1004746

research-article2021
WMR0010.1177/0734242X211004746Waste Management & ResearchXu et al.

Mini-Review Article

Waste Management & Research

Wet compounding with pyrolytic carbon

2021, Vol. 39(12) 1440­–1450
© The Author(s) 2021
Article reuse guidelines:
black from waste tyre for manufacture sagepub.com/journals-permissions
DOI: 10.1177/0734242X211004746
https://doi.org/10.1177/0734242X211004746

of new tyre – A mini review journals.sagepub.com/home/wmr

Junqing Xu1, Jiaxue Yu1, Wenzhi He1, Juwen Huang1,

Junshi Xu2 and Guangming Li1,3

Abstract
Pyrolysis offers a more focused alternative to waste tyres treatment. Pyrolytic carbon black (CBp), the main product of waste tyre
pyrolysis, and its modified species can be applied to tyre manufacturing realizing its high-value utilization. Modified pyrolytic
carbon black/natural rubber composites prepared by a wet compounding (WC) and latex mixing process have become an innovative
technology route for waste tyre remanufacturing. The main properties and applications of CBp reported in recent years are reviewed,
and the main difficulties affecting its participation in tyre recycling are pointed out. The research progress of using WC technology
to replace dry mixing manufacturing of new tyres is summarized. Through literature data and comparative studies, this paper points
out that the characteristic of high ash content can be well utilized if CBp is applied to tyre manufacturing. This mini-review proposes
a new method for high-value utilization of CBp. The composite mixing of CBp and carbon nano-materials under wet conditions is
conducive to the realization of their good dispersion in the rubber matrix. This provides a new idea for customer resource integration
and connection of industry development between the tyre production industry and waste tyre disposal management.

Keywords
Waste tyre, pyrolytic carbon black, wet compounding, wet masterbatch, higher value application

Received 1st March 2021, accepted 4th March 2021 by Associate Editor Rodrigo Navia.

Introduction
The disposal and recycling of waste tyres has been a worldwide
environmental, social and economic problem. Waste tyres belong
to the harmful solid waste, known as “black pollution”. Improper
disposal of them will seriously affect human health and endanger
the safety of the ecological environment (Davis et al., 2001;
Hartwell et al., 1998). Figure 1 shows a simplified full life cycle
of waste tyre. A brand new tyre becomes a used tyre after a cer-
tain period of use. Some of these tyres can be processed into reus-
able tyres for further use by tread regrooving or retreading.
Others are directly facing the fate of becoming waste tyres.
Pyrolysis is a proper way for treating
waste tyre
Pyrolysis is the process of thermochemical decomposition of
organic matter in waste tyres by indirect heating with limited oxy-
et al., 2020; Tudu et al., 2016; Uyumaz et al., 2019; Vihar et al.,
2015). Other studies contain the production of carbon black (CB)
as asphalt additive (Dong and Zhao, 2018), pigment (Zhou et al.,
2006), filler for low-grade rubber products, active carbon
(Guerrero-Esparza et al., 2017), soil amendment (Maroušek
et al., 2016, 2019), and so on. Most of these studies have been
carried out either at laboratory or at pilot plant scale. There are no
reports of industrial application in the literature so far.
The main component of CBp is the CB added in the prime tyre
manufacturing process. CBp also includes a small amount of
pyrogenic sediments generated in the pyrolysis, TPO adsorbed
on char surface, and the inorganic filler added in the tyre
(Martínez et al., 2019).
1Collegeof Environmental Science and Engineering, Tognji
University, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China
2Shanghai Tire Craftsman Technology Co., Ltd., Shanghai, People’s

gen, water vapour or heated carbon monoxide in different reactors Republic of China
3Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security,
(Ren et al., 2020). This process mainly produces pyrolytic carbon
Shanghai, People’s Republic of China
black (CBp) and tyre pyrolysis oil (TPO). Other products include
pyrolytic gas containing a large number of hydrocarbons as well Corresponding author:
as steel wire for direct secondary use (Figure 2). Guangming Li, College of Environmental Science and Engineering,
Tognji University, No. 1239 Siping Road, Shanghai, 200092, People’s
Many studies on the pyrolysis of tyres are in the production of Republic of China.
oil (Ayanoğlu and Yumrutaş, 2016; Dai et al., 2017; Karagoz Email: ligm@tongji.edu.cn
Xu et al. 1441

Figure 1.  Waste tyre life-cycle stream.

