TECH2020S9 Carbon Black

TECHNOLOGY AND COSTS
TECHNOECONOMICS - ENERGY AND CHEMICALS
Carbon Black
TECH 2020S9
Caleb Chong
July 2020
TECHNOECONOMICS - ENERGY AND CHEMICALS
Carbon Black
TECH 2020S9
July 2020
Caleb Chong
100101.200.2020.017
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Technoeconomics – Energy & Chemicals
TECH 2020S9, Carbon Black
Contents
1 Executive Summary ........................................................................................................................... 1

1.1 Overview................................................................................................................................ 1
1.2 Feedstock .............................................................................................................................. 2
1.3 Supply Landscape ................................................................................................................. 2
1.4 Technology Overview ............................................................................................................ 4
1.5 Technology Holders and Licensing Status ............................................................................ 5
1.6 Process Economics ............................................................................................................... 6
1.6.1 Grade Comparison ................................................................................................... 6
1.6.2 Regional comparison................................................................................................ 7
1.6.3 Specialty Grades ...................................................................................................... 7
1.7 Market ANALYSIS ................................................................................................................. 8
1.7.1 Overview .................................................................................................................. 8
1.7.2 Applications by Grade .............................................................................................. 9
1.7.3 Summary ................................................................................................................ 11
1.7.1 Global Demand ...................................................................................................... 14
1.7.2 Global Supply, Demand, and Trade ....................................................................... 14
2 Introduction ....................................................................................................................................... 16
2.1 Overview.............................................................................................................................. 16
2.2 Business Developments ...................................................................................................... 17
2.3 Strategic and Business Considerations .............................................................................. 18
2.4 Technology Overview .......................................................................................................... 20
2.5 Technology Holders and Licensing Status .......................................................................... 21
2.6 Types, Grades and Specifications ...................................................................................... 22
2.6.1 Carbon Black Types ............................................................................................... 22
2.6.2 Carbon Black Grades ............................................................................................. 22
2.6.3 Soft versus Hard Grades ........................................................................................ 25
2.7 Physical and Chemical properties ....................................................................................... 26
2.7.1 Carbon Black Morphology and Nomenclature ....................................................... 26
2.7.2 Particle Size ........................................................................................................... 28
2.7.3 Structure and Aggregate Size ................................................................................ 28
2.7.4 Surface Area and Chemistry .................................................................................. 29
2.7.5 Porosity .................................................................................................................. 30
2.7.6 Physical Form......................................................................................................... 30
2.8 Health Hazards .................................................................................................................... 31
2.9 Storage and Transportation................................................................................................. 31
3 Feedstocks ....................................................................................................................................... 32
3.1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 32
3.1.1 BMCI (Bureau of Mines Correlation Index) ............................................................ 33
3.2 FluId Catalytic Cracking (FCC) Decant OIl ......................................................................... 34
3.3 Coal Tar Distillates .............................................................................................................. 35
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3.4 Ethylene Bottom OIl ............................................................................................................ 36

3.5 Natural Gas ......................................................................................................................... 36
4 Commercial Technologies ................................................................................................................ 37
4.1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 37
4.2 Chemistry and Mechanism .................................................................................................. 37
4.3 Formation ............................................................................................................................ 39
4.4 Production Routes ............................................................................................................... 41
4.4.1 Acetylene Black ...................................................................................................... 41
4.4.2 Channel Black ........................................................................................................ 41
4.4.3 Electric Plasma....................................................................................................... 44
4.4.4 Furnace Black ........................................................................................................ 45
4.4.5 Gas Black ............................................................................................................... 53
4.4.6 Lamp Black ............................................................................................................. 55
4.4.7 Thermal Black ........................................................................................................ 56
4.4.8 After Treatment and Surface Modifications ............................................................ 58
4.5 Aditya Birla .......................................................................................................................... 59
4.6 Asahi Carbon Company ...................................................................................................... 65
4.6.1 Furnace Black ........................................................................................................ 65
4.6.2 Thermal Black ........................................................................................................ 67
4.7 BlackCat Corporation .......................................................................................................... 70
4.8 Cabot Corporation ............................................................................................................... 70
4.9 China Synthetic rubber Corporation .................................................................................... 74
4.9.1 Thermal Black ........................................................................................................ 75
4.10 DENKA Denki Kagaku Kogyo KaBushiki Kaisha ................................................................ 76
4.11 EuroTecnica SpA ................................................................................................................ 77
4.12 Kvaerner ASA ...................................................................................................................... 82
4.13 Mitsubishi Carbon................................................................................................................ 85
4.14 Orion Engineered Carbon ................................................................................................... 87
4.14.1 Furnace Black ........................................................................................................ 87
4.14.2 Gas Black ............................................................................................................... 89
4.14.3 Lamp Black ............................................................................................................. 91
4.14.4 Other Developments .............................................................................................. 92
4.15 Petrokemija d.d. Kutina ....................................................................................................... 92
4.16 Philips Carbon Black Limited............................................................................................... 92
4.17 Imerys Graphite & Carbon (Formerly Timcal) ..................................................................... 92
4.18 Tokai Carbon ....................................................................................................................... 93
4.18.1 Thermal Black ........................................................................................................ 94
4.18.2 Furnace Black ........................................................................................................ 95
5 Developing Technologies ................................................................................................................. 97
5.1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 97
5.2 Green Chemistry and Biotechnology .................................................................................. 97
5.3 Solar Carbon Black ............................................................................................................. 97
5.4 Recycling of Tires .............................................................................................................. 100
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5.4.1 Advanced Pyrotech Sdn. Bhd. ............................................................................. 102

