to be able to sell the material back to industry. Probably something tyre makers would be more interested in purchasing.
Carbon black (CB), a raw material derived from the incomplete combustion of heavy petroleum products, also known as virgin carbon black (vCB), is commonly used in everyday black-coloured products such as car tires.
Its substitute, recovered carbon black (rCB), is a sustainable material produced through the thermal pyrolysis of used tires. This technique involves heating tires at high temperatures in the absence of oxygen, breaking down the rubber into carbon black, as well as oils and gases that can be reused or converted into energy. Not only does rCB provide a sustainable way to recycle used tires on a large scale, but its production also generates five times less carbon emissions than conventional vCB production, which relies on fossil fuels.
Growing global demand, industrial challenges
In 2023, global demand for carbon black reached approximately 18 million tons per year, with a market valued between $18 and $20 billion. The European market accounts for 15% of this global demand, about 2.7 million tons, equating to a value of $3 billion.
Recovered carbon black (rCB) presents itself as a sustainable alternative with the potential to replace 10 to 20% of virgin carbon black, approximately 250 to 550 kt per year in Europe, representing an approximate economic value of $265 to $530 million. However, this potential is limited by the inferior quality of rCB compared to virgin carbon black, a major challenge for producers aiming to ensure sufficient quality for successful industrial integration. Challenges such as the presence of impurities particularly limit its use in demanding applications like tire treads.
However, ongoing R&D efforts and technological advances aim to improve the production process and the quality of rCB, thereby expanding its range of applications. Notably, initiatives such as the integration of 40% sustainable materials in Michelin’s 2022 MotoE tires illustrate the continuous improvement in the quality of rCB.