Figure 2.  Three phase products obtained from waste tyre pyrolysis and their common application (Ahoor and Zandi-Atashbar,
2014; Williams and Brindle, 2002).
1442 Waste Management & Research 39(12)

Table 1.  Main properties of pyrolytic carbon black (CBp)/commercial carbon black (cCB)/modified pyrolytic carbon black
(mCBp).

Characteristics CBp (Li et al., 2004; cCB (Darmstadt et al., 2000; mCBp (Yu et al., 2020)
Lopez et al., 2011) Jiang et al., 2020; Martínez
et al., 2019)

N660* N330* N110* Pickling Microwave + Ultrasonic +

pickling pickling
Specific surface area of 60–90 ～35 ～83 ～143 60–90 185 92.1
multi point and single
point analysis (m2/g)
Iodine adsorption value 117 ～36 ～82 ～145 – – –
(m2/g)
Oil adsorption value 85 ～90 ～102 ～113 – – –
(mL/100 g)
Heating loss (%) 1.2 <3.0 <2.5 <3.0 – – –
Mean particle size of Two distributions: ～0.440 ～0.225 ～0.078 – – –
aggregates (μm) 0.080–0.115; and
0.418–0.474
Ash (%) 12–15 <0.5 3–10 5–8 <1.0

Note: *, represent different types of carbon black (CB). The first number represents the surface area of carbon black; and
the second and third figures are used to distinguish the degree of structure of different types of CB.