5.4.2 Black Bear Carbon Company ............................................................................... 102
5.4.3 Carbon Green LLC ............................................................................................... 103
5.4.4 Pyrolyx AG (formerly Scutum Capital AG) ........................................................... 103
5.4.5 Environmental Waste International ...................................................................... 104
6 Process Economics ........................................................................................................................ 105
6.1 Costing Basis .................................................................................................................... 105
6.1.1 Investment Basis .................................................................................................. 105
6.1.2 Pricing Basis ......................................................................................................... 105
6.1.3 Cost of Production Basis ...................................................................................... 107
6.2 Furnace Process ............................................................................................................... 107
6.2.1 Coal Tar Distillate (China) .................................................................................... 109
6.2.2 Ethylene Bottom Oils (NW Europe)...................................................................... 117
6.2.3 FCC Slurry Oils (USGC)....................................................................................... 118
6.2.4 Grade Comparison ............................................................................................... 123
6.2.5 Regional Comparison ........................................................................................... 124
6.3 Specialty Grades ............................................................................................................... 125
6.3.1 Thermal Carbon Black (N990) ............................................................................. 125
6.3.2 Acetylene Black .................................................................................................... 125
6.3.3 Plasma Process ................................................................................................... 125
6.3.4 Comparison .......................................................................................................... 129
7 Commercial Applications ................................................................................................................ 130
7.1 Overview............................................................................................................................ 130
7.1.1 Applications by Grade .......................................................................................... 132
7.1.2 Applications by Type ............................................................................................ 134
7.2 Summary ........................................................................................................................... 135
8 Regional Market Analysis ............................................................................................................... 137
8.1 Global Outlook ................................................................................................................... 137
8.1.1 Global Consumption ............................................................................................. 137
8.1.2 Supply .................................................................................................................. 137
8.1.3 Global Supply, Demand, and Trade ..................................................................... 139
8.2 North America ................................................................................................................... 140
8.2.1 Supply .................................................................................................................. 140
8.2.2 North America Supply, Demand, and Trade ........................................................ 141
8.3 Western Europe ................................................................................................................ 141
8.3.1 Supply .................................................................................................................. 141
8.3.2 Western Europe Supply, Demand, and Trade ..................................................... 142
8.4 Asia Pacific ........................................................................................................................ 142
8.4.1 Supply .................................................................................................................. 142
8.4.2 Asia Pacific Supply, Demand and Trade.............................................................. 146
8.5 Rest of the World............................................................................................................... 147
8.5.1 Supply .................................................................................................................. 147
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8.5.2 Rest of the World Supply, Demand and Trade .................................................... 148
9 Glossary ......................................................................................................................................... 149
Appendices
A Definitions of Capital Cost Terms Used in Process Economics ............................................. 151
A.1 Inside Battery Limits Investment ....................................................................................... 151
A.2 Outside Battery Limits Investment .................................................................................... 152
A.2.1 Contractor Charges .............................................................................................. 153
A.2.2 Contingency Allowance ........................................................................................ 153
A.3 Other Project Costs ........................................................................................................... 154
A.4 Working Capital ................................................................................................................. 155
B Definitions of Operating Cost Terms Used in Process Economics ........................................ 156
B.1 Variable Cost ..................................................................................................................... 156
B.2 Direct Fixed Costs ............................................................................................................. 157
B.3 Allocated Fixed Costs........................................................................................................ 157
B.4 Cash Cost .......................................................................................................................... 157
B.5 Depreciation ...................................................................................................................... 158
C TECH Program Title Index (2010-2020) ...................................................................................... 159
D References .................................................................................................................................... 162
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Figures
Figure 1 Carbon Black Value Chain ...................................................................................................... 1
Figure 2 Carbon Black Capacity Breakdown by Major Feedstocks ...................................................... 2
Figure 3 Global Carbon Black Supply, 2020 ......................................................................................... 3
Figure 4 Costs of Production Comparison for Carbon Black Grades .................................................... 6
Figure 5 Regional Analysis for Costs of Production of N330 Carbon Black .......................................... 7
Figure 6 Costs of Production for Thermal, Acetylene and Plasma Carbon Blacks ............................... 8
Figure 7 Global Carbon Black Demand by Application, 2020 ............................................................... 9
Figure 8 Global Carbon Black Demand by Grades, 2020 ................................................................... 11
Figure 9 Simplified Property Considerations for a Compounder using Carbon Black ......................... 12
Figure 10 Simplified Product Application Mapping in Relation to Carbon Black Properties.................. 13
Figure 11 Global Carbon Black Supply, Demand, and Trade ............................................................... 15
Figure 12 Carbon Black Value Chain .................................................................................................... 16
Figure 13 Carbon Black Structure Development ................................................................................... 27
Figure 14 SEM Representative of Carbon Black Aggregate ................................................................. 27
Figure 15 Particle Size Comparison Illustration ..................................................................................... 28
Figure 16 Comparison of Carbon Black Structures ............................................................................... 29
Figure 17 Carbon Black Capacity Breakdown by Major Feedstocks .................................................... 32
Figure 18 Channel Process ................................................................................................................... 43
Figure 19 Plasma Black Process ........................................................................................................... 45
Figure 20 Generic Furnace Black Process ............................................................................................ 46
Figure 21 Dry Pelletization Process ....................................................................................................... 52
Figure 22 Wet Pelletizer......................................................................................................................... 53
Figure 23 Lamp Black Process .............................................................................................................. 55
Figure 24 Thermal Black Process Using Natural Gas Feed ................................................................. 57
Figure 25 Aditya Birla Carbon Black ...................................................................................................... 61
Figure 26 Aditya Birla 2013 Reactor Schematic .................................................................................... 62
Figure 27 Columbian Chemical Reactor Schematic .............................................................................. 64
Figure 28 Asahi Carbon Reactor ........................................................................................................... 66
Figure 29 Asahi Thermal Reactor .......................................................................................................... 68
Figure 30 Asahi Thermal Black Reactor ................................................................................................ 68
Figure 31 Asahi Thermal Reactor 3 ....................................................................................................... 69
Figure 32 Cabot Furnace Black Reactor................................................................................................ 71
Figure 33 Cabot Low Structure Black Reactor ...................................................................................... 73
Figure 34 CCBI Reactor......................................................................................................................... 76
Figure 35 Eurotecnica ET Black™ CB Process ..................................................................................... 79
Figure 36 System for Production of Carbon Black ................................................................................. 84
Figure 37 Mitsubishi Reactor ................................................................................................................. 86
Figure 38 Orion Carbon Black Reactor .................................................................................................. 88
Figure 39 Orion Gas Black Generator ................................................................................................... 90
Figure 40 Carbon Black Aerosol Technology ........................................................................................ 91
Figure 41 Tokai Carbon Black Reactor.................................................................................................. 93
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Figure 42 Carbon Black Refractory System .......................................................................................... 95

Figure 43 Solar Reactor ......................................................................................................................... 98
Figure 44 Solar-thermal Hydrogen and Carbon Black Co-product Plant .............................................. 99
Figure 45 Solar Carbon Black .............................................................................................................. 101
Figure 46 Costs of Production Comparison for Carbon Black Grades ................................................ 123
Figure 47 Regional Analysis for Costs of Production of N330 Carbon Black ...................................... 124
Figure 48 Costs of Production for Thermal, Acetylene and Plasma Carbon Blacks ........................... 129
Figure 49 Global Carbon Black Demand by Application, 2020 ........................................................... 130
Figure 50 Global Carbon Black Demand by Grades, 2020 ................................................................. 133
Figure 51 Simplified Property Considerations for a Compounder Using Carbon Black ...................... 135
Figure 52 Simplified Product Application Mapping in Relation to Carbon Black Properties ................ 136
Figure 53 Global Carbon Black Supply, 2020, 17.3 Million Tons ........................................................ 138
Figure 54 Global Carbon Black Supply, Demand, and Trade ............................................................. 139
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Tables
Table 1 Carbon Black Technology Overview ....................................................................................... 4
Table 2 Major Carbon Black Licensors, Technology Holders, and Producers ..................................... 5
Table 3 Typical Application by Carbon Black Grade ............................................................................ 9
Table 4 Key Physical and Thermodynamic Properties of Select Grades........................................... 11
Table 5 Global Carbon Black Consumption by Region ...................................................................... 14
Table 6 Global Carbon Black Supply, Demand, and Trade ............................................................... 14
Table 7 Carbon Black Technology Overview ..................................................................................... 20
Table 8 Major Carbon Black Licensors, Technology Holders, and Producers ................................... 21
Table 9 Ranges of Carbon Black Properties ...................................................................................... 22
Table 10 ASTM Digit Assignment for Typical Average Carbon Black Particle Size............................. 23
Table 11 Commercial Specifications for select Carbon Blacks grades ................................................ 24
Table 12 Types of Carbon Black Used in Tires (ref: IARC 1996)......................................................... 25
Table 13 Physical and Thermodynamic Properties .............................................................................. 26
Table 14 Typical Feedstock Specifications .......................................................................................... 34
Table 15 Typical Reactor Conditions for Different Carbon Black Grades ............................................ 41
Table 16 Heats of Formation and Theoretical Maximum Temperatures Involved in
Decomposition of Selected Hydrocarbons ............................................................................ 77
Table 17 Prices of Raw Materials, Products, Utilities, and Labor, Q1 2020....................................... 106
Table 18 Cost of Production Estimate for: Carbon Black N121
Process: Generic Furnace Black, China, First Quarter 2020 .............................................. 109
Process: Generic Furnace Black, NWE, First Quarter 2020 ............................................... 117
Process: Eurotecnica ET Black™, USGC, First Quarter 2020 ............................................ 118
Process: Eurotecnica ET Black™, USGC, First quarter 2020 ............................................ 121
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Process: Eurotecnica ET Black™, USGC, First quarter 2020 ............................................ 122
Table 32 Cost of Production Estimate for: Thermal Carbon Black N990
Process: Generic Thermal Black, USGC, First quarter 2020 .............................................. 126
Table 33 Cost of Production Estimate for: Acetylene Carbon Black
Process: Generic Acetylene Black, USGC, First quarter 2020 ........................................... 127
Table 34 Cost of Production Estimate for: Carbon Black
Process: Kvaerner Carbon Black and Hydrogen Process, USGC, First quarter 2020 ....... 128
Table 35 Typical Application by Carbon Black Grade ........................................................................ 132
Table 36 Key Physical and Thermodynamic Properties of select grades .......................................... 134
Table 37 Global Carbon Black Consumption by Region .................................................................... 137
Table 38 Carbon Black Capacity by Region ....................................................................................... 138
Table 39 Global Carbon Black Supply, Demand, and Trade ............................................................. 139
Table 40 Carbon Black Capacity in North America ............................................................................ 140
Table 41 North American Carbon Black Supply, Demand, and Balance ........................................... 141
Table 42 Carbon Black Capacity in Western Europe ......................................................................... 141
Table 43 Western Europe Carbon Black Supply, Demand, and Trade.............................................. 142
Table 44 Carbon Black Capacity in Asia Pacific ................................................................................ 143
Table 45 Asia Pacific Carbon Black Supply/Demand Balance........................................................... 146
Table 46 Carbon Black Capacity in Rest of the World ....................................................................... 147
Table 47 Rest of the World Carbon Black Supply/Demand Balance ................................................. 148
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1 Executive Summary
1.1 Overview
Carbon black is the generic name given to a family of products composed of almost pure elemental carbon.
Carbon black is a finely divided pellet or fluffy powder added to a range of materials to improve and enhance
physical properties, such as increasing the durability of rubber goods (for example tires), improving the
optical properties of pigments and providing electrical properties for use in electrical circuits coatings.
The major commercial applications in the global carbon black market is as a reinforcement and performance
additive in rubber products, particularly tire components (the treads, inner liners, beads and sidewalls) and
industrial rubber goods such as hoses, belts, gaskets etc. Specialty grades are produced for use in
coatings, printing and as pigments.
Unlike other carbon allotropes such as graphite, grapheme, fullerenes, diamond, coke and charcoal, carbon
black is composed of fine colloidal particles in a complicated structure with fusion of some of the spherical
particles. Carbon black’s particle size, surface area, structure, conductivity and color are important
properties that offer a wide range of performance characteristics with the choice depending on its
application.
Carbon black is different from the unwanted byproduct of combustion known as soot or black carbon, in
that it is produced under carefully controlled conditions by thermal combustion or incomplete combustion
of hydrocarbons with its physical and chemical properties maintained within narrow specifications based
on its end use. Carbon black is essentially free of the inorganic contaminants and residual organics such
as dichloromethane characteristic of most forms of soot and black carbon.(1)
The feedstocks for carbon black are predominantly the residual, viscous, aromatic hydrocarbon oils derived
from petroleum refining operations, from the distillation of coal tars and ethylene production throughout the
world. Figure 1 shows the carbon black value chain.
Figure 1 Carbon Black Value Chain
Coal Tar Coal Tar
Coal Coking Plants Distillation Distillate
Fuels,
Crude Oil FCC Gasoline,Diesel, FCC Slurries Carbon Black Oil Carbon Black
Refineries Jet Fuel
Carbon Black Fuel
Feedstock
Naphtha Steam Ethylene and Ethylene