Due to the more complex composition, the properties of CBp
are different from commercial carbon black (cCB) directly used
in tyre manufacturing (Table 1). Many researchers (Acevedo and
Barriocanal, 2015; Darmstadt et al., 2000; Lee et al., 1999;
Martínez et al., 2019; Pantea et al., 2003) have analysed the sur-
face characteristics and internal structure of CBp by means of
X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, electron spectroscopy for
chemical analysis, secondary ion mass spectrometry, inverse gas
chromatography, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and trans-
mission electron microscopy. There are mainly six different bind-
ing states of the carbon element on the surface of CBp, namely,
graphitized carbon, carbon in aliphatic and aromatic ring com-
pounds and so on. There is only one binding state of the carbon
element, graphitized carbon, on the surface of cCB. The other
five forms of carbon in CBp mainly come from the sediments
generated during pyrolysis and part of the pyrolysis products
adsorbed on the surface of CBp.
In general, it was proved feasible that when CBp is treated as
low grade CB, resulting rubber products are widely used
(Martínez et al., 2019). However, these utilization methods are
insufficient to treat more and more CBp completely in the future.
Their low economic benefits will also hinder more enterprises
and scientific research institutions from participating in techno-
logical improvement. In order to solve the problem of waste tyre
accumulation through pyrolysis technology, a large challenge is
to solve the utilization of CBp with high economic added value.
CBp may be used for manufacture of new
tyres
The CBp has a low price with a number of performance indica-
tors close to that of medium quality cCB (Martínez et al., 2019).
Tyre and industrial rubber product applications dominate the
market and are expected to grow during the forecast period. CB
is one of the reinforcing agents that is commonly used in the tyre
industry owing to its effect on mechanical and dynamic proper-
ties of tyres (Leblanc, 2002; Mostafa et al., 2010). The tyres and
industrial rubber products application is the largest application
segment of the CB market with more than 80% of the market
share (Research and Markets, 2020). The economy of the pyro-
lytic process for tyre recycling depends on the application of the
resulting products.
Why do people not use CBp in tyre manufacturing to achieve
the following results?
(a) Realize revenue maximization – market and profit space
of high-quality tyres is huge.
(b) Realize the most efficient utilization of ash in CBp –
even ignore high ash content, previously considered a
“significant drawback”.
(c) The demand for tyre manufacturing is huge – treat more
CBp completely in the future.
(d) Producing new tyres from recycled materials has great
ecological value and can enhance the social influence of
enterprises.
(e) It is that modification requirements when realizing high-
value utilization of CBp will be reduced – reduce costs,
reduce consumables (e.g., modifier and acid), save
energy and avoid secondary pollution (e.g., acid pickling
wastewater).
In fact, there have been some studies on attempting to use
CBp in the manufacture of tyre rubber. CBp was used directly to
completely or partially replace cCB in the manufacture of new
tyres (Cataldo, 2005). However, the tyre manufacturing requires
high quality, especially the crosslinking of rubber and filler.
Xu et al. 1443
Figure 3.  Schematic diagram of dry mixing.
Under the traditional mixing method, CBp seems to replace only
a small part of cCB.
The effects of CBp applied to styrene butadiene rubber (SBR)
and ethylene propylene rubber (EPDM) were investigated. The
effects of CBp on the processing properties and vulcanization
properties of the two rubber blends were evaluated. Some studies
also focused on the effects of modifier and pickling modification
on rubber blends with modified pyrolytic carbon black (Du et al.,
2008; Sagar et al., 2018).
The largest problem all plant engineers and researchers are
facing is that the dispersion of CBp in rubber matrix is poor
and the uncounted agglomeration of it is obvious. At the same
time, the interaction among CBp in rubber blend is quite strong
(Li et al., 2016).
These two characteristics lead to a weak interaction between
filler and rubber. When the deformation is large, the friction in
the filler increases gradually, thus the comprehensive perfor-
mance of the rubber blend is not ideal. SEM observation showed
that at low shear rate, the surface of EPDM rubber matrix with
CBp as filler was much rougher than that of other low–medium
grade CB. This also confirms the characteristics of poor disper-
sion and serious agglomeration of CBp in the rubber system.
To some extent, the situation described above could be
improved with the directional modification of CBp (Zhong et al.,
2020). Nevertheless, the modification cost is relatively high and
keeping the modification quality stable is difficult. So there is no
report of its industrial application at present. The current tyre rub-
ber production in industrial enterprises above designated size
(the main business income in the People’s Republic of China is
more than 20 million yuan) is all through the form of dry mixing.
Both rubber and CBp are solids in the dry mixing process, which
will expose the poor dispersion of CBp to the greatest extent.
Is it possible to solve this problem through a technological
innovation combined with the properties of CBp?
Traditional compounding method is
searching for improvement
Tyre performance has a close relation with towability, stability,
safety, economy as well as comfort etc. Its improvement requires
the use of functionalized polymers and high content as well as
best dispersion of a reinforcing agent in the tread rubber com-
pound (Liu et al., 2014). However, the purchase of functional
polymers increases the cost significantly. Improving the disper-
sion of fillers is the priority at the large-scale production level.
The mixing of fillers and rubber matrix is the key link in tyre
manufacturing, and it is also an essential measure to realize better
dispersion of filler in the technological process.
The traditional method of preparing natural rubber (NR) com-
posite materials is to add reinforcing agents (such as CB, silica
(SiO2) and reinforcing resin), vulcanizing agents and various
auxiliary agents into dry NR, which is processed by mechanical
mixing (Ahmadi and Shojaei, 2015). In Figure 3, at the beginning
of the mixing process (①), the particles are not dispersed in the
cross-section, and the size of the particles does not change. The
position of most particles will change due to the tensile force. As
the rubber block turns, the dispersed mixing gradually begins
(②/③). Different from (①), under the joint action of shear force
and tensile force, the particle not only changes its position, but
also changes its size. From the cross- section of the rotor (④/⑤),
rubber blocks cover almost all the rotor after many rounds of roll-
ing. The mixing process that occurs at this point is called layered
mixing. Rubber blocks with various filler particles are stretched
to several times their original length and repeatedly cover the
rotor. This multiple deformation and stretching can better achieve
the filler and rubber block bonding (Limper, 2012).
In addition, due to the strong shearing action and the presence
of air, other effects often occur during the mixing process, result-
ing in more free radicals generated from rubber particles, strong
1444 Waste Management & Research 39(12)
physical adsorption and chemical binding with CB and other
coordinators. This will form a special spatial network structure
and thus affect reinforcing effect positively.
Although dry mixing is a common process in tyre factories,
some attempts to use this method of mixing CBp are not ideal
(Cataldo, 2005; Du et al., 2008). Based on the current knowledge
from laboratory work, many scholars have tried to modify CB to
improve its dispersion by changing its surface properties. Certainly
this is very promising. However, from a process innovation point
of view, this method may be able to provide a small number of
experimental products only, but is not suitable for large-scale com-
mercial production. With regard to the above point of view, we
summarized research progress of CBp modification in our previ-
ous study (Yu et al., 2020). For most of the modification experi-
ments, the yield is rarely more than 10 g per trial. At the same time,
if the existing dry process can be upgraded and replaced, it will be
beneficial to explore a new way for CBp to replace cCB.
The focus of this study is the combination of CBp and wet
compounding (WC) technology to produce tyre rubber. There are