Crackers Other Olefins Bottom Oils
Natural Gas
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1.2 Feedstock
For the past 50 years or so, the majority of feedstock has been derived from petroleum, primarily the decant
oils supplied from the United States. The United States export these oils to countries such as India,
Thailand, Egypt, Italy, South Korea and Japan. Recently, as Figure 2 shows, coal derived carbon black oil
has become increasingly significant with the latest capacity expansions in China tipping the scale to make
coal tar based feedstock the major feedstock globally. Nearly all of the carbon black capacities in China
use local coal derived carbon black oil as feedstock.
Around 10 percent of the capacities globally use ethylene bottom oils as feedstock to produce carbon black
and these producers are mainly from Western Europe, Russia, Japan, and Taiwan.
Figure 2 Carbon Black Capacity Breakdown by Major Feedstocks
(Total = 17.3 Million Tons)
Fluid Catalytic
Cracking Slurry
37%
Coal Tar
Derivatives
53%
Ethylene Bottom
Oils
10%
Some variations do exist. For example, natural gas, a cheap and readily available feedstock, is used for
some processes such as thermal black production, though vaporizable oil is more often used instead in a
modern plant. Acetylene black, as the name implies, is produced from acetylene feedstock and bone black
is produced from animal bones. These sources of feedstock account for less than one percent of the global
feedstock demand and are not included in the chart above.
1.3 Supply Landscape

Global carbon black capacity is estimated at 17.3 million tons in 2020. Historically, the bulk of the carbon
black capacity has been located outside of Asia. Over the last five years, the majority of capacity
developments have been focused in Asia Pacific, due to the growth in demand and as manufacturers have
relocated production to countries with lower operational costs. This trend is projected to continue as
manufacturers establish operations closer to major tire manufacturers who have also relocated to, or
expanded operations in the region. Capacity increase in North America and Western Europe is not
significant. With the recent economic slowdown and negative impact of Covid-19 on the global economy,
new capacities in the near term are expected to be delayed. Further market consolidation is potentially
likely to happen in the near term as well.
Industry consolidation has also been taking place in more mature markets, such as the acquisition of
Canada’s Cancarb by Tokai Carbon, Cabot’s acquisition of Mexican producer Nhumo, and more recently
Tokai Carbon’s acquisition of Sid Richardson in 2018. Major producers such as Cabot and Birla Carbon

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have been carrying out debottlenecking projects at their plants across the globe to increase production
efficiency and expand their capacities.
Cabot is the single largest producer of carbon black globally, with an installed capacity of 2.3 million tons
per year. The company has production facilities in almost every continent in the world. The next largest
capacity is Birla Carbon with 2.2 million tons, then Black Cat Carbon with 1.2 million tons, followed by Orion
Engineered Carbons, as shown in Figure 3.
Figure 3 Global Carbon Black Supply, 2020
(17.3 million tons)
Cabot
14%
Others Birla Carbon

38% 13%
Black Cat Carbon

7%
Orion Engineered
Continental Carbon Carbons
2% 7%
Tokai Carbon
Baohua Carbon Black
6%
2%
Omsk Carbon Group
CSRC 4%
Phillips Carbon Black
3%
4%

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1.4 Technology Overview

There are a number of processes for the manufacture of carbon black, all of which are based on thermal
cracking or partial oxidation of hydrocarbon gases or liquids:
 Acetylene-black process (producing >99 percent carbon black).
 Bone Black
 Furnace-black process (producing >97 percent carbon black)
 Gas Black
 Lamp Black
 Thermal-black process (producing >99 percent carbon black)
Table 1 Carbon Black Technology Overview
Technology process Feedstock CB purity Global use Overview
Acetylene black process is a thermal decomposition carried out
in the absence of oxygen. This involves burning acetylene to
Acetylene black Acetylene >99% Limited
heat the reactor, followed by cutting of the air supply, which
enables formation of carbon black.
Bone black production is the calcination and destructive
Bone black Animal bones Limited distillation of animal bones to produce a bone char which is
then crushed to produce bone black pigment.
Obsolete; superceded Flames of natural gas impinge on steel channels depositing
Channel black Natural gas
by the gas black route carbon black at low yields.
Feedstock is burnt in air while the flames impinge on water
Vaporized oils (normally coal tar cooled surfaces. The carbon black is scraped from the water
Gas black Limited
distillates) cooled surfaces and is also produced as an aerosol which is
filtered to separate the carbon black.
A simple process in which the feedstock undergoes thermal
oxidative decomposition in a shallow pan. The carbon black
Lamp black Typically coal tar distillates Limited
containing gases are then cooled and carbon black is collected
in filters.
High temperature plasma burner is used to split natural gas
and reuse some of the hydrogen produced to supply the
plasma. The only inputs are feedstock and the electricity
Plasma black Natural gas Limited
demand of the plasma torch. The process can theoretically
produce any kind of carbon black by controlling the pyrolytic
process parameters for carbon black formation.
Thermal decomposition in the absence of oxygen. This is
usually a cyclic process in which one reactor is pre-heated by
burning fuel in air, followed by closing off the air supply. A
2nd most widely used
Thermal black Typically natural gas >99% second pre-heated reactor has the feedstock introduced, which
route globally
is decomposed into carbon black and hydrogen in the absence
of air. After separation the hydrogen is cycled to the other
reactor to provide fuel for heating.
The process, based on oxidative decomposition, is a
FCC slurries, ethylene bottom oil, Dominant route used
Furnace black >97% continuous process operated in a closed reactor with high flow
coal tar distillate globally
velocities creating high turbulence.
The most important process in terms of tonnage is the furnace black process, accounting for the majority
of total global carbon black production. The feedstock (normally a decant oil of FCC cracking, ethylene
bottom oil or coal tar) is injected into and incompletely combusted in a furnace to produce the carbon black.
Modern technology makes use of waste gases to generate power and/or steam, enabling some producers
to be eligible for carbon credits (e.g., Philips Carbon Black in India). The key element in a furnace carbon
black plant is the furnace. A number of global contractors and specialist furnace providers have the ability
to engineer, design and construct carbon black furnaces.

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The method of processing is common to all processes with slight variations in the final product form as
either wet pelletized, dry pelletized or as a fluffy partially densified powder. Highly efficient bag filters are
used to collect the fluffy carbon black which is then densified and pelletized to minimize dusting during
shipment. Environmental scrutiny and regulations are increasingly tight as the industry is a high emitter of
carbon dioxide.
1.5 Technology Holders and Licensing Status

Historically, very few third parties have had access to carbon black technology. Most major producers,
including Cabot and Orion (formerly Evonik), do not license their technology and have sought to own all
their carbon black plants.
As with all carbon black producers, they routinely scout for feedstock opportunities and may be open to
potential joint ventures along the lines of a feedstock/producer relationship. Licenses can be negotiated
with Eurotecnica SpA, China Synthetic Rubber Company, and potentially other Chinese manufacturers.
Table 2 Major Carbon Black Licensors, Technology Holders, and Producers

Technology Holders Process Licensing Notes
Furnace Thermal Others
Aditya Birla √ √ No Major Producer.
Columbian Chemicals, U.S. √ √ Acquired by Aditya Birla in 2011. Originally licensed from DuPont.
BlackCat √ Potential Developed own technology, possible licensor and major producer
Bridgestone (Asahi Carbon) √ √ JVs Major Producer, tends to form JV
Cabot Corp, US √ JVs Major Producer and technology holder
Specialty grades, Sold its joint venture stake in Showa Cabot to Cabot Group in 2005.
Showa Denko
Acetylene Black Showa Cabot changed its name to Cabot Japan.
Producer and Licenser of technology to third parties; acquired
China Synthetic Rubber Company √ √ Yes
Continental Carbon in 1995.
Eurotecnica SpA, Italy √ Yes Technology owner / contractor licensing PVTI technology
Gazprom √ √ No Technology owner and Producer
Mitsubishi Carbon √ No Producer
Gas, Lamp, Producer and technology holder. Acquired carbon black
Orion Engineered Carbons (formerly Evonik) √ √ No
Specialty grades manufacturer SN2A from LyondellBasell in 2018.
Phillips Carbon Black, (RPG Group), India √ No Technology owner and Major Producer.
Ralson, India √ JVs Technology owner & Major Producer via its own plant and JVs.
Imerys Graphite & Carbon (formerly TIMCAL) Specialty grades Yes Licensor and Producer
Tokai Carbon √ √ Unlikely Largest thermal carbon black producer globally.
Cancarb √ √ Acquired by Tokai in April 2014
Sid Richardson √ Acquired by Tokai in 2018

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1.6 Process Economics

1.6.1 Grade Comparison
Figure 1.4 shows the costs of production for different carbon black grades. The general trend observed is
that the cost of production decreases as the carbon black grade number increases (or mean particle size
increases) though, as can be seen, there are slight variations.
The results assume that each grade is produced at the same capacity of 150 000 tons per year. In reality
each production line may be composed of a number of reactors, with one dedicated for tread grades, one
for carcass grades and one for specialty grades. Alternatively, the reactors may be swing reactors,
producing a range of grades or be used to produce powder or dry beaded grades. The net costs of
production may vary throughout the operating period depending on the grade produced and the volume of
that grade produced.
Figure 4 Costs of Production Comparison for Carbon Black Grades
(First quarter 2020, China Basis)
800
700
600
500
US$ per ton
400
300
200
100
0
-100
Furnace Furnace Furnace Furnace Furnace Furnace Furnace Furnace
Black Black Black Black Black Black Black Black
N121 N220 N234 N330 N339 N375 N550 N660
Net Raw Material Utilities Direct Fixed Costs Allocated Fixed Costs
XLS: Carbon_Black_TECH_2020

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1.6.2 Regional comparison

The N300 carbon black series tend to have the highest volume consumption globally in rubber
reinforcement applications. Thus, the regional analysis was carried out for the N330 grade. The analysis
assumes the feedstock used is in line with regional trends, ethylene bottom oils in North Western Europe,
FCC slurry oils in the United States, and coal tar distillate in China.
Figure 5 Regional Analysis for Costs of Production of N330 Carbon Black
(First quarter 2020, Regional Basis, 150 000 tons per year capacity)
700
600
500
400
US$ per ton
300
200
100
0
-100
Furnace Black N330 Furnace Black N330 Furnace Black N330
China NWE USGC
The lowest costs are found in China where cheap coal based feedstock, lower investment costs and low
labor costs provide the advantage. Because the Nexant model assumes a credit for export steam, net
production costs in North West Europe turn out to be lower than those in the USGC, in spite of the higher
feedstock and investment costs in Europe versus the United States. The highest net production costs are
found in the USGC.
1.6.3 Specialty Grades
Figure 6 compares the costs of production of the specialty thermal black and acetylene black with the
speculative costs of a carbon black produced by the Kvaerner plasma process. The figure shows that fixed
costs represent a significant portion of the total production costs for these grades. In each case, credit was
taken for the fuel value of the hydrogen produced and the flue gas. The plant capacities of the thermal
black, acetylene black and speculative Kvaerner Plasma processes were assumed to be 15 000, 6 000,
and 10 000 tons per year, respectively.
Acetylene black has the highest costs of production among the three grades, mainly due to the feedstock
costs. The costs of production of thermal black for the U.S.-based plant are lower partly due to the low costs
of natural gas currently experienced in the United States. The costs of production for the plasma process
is speculative.

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Figure 6 Costs of Production for Thermal, Acetylene and Plasma Carbon Blacks
(First quarter 2020, USGC (Thermal and Plasma) and China (Acetylene) Basis)
2500
2000
1500
US$ per ton
1000
500
-500
Thermal Black Acetylene Black Plasma Black
USGC China USGC
One of the most notable observations is that both the thermal and plasma black have significantly lower
production costs, even in comparison to the furnace black grades shown earlier. One of the key contributors
to such a low production cost is the price of its main feedstock, natural gas, particularly in the United States.
Natural gas prices have dropped significantly due to the advent of the shale gas industry, which has brought
an abundant source of natural gas and creating an oversupply. It is for this reason that there has been
increased interest in processes that utilize natural gas in order to capitalize on this feedstock advantage.
The analysis above does not take into account the depreciation and ROCE, which for the plasma black
process results in a significant increase in cost to above $1500 per ton due to the high investment cost
relative to its production capacity.
1.7 Market ANALYSIS

1.7.1 Overview
The leading application for carbon black is as a reinforcing agent in the production of vulcanized rubber
goods such as tires, belts, hoses and rollers. Furnace black, or technical grade carbon black, is used in this
application. Over 90 percent of global carbon black output is consumed in the production of rubber products.
73 percent is applied to the manufacture of tires. Other rubber products include gaskets, wire and cable
sleeves, coated fabrics, roofing, conveyor belts, hoses, gloves, packaging, mats, footwear, metallurgy, toys
and pontoons. Non-rubber products are consumed in the inks, plastics (cables, pipes, moldings, and fibers),
paint, inks, adhesives and sealants, toners and paper sectors.
The breakdown of carbon black’s demand by application in the global market is presented in Figure 7.