just a few reports on WC in the rubber industry and tyre manufac-
turing (Gui et al., 2016; Kim et al., 2017, 2020; Peng et al., 2010;
Yang et al., 2007). There has not been any study on joint applica-
tion of CBp and WC technology so far. This paper deals with this
gap. This review would reveal the obstacles that prevent CBp
from replacing cCB in tyre manufacturing: evaluate the research
status of WC in the world; and analyse the characteristics of CBp
and SiO2. Finally, this paper will make some recommendations
on future research work, especially for the development of pyro-
lytic carbon black wet masterbatch (CBp-WMB) technology.
WC may produce better dispersion
Mechanism
Wet compounding refers to the process in which the filler/latex
mixture is destabilized and condensed by physical or chemical
means, and then the wet masterbatch (WMB) is separated from
the mixture (Wang et al., 2019). As reported, CB, SiO2 and other
fillers were closely combined with rubber by WC, forming a sta-
ble spatial structure, and produced into a composite rubber mate-
rial with strong structure and toughness.
The liquid phase environment referred to here is generally pro-
vided by natural rubber latex (NRL). Colloquially, latex is water-
containing rubber. NRL has a slightly high vulcanization rate, a
stable storage property and a satisfactory film forming property
(Zhang, 2006). The products produced by NRL have excellent com-
prehensive performance such as good elasticity, high strength and
great elongation (Luo et al., 2018; Song, 2018). They are widely
used in sponge products and many non-pure rubber products.
Although NRL is widely used, its characteristics have greatly
influenced its application in rubber products over the years. For
example, the direct combination of NRL and CB in liquid phase
cannot achieve the improvement of structural properties. Figure
4(A) shows why CB is difficult to be utilized as a reinforcing
agent in NRL.
In order to prevent the deterioration of latex during transport
from habitats to factories around the world, ammonia is generally
added to prolong its service life. This leaves the proteins in the
latex mostly in an alkaline medium (pH > 9, fresh latex pH ≈ 7)
(Johns et al., 2015; Siti and Azura, 2019). Under such conditions,
the amino group dissociation of the protein is inhibited, and the
carboxyl group is fully dissociated, thus generating more nega-
tive charges (Pisárčik et al., 1993). At the same time, the lipids in
latex are hydrolysed after the addition of ammonia. The high
fatty acid ammonium soap (high fatty acid salt) produced after
the hydrolysis is adsorbed on the surface of the micelle, thus, the
micelle also has a negative charge (Hansen, 1993; Liu et al.,
2016). As shown in Figure 4(A), the surface of the micelle has a
negative charge and there is repulsion between them.
The smaller the particles’ size, the greater the surface energy,
and, therefore, CB particles are more likely to aggregate. If the
CB particles are not sufficiently coated and dispersed, particles
will agglomerate again due to the interparticle force. It will
reduce the adhesion strength of CB itself.
For preventing the reagglomeration, mechanical force and
other external forces are generally applied in dry mixing to elim-
inate the force among CB particles. In the WC process, CB par-
ticles cannot directly contact with the micelle, let alone directly
form a reinforcing structure (Smiechowski and Lvovich, 2005).
CB can only be dispersed around the micelle (Patel et al., 2010).
This is because of NRL without strongly mechanical treatment
and isolation of the protective layer of the micelle. Furthermore,
the agglomerated CB, affected by the double electron layer of
the micelle, takes a certain amount of negative charge when it
approaches the micelle, and then quickly separates from the
micelle. This cycle will be repeated again and again. CB is
always unable to approach the micelle because of the character-
istics of large volume. This not only does not help to improve the
bonding between the micelle, but also makes the overall perfor-
mance decline.
Many scholars have continued to work on tackling the prob-
lem reported above (Cao et al., 2019; Choi, 2001; Kim et al.,
2014; Nga Dang et al., 2010; Scott et al., 2020). To sum up, the
following aspects need to be carefully handled to achieve a good
mixture of NRL and fillers:
(a) Modify the filler particle in advance.
(b) Break up the protective layer of the micelle.
(c) In an appropriate way, realize the binding of filler parti-
cle to rubber molecule in latex.
Figure 4(B) reveals a relatively ideal WC mechanism. It can
be divided into the following pretreatment continued by three
more steps (Kim et al., 2018; Shou et al., 2015):
(a) Pretreatment: modify CB to prepare dispersion solution,
generally by adding surfactant.
(b) Step 1: neutralize the surface electrical properties of
the micelle, generally by adding acid (H+) or cationic
flocculant.
Xu et al. 1445
Figure 4.  Schematic diagram of wet compounding.
(c) Step 2: break up the protective layer of the micelle, realiz-
ing that CB or other fillers pass through the protective
layer and come into close contact with rubber molecules.
(d) Step 3: realize good dispersion and solidification between
rubber molecule and CB.
The proper selection of coagulation method and flocculant is
the core of the whole process. The mechanism is that particles
lose the protective layer of the micelle by compressing the elec-
tric double layer, exchange adsorption and potential neutraliza-
tion. Rubber molecule and CB particles collide with each other
due to Brownian movement, forming agglomerates that eventu-
ally settle and flocculate under the action of gravity.
Research status and applications
The related research shows that compared with the dry mixing prod-
uct, an NRL/filler material with better dispersion and environmental
performance can be obtained by mixing CB or SiO2 particles into
NRL through the WC method (Kim et al., 2017).
Prasertsri and Rattanasom (2012) carried out the preparation of
SiO2 (precipitated and fumed SiO2)/NR masterbatches. 10% w/w
aqueous SiO2 suspension was prepared by using both an ultrasonic
bath and an agitator bead mill. After stirring with NRL for 30 min-
utes, praticles distribute and disperse well in masterbatches. In the
study of Mohd Hasan et al. (2018), the WMB method showed
longer scorch time and curing time as compared to the typical rub-
ber dry mixing method. The filled vulcanizates prepared from the
WMB method have better reinforcement but lower crosslink den-
sity and less stiffness. Wang et al. (2016) also reported on the prep-
aration of NR/SiO2 composites by the WMB technique, indicating
that compounds prepared by this technique have shorter optimum
curing time and need less energy during processing. Kim et al.
(2018) studied the role of different coagulants in breaking up the
micelles of the rubber latex and improving the properties of the
WMB compound. The results confirmed that calcium chloride was
an excellent coagulant. But the low crosslink density is still a major
problem that hinders the WMB compound performance. Kim
et al.’s (2018) research team also revealed that the WMB technique
can realize the reaction between epoxy group and silanol group on
1446 Waste Management & Research 39(12)
the SiO2 surface, thereby improving the processability of rubber
compound (Mun et al., 2019).
Most of laboratory-scale researches focused on the report of
WC based on SiO2/SBR or SiO2/NR. The WMB technique is
conducive to solving the problem of poor dispersion in rubber
when people utilize SiO2 instead of CB.
The commercial-scale explorations are based on CB. Since
the NR/CB masterbatch technique by continuous liquid phase
mixing was invented at the beginning of this century, a number of
patents and research progress of CB or SiO2 WMB production
methods have been successively developed worldwide
(Hirabayashi, 2020; Inada, 2020; Jansomboon et al., 2019;
Minagawa, 2003; Minouchi, 2020; Nishiura, 2014; Yamada and
Yanagisawa, 2006). However, there are few reports on pilot or
commercial scale WC of tyre rubber compared to the laboratory
studies. This may be due to the purpose of trade secrets and eco-
nomic interest protection. Its product performance, technical
energy consumption, economic indicators and other parameters
are difficult to obtain from public information channels.
To the best of our knowledge, there is no experiment reported
for CBp WC in the published scientific literature. However, it does
not mean that CBp is not available in this process. Further analysis
of the similarities and differences in the properties of CBp, CB and
SiO2, as well as further understanding of the WC process will con-
tribute to the application of CBp in this technology. Most of the