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Figure 7 Global Carbon Black Demand by Application, 2020

Speciality
7%
Cars
Non Tire Usage 28%
20%
Other Tires
21% Bus andTrucks
24%
1.7.2 Applications by Grade

Table 3 further illustrates the applications that are used for different carbon black grades.
Table 3 Typical Application by Carbon Black Grade
(As recommended by China Carbon Group)
Grade N220 N234 N326 N330 N339 N375 N550 N660 N762 N772
Others Paints & printing ink √ √ √ √ √ √
Non-rubber
Moulded goods √ √ √ √
Moulded goods condensed √ √
Plastics
Cable components √ √
Film & sheet √ √ √ √
Footwear √ √ √ √
Cable √ √ √ √ √
Door seal √ √
Oil seal √ √ √
Hose √ √ √ √
Non-tyre
Vee belts √ √ √ √
Rubber
Conveyor belts √ √ √ √ √ √ √
Tube √ √ √ √
Cycle tyre √ √ √
Retreading industries √ √ √ √ √ √
Beads/plies √ √ √
Sidewall √ √
Tyre
Thread √ √ √ √ √
Off-the-road (OTR) √ √ √ √

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Although each producer will have their own recommendation for the carbon black grade that is suited for a
particular application, they generally do not differ significantly from each other. They can be roughly grouped
together into the following types:
 N100, 200, 300 series
These grades are typically used in applications where high abrasion resistance is required, e.g.
typically tire treads.
N100 grades tend to find use in truck, off road and performance tire treads since these grades
impart the highest abrasion resistance qualities
The major grades used are the N200 and N300 series, of which N220, N234, N326, N330 and
N339 are the general purpose reinforcing grades also known as tread or hard grades.
 N500, 600, 700 series
These are known as the soft or semi-reinforcing grades and are used in components that require
low heat build-up during stress. They are used to improve air retention and improve ply
strength whilst reducing elastic hysteresis (the inability to return to its original shape after
being stretched). The coarsest carbon blacks are used in mixtures that require good
extrusion proportions.
The N550, N650 and N660 series are used to improve dynamic properties and provide moderate
reinforcement. Applications of these grades include the inner liners, tire sidewalls, extruded
goods, belts, sheeting and hoses.
The N700 series offer the most dynamic properties and are typically used in tire carcasses,
sidewalls and beadings as well as hosing and belts.
 N800, 900 series
The less common N800 and N900 series are used for non-tire applications and are produced from
the thermal black process.
The N990 series has high elongation and loading capacity. In addition, it also provides low
reinforcement while having low modulus, hardness, hysteresis and tensile strength. This
series is mainly used in belting, hosing, gaskets, O-rings and tire inner-liners.(2)
Figure 8 shows Nexant’s estimate of global carbon black demand by rubber grade estimated as of 2020.
The dominant black grades are those of the reinforcing hard grades from N100 to N300 that are typically
used for tires for abrasion resistance, which account for 66 percent of global demand. The N500-700 grades
typically used for carcass tires (600 and 700 for slow speed tires) account for 30 percent, while the specialty
blacks which are composed of purer STM grades and proprietary customized grades account for the rest.

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Figure 8 Global Carbon Black Demand by Grades, 2020

(12 million tons)
Other Grades
4%
N500-700 Grades
30%
N100-300 Grades
66%
In general, the non-tire applications tend to be able to use a wider range of carbon black grades, while the
tire applications tend to use the lower digit carbon black grades. Table 4 describes some general properties
imparted to rubber different carbon black grades.
Table 4 Key Physical and Thermodynamic Properties of Select Grades
Old generic names Grades General Rubber Properties Typical Uses
Special service tire treads (e.g.
Super abrasion furnace (SAF) N100s Extremely high abrasion resistance and good processing
off-road)
Tire treads, rail pads, solid
Intermediate SAF (ISAF) N200s Very high abrasion resistance and good processing wheels, mats. Tire belts,
carcass, retread compounds
Tire belt, carcass, sidewall
High abrasion furnace (HAF) / High abrasion resistance and good processing, low modulus, good tear
N300s compounds, weather strips,
Super processing furnace (SPF) strength, fatigue and flex cracking resistance
hoses
Fast extrusion furnace (FAF) N500s High modulus, high harness, low die swell, smooth and fast extrusion Tire, cable, printing, coatings
Carcass, sidewalls, inner liners,
General purpose furnace (GPF) N600s Medium modulus, good flex fatigue resistance and low heat build-up seals, cable jackets, hose, soling,
EPDM compounds
Footwear, inner tubes, inner
Semi-reinforcing furnace (SRF) N700s High elongation and resilience, low compression set
liners, mats
Fine / medium thermal N800s / 900s High loadability, low compression set, low compound viscosity Polymer compounding
1.7.3 Summary
Ideally, rubber compounds containing carbon black should have better wear and traction, lower rolling
resistance, and less heat generation and noise. In non-tire applications, carbon black should impart the
rubbers with increased resilience and dimensional stability.
It is important to understand how different carbon black grades impact the end application product. Figure 9
illustrates a morphology map to understand the positioning of different blacks and their properties.

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Figure 9 Simplified Property Considerations for a Compounder using Carbon Black
200
Modulus
180 Green strength High hardness
Good dispersion
160 High viscosity
Good extrusion
Structure increases from low to high
Critical stress
A measure of structure / aggregate
N900s → N100s in general*
140
DBP, cm3 / 100g
120
Abrasion
100
Tensile
Resilience
80 Tear
strength
60
40
Elongation
20 Good flow Poor
Crack initiation dispersion
0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160
Iodine level, mg/g
A measure of particle size
Particle size decreases
Average surface area increases
*This is not always the case
Key properties that are evaluated include the following:

 Dispersion
 Extrusion
 Modulus
 Green strength
 Hardness
 Viscosity
 Critical stress
 Abrasion
 Tensile
 Tear
 Elongation
 Crack initiation
 Resilience
Figure 10 also provides a simplified application mapping with regards to the carbon black grades.

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Figure 10 Simplified Product Application Mapping in Relation to Carbon Black Properties
200
180
160
Non-tire extruded products

140 E.g. weather strips, hoses etc.

Tires
High conductivity applications
DBP, cm3 / 100g
120
100
Non-tire products Tires
80 e.g. hoses, tubes, Non-tire products e.g. belts, gaskets etc.
packing, gaskets
60 etc.
40 Non-tire products e.g.

Belts, packing, gaskets, tubes. Etc.
20
0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160
Iodine level, mg/g

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1.7.1 Global Demand

The global market for carbon black was 13.3 million tons in 2017, gradually increasing and reaching 13.5
million in 2019. However, it is estimated that demand will fall to around 12 million tons in 2020 due to the
slowdown in economic growth and the impact of Covid-19, as many of the major automotive and rubber
production facilities were forced to shut down during the quarantine period across the globe.
Asia Pacific accounts for more than 60 percent of global demand, driven mainly by China, which accounts
for almost 60 percent of the Asia Pacific total. The next largest markets are North America and Western
Europe, accounting for 13 and 6 percent, respectively.
Table 5 Global Carbon Black Consumption by Region
(Thousand tons)
Average Annual
Actual Estimate Growth Rate, %
2017 2018 2019 2020 2017-2020
North America 1 823 1 874 1 850 1 572 (4.81)
Western Europe 918 927 880 748 (6.57)
Asia Pacific 8 393 8 326 8 534 7 680 (2.91)
Rest of the World 2 151 2 172 2 194 1 974 (2.81)
Global Total 13 284 13 299 13 458 11 976 (3.40)
1.7.2 Global Supply, Demand, and Trade

Carbon black’s demand growth is primarily driven by the production of tires for the automotive sector. The
estimated $192 billion tire industry consumes 73 percent of the global production of carbon black. With the
decline in demand in 2020 due to the slowdown in economic growth and the impact of Covid-19 where
many of the major automotive and rubber production facilities were forced to shut down during the
quarantine period across the globe, operating rates are projected to decline significantly in 2020. This is
expected to be a short term impact and in the medium to longer term outlook, recovery in demand for
carbon black is forecasted.
Some growth is also expected to be driven by non-rubber applications, although these are niche, small
volume applications which often use higher margin, more differentiated specialty blacks. Demand for these
applications tends to be less impacted by the cyclicality in the automotive and rubber goods sectors. Future
growth in thermal black principally depends on greater penetration of the Asian market, particularly as
rubber compounders in the region strive to raise quality to meet global standards.
Table 6 Global Carbon Black Supply, Demand, and Trade
(Thousand tons per year)
Average Annual
Actual Estimate Forecast Growth Rate, %
2017 2018 2019 2020 2025 2020-2025
Firm Capacity 15 673 16 484 17 174 17 293 19 003
Speculative 0 0 0 0 0
Total Capacity 15 673 16 484 17 174 17 293 19 003 1.9
Operating Rate 85% 81% 79% 69% 76%
Production 13 255 13 321 13 499 11 918 14 471
Net Export (29) 23 41 (57) 26
Consumption 13 284 13 299 13 458 11 976 14 445 3.8

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Figure 11 Global Carbon Black Supply, Demand, and Trade
20000 90%
18000 80%
16000 70%
14000
60%
Operating Rate
Thousand tons
12000
50%
10000
40%
8000
30%
6000
4000 20%
2000 10%
0 0%
2017 2018 2019 2020 2025
Production Consumption Total Capacity Operating Rate

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2 Introduction
2.1 Overview
Carbon black is the generic name given to a family of products composed of almost pure elemental carbon.
Carbon black is a finely divided pellet or fluffy powder added to a range of materials to improve and enhance
physical properties, such as increasing the durability of rubber goods (for example tires), improving the
optical properties of pigments and providing electrical properties for use in electrical circuits coatings.
The major commercial applications in the global carbon black market is as a reinforcement and performance
additive in rubber products, particularly tire components (the treads, inner liners, beads and sidewalls) and
industrial rubber goods such as hoses, belts, gaskets etc. Specialty grades are produced for use in
coatings, printing and as pigments.
Unlike other carbon allotropes such as graphite, grapheme, fullerenes, diamond, coke and charcoal, carbon
black is composed of fine colloidal particles in a complicated structure with fusion of some of the spherical
particles. Carbon black’s particle size, surface area, structure, conductivity and color are important
properties that offer a wide range of performance characteristics with the choice depending on its
application.
Carbon black is different from the unwanted byproduct of combustion known as soot or black carbon, in
that it is produced under carefully controlled conditions by thermal combustion or incomplete combustion
of hydrocarbons with its physical and chemical properties maintained within narrow specifications based
on its end use. Carbon black is essentially free of the inorganic contaminants and residual organics such
as dichloromethane characteristic of most forms of soot and black carbon.(1)
The feedstocks for carbon black are predominantly the residual, viscous, aromatic hydrocarbon oils derived
from petroleum refining operations, from the distillation of coal tars and ethylene production throughout the
world. Figure 12 shows the carbon black value chain.
Figure 12 Carbon Black Value Chain
Coal Tar Coal Tar

Coal Coking Plants Distillation Distillate
Fuels,
Crude Oil FCC Gasoline,Diesel, FCC Slurries Carbon Black Oil Carbon Black
Refineries Jet Fuel
Carbon Black Fuel
Feedstock
Naphtha Steam Ethylene and Ethylene

Crackers Other Olefins Bottom Oils
Natural Gas

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2.2 Business Developments

goods (such as tires, belts, hoses and rollers), which accounted for 93 percent of the total global
consumption of carbon black in 2020. Around 73 percent of vulcanized rubber goods were for tire production
and tire products while 20 percent was used in other rubber products such as belting, hosing, mechanical
and molded goods. The remainder of global consumption was for use in printing inks, paints, plastics and
other miscellaneous applications.
The industry has undergone rationalization and restructuring in the past decade. In Western Europe, both
Cabot and Columbian Chemicals (now Aditya Birla Group) closed their UK operations in 2009, while Orion
(formerly Evonik) closed its Portuguese operations at the end of 2013. In Asia, the China Synthetic Rubber
Corporation closed its Australian plant and a number of Japanese plants were shut down after the 2011
tsunami. Tokai carbon acquired Cancarb and its assets in early 2014 and made a further acquisition of Sid
Richardson in 2018. In addition to industry consolidation and restructuring, an increased level of integration
of feedstock supplier and producer is being seen. This has the advantage of minimizing the impact of high
feedstock costs on the costs of production. In China, coal tar chemical companies are diversifying
downstream to carbon black production while others are back integrating into coal tar distillation as a means
of reducing costs and ensuring a constant supply of feedstock. One such successful example of the latter
is the BlackCat Corporation.
In recent years, nearly 2 million tons of new capacity has come online with significant volumes of that new
capacity being built in China. Chinese new builds include those of the BlackCat Corporation and the Hongte
Chemical Industry Group. Chinese expansions include the new lines of the Longxing Chemical Company
for example.
Globally, carbon black producers are repositioning their product portfolios to reflect sustainable strengths.
Tokai in Japan, for example, is focusing on the industrial and business inkjet market, where a raft of
Japanese producers have strong global positions. They will deemphasize commodity grades and markets
and commit to the development of higher margin, more technically-specified grades that are more
customer-specific and/or niche-specific.
‘Green’ tires are becoming increasingly important and carbon black faces increasing competitive pressure
from silica incorporated into tires instead of carbon black to reduce rolling resistant improving fuel economy.
(Nexant notes that current definitions of “green tires” include tires that make use of sustainable bio materials
in some way and those tires with a lower rolling resistance through incorporating carbon black, silica and
other traditional materials). The trend is balanced by the need to include carbon black for its reinforcing
opportunities. In the most commonly used ‘green’ tires (i.e., tires with increased silica loading to reduce
rolling resistance) more carbon black is required than silica, thus carbon black market growth is expected
to be in line with that of green tires.
On the subject of green technology, Bridgestone announced it will be producing green carbon black
produced from vegetable fats and biomass oils to produce a totally ‘green’ tire. Bridgestone states the green
tire will be commercially rolled out with “cradle to grave” sustainability by 2050. Mitsubishi Carbon has also
announced its novel process to produce green carbon black from vegetable oils. Both companies state that
the current economics of producing the sustainable green tire using vegetable oil based carbon black and
other sustainable materials are unfavorable.(3)
With respect to technology developments, renewed interest has been shown into plasma technology. An
application of interest, to open a Californian pilot plant in Redwood City, U.S., using Kvaerner Carbon Black
and Hydrogen technology was submitted in 2013. The application was denied due to the possibility of the
plant having “a significant effect on the environment.”(4) Tire pyrolysis to produce carbon black is also seeing

100101.200.2020.017
a resurgence of interest with numerous small companies such as Black Bear Carbon developing and
improving processes to reclaim carbon black from used tires.(5)
2.3 Strategic and Business Considerations

Growth in the carbon black market is directly related to growth in rubber products such as tire demand etc.
The tire market is cyclical, though retreading occurs continuously. Ink, printing and plastics are also
significant markets representing less than 10 percent of the total market, while new end uses are expected
with advancing technology and an ever increasing array of new ASTM and specialty grades being
developed.
The rationalization in recent years in Western Europe is due in part to oversupply which has also affected
the North American Market. Manufacturers in Western Europe in particular and North America will be
focusing more on specialty grades as the trend continues and increasingly receive exports from Africa and
Asia. A strong position in the technically-differentiated special blacks, offers suppliers greater protection
from the cyclicality of the highly interconnected rubber, tire and car and truck vehicle markets. Special
niches, such as conductive fillers, have strong growth rate potential.
Shifting to low-cost regions and investing in new facilities has given carbon black manufacturers a strong
advantage in terms of proximity to key markets and has helped them to more cost-effectively target existing
and emerging markets. Such moves have also minimized distribution costs and provided customers with
greater service intimacy, and has facilitated product development and inventory management.
With the global automobile industry moving east to the low cost regions of China, India and Eastern Europe,
the tire industry has followed, as have carbon black producers. The availability of natural rubber in South-
East Asia is an additional factor in the tire industry’s global investment pattern.
Carbon black emits significant volumes of carbon dioxide, as well as nitrogen oxide, (hydro- and per-)
fluorocarbons, and sulfurous compounds. It has a possible carcinogen status though tests have been
inconclusive. The International Carbon Black Association (ICBA) continues to lobby for review of carbon
black’s status as a possible carcinogen. Its main argument is that, since the tests of interest were only
relevant to one species of rat, which underwent lung overload of carbon black, this is a situation unlikely to
occur in humans.(6)
Energy-intensive carbon black production is a process which emits significant amounts of greenhouse
gases: more stringent environmental laws are forcing the closure of some older carbon black capacity in
developed regions. This, together with low costs and market proximity, are the factors driving investment
to the developing regions in China, Brazil, Russia and Thailand.
Carbon black is finding competition in a number of fields. In rubber reinforcement, for example, carbon
black competes with precipitated silica especially in ‘green’ tires. The target markets for ‘green’ tires are
light trucks and passenger cars. This is an important market segment where ‘green’ refers to use of
sustainable (though current precipitated silica production methods are non-sustainable) materials and
reduced rolling resistance improving fuel economy. Green tires, high performance tires and winter tires
have higher loadings of precipitated silica. Despite the competition, silica loading, in the most commonly
used ‘green’ tires is lower than that of the carbon black in a 0.3 to 1 ratio. The tires also tend to include
more filler than conventional tires, thus, currently; any growth in green tires creates new demand for carbon
black (albeit at lower volumes than if it was the only filler) as well as precipitated silica.
Silica penetration of the reinforcing filler market is greater in the European Union (EU) than other regions,
due to its early adoption of silica/silane technology. European customers are more prepared to pay a
premium for such a niche product(s) than other regions. However, demand is growing globally for silica