related studies on wet compounding of tyre rubber have been car-
ried out on a laboratory scale reactor with CB or SiO2.
Comparative analyses of products by WC and dry-mixing using
CBp have not been carried out. In future, the outcome of such a
study would be useful in improving the economic benefit of waste
tyre pyrolysis and reducing the cost of new tyre manufacturing.
CBp-WMB technology
Listed below are some of the research viewpoints ensuring a
good WC effect:
(a) The dispersion of SiO2 and other fillers should be small,
and the filler particles should be able to co-sink with latex
particles, so that the reinforcing agent can be evenly dis-
tributed in the rubber (Mostafa et al., 2010; Wang et al.,
2018).
(b) Proteins in latex should be degraded into small molecules
or removed as much as possible. Thus, the reinforcing
agent can interact directly with rubber hydrocarbons
without losing its activity and the larger the area of inter-
action, the better the effect (Kim et al., 2018).
(c) The whole latex system should have certain mechanical
and chemical stability before the dispersion of filler (SiO2,
CB, etc.) to the latex. After adding the filler, gelation cannot
occur immediately. Adequate mixing time is indispensable
for the full mix between filler particles and latex particles.
The particles of CB are too small to obtain good dispersion in
latex. Due to the very small particle size, CB particles have a
large attraction force between them and tend to form agglomer-
ates that are either tight or loose. Therefore, certain treatment
methods are necessary to achieve appropriate dispersion degree.
The dispersion process of CB/CBp can be divided into the
following four stages:
(a) Crushing: the CB is broken and dispersed by extruder,
kneader, mixer, ball mill, etc.
(b) Wetting: the interaction between the surface of free CB
particles and the surrounding medium is a vital factor for
CB to be wetted well. The wetting time is not only related
to the pores and geometry of CB, but also increases with
the increase of medium viscosity and decreases with the
increase of wetting tension. In order to improve the dis-
persibility of CB, low molecular weight additives (such
as plasticizers or viscosity promoters) are often added
into the medium.
(c) Distribution: by reducing the viscosity of the system and
extending the residence time of CB in the processing
equipment, the wetted CB particles can be better distrib-
uted. However, in the dry-mixing practical operation, the
extension of the residence time will be limited by the pro-
duction requirements.
(d) Cohesion: due to the attraction force among CB particles
(dipole, hydrogen bond and electrostatic force), external
energy must be used to overcome the attraction. However,
CB with small particle size has a large specific surface
area and thermodynamic instability, so it is easy to gener-
ate repolymerization. In practice, dispersants are added
to the surface of CB particles to reduce their cohesion.
In the above four processes, the primary particle diameter and
specific surface area of CB largely determine the dispersion
effect of CB.
The finer the particle size, the higher the specific surface area
of primary aggregate. The fine particles are more difficult to be
dispersed than the coarser ones. The reason is that the greater the
specific surface area, the higher the “wetting” energy required.
The finer the particle size, the greater the number of aggre-
gates in CB. This leads to smaller distances between aggregates,
and thus greater attraction among aggregates.
All other things being equal, the finer the particle size and the
higher the specific surface area of CB are, the poorer the disper-
sion of CB is (as shown in Table 2):
(a) The relationship between pure SiO2 and manufactured
SiO2: the specific surface area of multi point and single
point (BET-SSA) SiO2 is lower, but the oil adsorption of
the one is higher.
(b) The relationship between CB and CBp: the variance of
the data is large. From the point of median data (CB:
44 m2/g and 67 nm; CBp: 72.4 m2/g and 40–50 nm), the
BET-SSA and particle size of CBp are larger.
(c) The relationship between CBp and manufactured SiO2
(commonly used in the current wet-SiO2 technology):
Table 2.  Comparison of specific surface area and particle size of silica (SiO2)/manufactured SiO2/carbon black/pyrolytic carbon black (CBp).
Xu et al.