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particularly in China (the world’s largest consuming country) where it is used largely to fuel the export of
tires. These developments will still see growth in carbon black though not as much as if it composed the
full volume of filler.
Bridgestone forecasts that fully sustainable tires (i.e., those containing totally sustainable materials with
carbon black produced from vegetable oils and/or biomass oils, and silica, produced by sustainable
processes) will not be rolled out commercially till 2050. The rolling resistance legislation is expected to
influence silica usage in tires. In the EU, the March 2009 minimum standards for rolling resistance and
rolling noise is in the process of being phased in (EC N 661/2009), while EC N 1022/2009 stipulates that
on November 2012 all new tires sold in Europe will be labeled for fuel efficiency, wet grip and external
rolling noise. The Japanese Automobile Tire Manufacturers volunteered adoption of fuel efficient tires in
January 2010 while in the U.S. tire labeling is in progress.

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2.4 Technology Overview

There are a number of processes for the manufacture of carbon black, all of which are based on thermal
cracking or partial oxidation of hydrocarbon gases or liquids:
 Acetylene-black process (producing >99 percent carbon black).
 Bone Black
 Furnace-black process (producing >97 percent carbon black)
 Gas Black
 Lamp Black
 Thermal-black process (producing >99 percent carbon black)
Table 7 Carbon Black Technology Overview
Technology process Feedstock CB purity Global use Overview
Acetylene black process is a thermal decomposition carried out
in the absence of oxygen. This involves burning acetylene to
Acetylene black Acetylene >99% Limited
heat the reactor, followed by cutting of the air supply, which
enables formation of carbon black.
Bone black production is the calcination and destructive
Bone black Animal bones Limited distillation of animal bones to produce a bone char which is
then crushed to produce bone black pigment.
Obsolete; superceded Flames of natural gas impinge on steel channels depositing
Channel black Natural gas
by the gas black route carbon black at low yields.
Feedstock is burnt in air while the flames impinge on water
Vaporized oils (normally coal tar cooled surfaces. The carbon black is scraped from the water
Gas black Limited
distillates) cooled surfaces and is also produced as an aerosol which is
filtered to separate the carbon black.
A simple process in which the feedstock undergoes thermal
oxidative decomposition in a shallow pan. The carbon black
Lamp black Typically coal tar distillates Limited
containing gases are then cooled and carbon black is collected
in filters.
High temperature plasma burner is used to split natural gas
and reuse some of the hydrogen produced to supply the
plasma. The only inputs are feedstock and the electricity
Plasma black Natural gas Limited
demand of the plasma torch. The process can theoretically
produce any kind of carbon black by controlling the pyrolytic
process parameters for carbon black formation.
Thermal decomposition in the absence of oxygen. This is
usually a cyclic process in which one reactor is pre-heated by
burning fuel in air, followed by closing off the air supply. A
2nd most widely used
Thermal black Typically natural gas >99% second pre-heated reactor has the feedstock introduced, which
route globally
is decomposed into carbon black and hydrogen in the absence
of air. After separation the hydrogen is cycled to the other
reactor to provide fuel for heating.
The process, based on oxidative decomposition, is a
FCC slurries, ethylene bottom oil, Dominant route used
Furnace black >97% continuous process operated in a closed reactor with high flow
coal tar distillate globally
velocities creating high turbulence.
The most important process in terms of tonnage is the furnace black process, accounting for the majority
of total global carbon black production. The feedstock (normally a decant oil of FCC cracking, ethylene
bottom oil or coal tar) is injected into and incompletely combusted in a furnace to produce the carbon black.
Modern technology makes use of waste gases to generate power and/or steam, enabling some producers
to be eligible for carbon credits (e.g., Philips Carbon Black in India). The key element in a furnace carbon
black plant is the furnace. A number of global contractors and specialist furnace providers have the ability
to engineer, design and construct carbon black furnaces.

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The method of processing is common to all processes with slight variations in the final product form as
either wet pelletized, dry pelletized or as a fluffy partially densified powder. Highly efficient bag filters are
used to collect the fluffy carbon black which is then densified and pelletized to minimize dusting during
shipment. Environmental scrutiny and regulations are increasingly tight as the industry is a high emitter of
carbon dioxide.
2.5 Technology Holders and Licensing Status

Historically, very few third parties have had access to carbon black technology. Most major producers,
including Cabot and Orion (then Evonik), do not license their technology and have sought to own all their
carbon black plants.
As with all carbon black producers, they routinely scout for feedstock opportunities and may be open to
potential joint ventures along the lines of a feedstock/producer relationship, as shown in Table 8. Licenses
can be negotiated with Eurotecnica SpA, China Synthetic Rubber Company and potentially other Chinese
manufacturers.
Table 8 Major Carbon Black Licensors, Technology Holders, and Producers

Technology Holders Process Licensing Notes
Furnace Thermal Others
Aditya Birla √ √ No Major Producer.
Columbian Chemicals, U.S. √ √ Acquired by Aditya Birla in 2011. Originally licensed from DuPont.
BlackCat √ Potential Developed own technology, possible licensor and major producer
Bridgestone (Asahi Carbon) √ √ JVs Major Producer, tends to form JV
Cabot Corp, US √ JVs Major Producer and technology holder
Specialty grades, Sold its joint venture stake in Showa Cabot to Cabot Group in 2005.
Showa Denko
Acetylene Black Showa Cabot changed its name to Cabot Japan.
Producer and Licenser of technology to third parties; acquired
China Synthetic Rubber Company √ √ Yes
Continental Carbon in 1995.
Eurotecnica SpA, Italy √ Yes Technology owner / contractor licensing PVTI technology
Gazprom √ √ No Technology owner and Producer
Mitsubishi Carbon √ No Producer
Gas, Lamp, Producer and technology holder. Acquired carbon black
Orion Engineered Carbons (formerly Evonik) √ √ No
Specialty grades manufacturer SN2A from LyondellBasell in 2018.
Phillips Carbon Black, (RPG Group), India √ No Technology owner and Major Producer.
Ralson, India √ JVs Technology owner & Major Producer via its own plant and JVs.
Imerys Graphite & Carbon (formerly TIMCAL) Specialty grades Yes Licensor and Producer
Tokai Carbon √ √ Unlikely Largest thermal carbon black producer globally.
Cancarb √ √ Acquired by Tokai in April 2014
Sid Richardson √ Acquired by Tokai in 2018

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2.6 Types, Grades and Specifications