Type Name Specific surface area of Diameter Other information References

multi point and single (nm)
point analysis (m2/g)

Pure SiO2 Newsil 175, Quechen Silicon Chemical CO., Ltd.,Wuxi, 175 ～70 – Kim et al. (2020)
People’s Republic of China
1165MP, SOLVAY, The Kingdom of Belgium 155 Apparent density: 0.88 g/mL Cai et al. (2019)
Oil adsorption (DBP): 160 ml/100 g
Manufactured NK179 126 – Kim et al. (2020)
SiO2 NK136 126 Wang et al. (2016)
NK137 120
NK153 116
NK138 120
HB2105N Functional group in the modifier: amino 151 Apparent density:0.28 g/mL Cai et al. (2019)
DBP: 168 ml/100 g
Functional group in the modifier: amino
HB2205N Functional group in the modifier: amino 125 Apparent density: 0.13 g/mL
DBP: 196 ml/100 g
HB2200D Functional group in the modifier: double bond 121 Apparent density: 0.16 g/mL
DBP: 207 ml/100 g
Commercial N110 – 20–25 Martinez et al. (2013,
carbon black N330 (high abrasion furnace black) ～82 28–36 Low heat generation 2019); Roy et al. (1997);
Wide range of applications Wang, (2020); Wang
N339 90.2 ～80 DBP: ～80 ml/100 g et al. (2018)
N550 (fast extrusion furnace black) 44.8 ～50 Smooth surface
Application: ply compound, sidewall, inner tube
N772 26.8 80–170 Better elasticity
Application: buffer layers
N234 120.4 67 Better wearability
Application: tread
CBp CBp 77.63 40–50 Pyrolysis temperature: 500–600°C Choi et al. (2014)
151.5 Move-bed reactor Roy et al. (1999)
DBP: 90–100 ml/100 g
67.96 Static-bed reactor Zhang et al. (2008)
CBp before post-heating treatment 65.7 – Continuous auger reactor Martinez et al. (2013,
Long-term pyrolysis 2019)
CBp after post-heating treatment 72.4 – (>500 kg, 100 h, 550°C)
Main components in ash: SiO2 39.0 wt.%
zinc oxide 31.7 wt.%
calcium oxide 4.9 wt.%
magnesium oxide 1.3 wt.%
  Our work 60–65 25–45 DBP: 88–106 ml/100 g  
1447
1448 Waste Management & Research 39(12)
Figure 5.  Two processes of wet compounding (silica wet masterbatch and carbon black wet masterbatch technology).
CBp has a smaller particle size and BET-SSA than that of
manufactured SiO2. From the point of factors influencing
dispersion, the smaller BET-SSA and DBP of CBp helps
to achieve better dispersion, although smaller particle
size may have a negative effect on it.
Figure 5 illustrates a general WC process for SiO2 and natural
rubber. Firstly, SiO2 is prepared into a certain concentration of
water dispersion. Then it is mixed with natural latex and floccu-
lated by mechanical stirring. Finally, the SiO2/NR co-settling
rubber are prepared by dewatering, granulation and drying.
Part of the preparation process of the WC follows the existing
production process of the standard NR. In the early stage of pro-
duction, the preparation of the dispersion system and the process
of mixing and dispersing with latex were added.
Presently, SiO2 wet masterbatch technology is being studied
extensively. With the deepening of the study on the waste tyres
pyrolysis, it is feasible in theory to use CBp to participate in
WC. It is worth noting that, as proposed in this section, many
properties of CBp are more suitable for WC than SiO2. This con-
tributes to reduce the waste of resources and environmental
problems caused by the disordered accumulation of waste tyres,
expand the application of CB from waste tyre pyrolysis improv-
ing its economic value, and finally realize the production of new
tyres. On this basis, the development of CBp-WMB technology
is quite promising.
Conclusion and prospects
The growing number of waste tyres every year has been receiv-
ing significant attention, and it is essential to look for clean, high-
value recycling models. Recycling waste tyre rubber by pyrolysis
has been soundly studied lately. However, CBp, an important
product from waste tyre pyrolysis, has no particularly valuable
utilization form. One idea is to reduce the ash/sulphur component
in CBp by modification for further processing. However, this
increases the cost of using CBp and the longer process chain may
bring secondary pollution problems.
The application of CBp in tyre manufacturing cannot only
avoid the above problems, but also bring us great environmental
and economic benefits. In view of the characteristics of CBp, the
traditional dry mixing process cannot solve the dispersion prob-
lem, and the rubber products can only be utilized for low value
applications, but not in tyre manufacturing. Since the beginning
of this century, the WC process had been applied to SiO2 disper-
sion in rubber matrix, and was considered effective in laboratory
and pilot scale. In theory, the combination of CBp with WC
technology contributed to the maximum utilization of CBp prop-
erties, which realize good dispersion of CBp in rubber matrix. It
will pave the way for bulk purchase consumers such as logistics
and transportation companies and public traffic corporations to
properly deal with waste tyres, and acquire new tyres made from
recycled materials. This will put the first industrial connection
into practice between the previously separated tyre manufactur-
ing enterprises and waste tyre disposal enterprises – there have
been no studies focusing on that issue. It is vital to describe the
dispersion characteristics of CBp with NRL in the WC process
to examine the feasibility more clearly.
Last but not the least, there are still a few problems to be
solved:
(a) How to modify CB, and how to prepare dispersion solu-
tion (inappropriate concentration of surfactant may result
in many unnecessary components in the liquid system).
Xu et al. 1449
(b) How to neutralize the surface electrical properties of the
micelle – it is necessary to search for appropriate floccu-
lants and explore appropriate concentrations of surfactant.
Acknowledgements
The authors greatly appreciate the support of the Shanghai Institute
of Pollution Control and Ecological Security and the support of the
State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse
devices. The first author especially thanks his fiancée Li Tong for
supporting his research work.
Declaration of conflicting interests
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to
the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Funding
The authors disclosed receipt of the following financial support for
the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This
study was funded by Shanghai Municipal Education Commission-
Gaofeng Environment and Ecology Grant Support (Grant Number
HJGFXK-2017-002).
ORCID iD
Guangming Li https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0281-8258
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