2.6.1 Carbon Black Types
Carbon black can be classified by its production methods (i.e. furnace black, lamp black, acetylene black
etc.). This is becoming less relevant as furnace black is the dominant route used globally, although there
are certain characteristics of the carbon black that can be immediately identified by industry players based
on the production route. Table 9 indicates a selection of properties exhibited by each type of carbon black
by production process.
Table 9 Ranges of Carbon Black Properties(7)
Property Acetylene Black Furnace Black Lampblack Thermal Black Gas Black
Average aggregate 350-400 nm 80–500 nm 300-600 nm 300–810 nm Not reported
diameter
Average primary particle 35–50 nm 17–70 nm 50–100 nm 150–500 nm 13–29 nm
diameter
Surface area (m2/g) 60–70 20–200 20–95 6–15 90–320
Density (g/mL) 0.04-0.12 1.8 1.77 Not reported 1.20–1.80
Oil absorption (mL/g) 3.0–3.5 0.67–1.95 1.05–1.65 0.30–0.46 2.8–9.2
pH 5–7 5–9.5 3–7 7–8 2.5–4.5
Volatile matter (%) 0.4 0.3–2.8 0.4–9 0.10–0.50 5–6
Hydrogen (%) 0.05–0.10 0.45–0.710 Not reported 0.3–0.5 Not reported
Oxygen (%) 0.10–0.15 0.19–1.2 Not reported 0.00–0.12 Not reported
Benzene extract (%) 0.1 0.01–0.18 0.00–1.4 0.02–1.7 less than 0.1–0.3
(toluene)
Ash (%) 0 0.1–1.0 0.00–0.16 0.02–0.38 0.02
Sulfur (%) 0.02 0.05–1.5 Not reported 0.00–0.25 0.3–0.5
2.6.2 Carbon Black Grades

Carbon blacks are now more commonly classified by the grade type as set out by the American Society of
Testing and Materials (ASTM), to which most producers follow, using a four-character designation as shown
below. This designation however does not reflect the carbon black purity or form.
Generated for new
Defines the
products as they are
nitrogen surface
being developed or
area according to
Reflects the effective cure arbitrarily assigned if not
ASTM D 4820
rate in the product. requested.
Can be “N” for normal
or “S” for slow
N110
The first letter is either “N” or “S”, which designates the effect on the cure rate of a typical rubber compound
containing the carbon black. “N” denotes that the cure rate is normal while “S” denotes a cure rate that is
slow. The vast majority of all carbon blacks are designated “N” which is typical of the dominant furnace
black production route. The “S” designation is typically used to define channel blacks or modified furnace
blacks where the cure rate has been reduced.

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The first numeral digit refers to a rough measure of the mean particle diameter as reflected in Table 10.
Table 10 ASTM Digit Assignment for Typical Average Carbon Black Particle Size(20)
First Digit Typical Average Particle (nm) Average Surface Area m2g-1
0 1–10 >150
1 11–19 121-150
2 20–25 100-120
3 26–30 70-99
4 31–39 50-69
5 40–48 40-49
6 49–60 33-39
7 61–100 21-32
8 101–200 11-20
9 201-500 0-10
The second and third digits are assigned to new products as they are developed and are arbitrarily assigned
if the requestor has not asked for a designation. Lower structure blacks were assigned lower numbers and
vice versa, though exceptions have been made and the structure values are not in proportion.(8)
Most producers also classify their grades according to specific properties such as physical form,
morphology and chemical composition – these factors do affect purity and form. However, given that the
ASTM classification is the generic standard, all producers manufacture the ASTM grades as they are the
carbon blacks typically used in high volume, cost-driven applications. While more than 100 grades of carbon
black are available commercially, only 12 grades dominate the market place as listed in Table 11.

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Table 11 Commercial Specifications for select Carbon Blacks grades

(Produced from coal tar feed using wet granulation process from Continental Carbon and Degussa Carbon(9))
Test
Property N115 N121 N220 N234 N326 N330 N339 N351 N375 N550 N660 N774 Units
Method
Iodine
160 ±8 121 ±7 121 ±7 120 ±7 82 ±7 82 ±7 90 ±7 68 ±7 90 ±7 43 ±6 36 ±6 29 ±6 g/kg D1510
Adsorption
DBP
113 ±7 132 ±8 114 ±7 125 ±7 72 ±7 102 ±7 120 ±7 120 ±7 114 ±7 121 ±7 90 ±7 72 ±7 10-5m 3/kg D2424
Adsorption
DBP
Compress
89~105 103~119 90~106 94 ~110 62~74 80~96 91~107 87~103 88~104 77~93 66~82 57~69 10-5m 3/kg D2493
Sample
absorption
CTAB
119~137 112~130 102~120 110~128 74~92 73~91 84~102 64~82 87~105 35~49 29~43 23~35 103m 2/kg D3765
surface Area
STSA 124 ±9 114 ±9 106 ±9 112 ±9 76 ±9 75 ±9 88 ±9 70 ±9 91 ±9 39 ±9 34 ±9 29 ±9 103m 2/kg
N2 surface
129~145 115-129 112~126 112~126 71~85 71~85 84~98 64~78 86~100 34~46 29~41 25~35 103m 2/kg D3037
area
Tinting
115~131 111~127 108~124 115~131 103~119 96~112 103~119 92~108 106~122 % D3265
strength
Ash Content 0.7 %
Pour density 345 ±40 320 ±40 355 ±40 320 ±40 455 ±40 380 ±40 345 ±40 345 ±40 345 ±40 360±40 440 ±40 490 ±40 kg/m 3
300%Extend
-3.4 ±1.6 -0.4 ±1.6 -2.3 ±1.6 -0.4 ±1.6 -3.9 ±1.6 -0.9 ±1.6 0.6 ±1.6 0.8 ±1.6 0.1 ±1.6 -0.9 ±1.6 -2.6 ±1.6 -4.1 ±1.6 MPa
stress
The non ASTM grades of furnace blacks are known as specialty, performance and/or pigment blacks. They
are used in the specialized applications of printing ink, paints, coating and conductive plastics. These
grades are referred to and sold by the largest producers such as Cabot, Orion, and Aditya Birla amongst
others.
Given the importance of tire applications which is the carbon black’s key end-use, it is useful to understand
the contribution of carbon black to performance. While pure gum vulcanite of styrene butadiene has a
tensile strength of no more than 2.5 MPa, and almost non-existent abrasion resistance, compounding it
with 50 percent of its weight of carbon black improves its tensile strength and wear resistance. Table 12
shows the contribution of carbon black to tire performance.

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Table 12 Types of Carbon Black Used in Tires (ref: IARC 1996)

Tensile Relative Relative
ASTM Particle Strength Laboratory Roadwear
Name Abbreviation Designation Size nm MPa Abrasion Abrasion
Super Abrasion Furnace SAF N110 20-25 25.2 1.35 1.25
Intermediate SAF ISAF N220 24-33 23.1 1.25 1.15
High Abrasion Furnace HAF N330 28-36 22.4 1.00 1.00
Easy Processing Channel EPC N300 30-35 21.7 0.80 0.90
Fast Extruding Furnace FEF N550 39-55 18.2 0.64 0.72
High Modulus Furnace HMF N683 49-73 16.1 0.56 0.66
Semi-Reinforcing Furnace SRF N770 70-96 14.7 0.48 0.60
Fine Thermal FT N880 180-200 12.6 0.22 -
Medium Thermal MT N990 250-350 9.8 0.18 -
Source: US manufacturers, ASTM
Units: ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials); nm (nanometers); MPa (MegaPascal)
The general rule of thumb is that both the costs of production and abrasion resistance imparted to the
rubber by carbon black increase with smaller numbers in the first digit although there are some
exceptions.(10)
2.6.3 Soft versus Hard Grades
Another classification that is sometimes used to define carbon black grades is soft versus hard grades. This
is generally a broad classification:
 Hard grades – N100s, N200s, N300s
 Soft grades – N500s, N600s, N700s
Soft grade carbon black basically yields a product that is softer, more resilient, more rubbery and yet tough
while a hard grade carbon black imparts stiffer, tougher characteristics to the end-product with lower
resilience. This classification is generally not as relevant as it does not provide the level of detail that is
available compared to the ASTM grade definition.

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2.7 Physical and Chemical properties

Carbon black is a black, odorless, insoluble powder or pellet that can burn or smolder at temperatures
greater than 300 °C. The most common commercial form of carbon black contains more than 97 percent
elemental carbon compared with the less than 60 percent elemental carbon content of soot or black carbon.
Physical and thermodynamic properties are shown in Table 13.
Table 13 Physical and Thermodynamic Properties
Cancarb(11) Novachem(12,13,14,15) Units
Chemical Name Carbon Black Carbon Black
Boiling point NA - °C
Melting point NA 3 652-3 697 °C
Relative density at 20 °C 1.7 -1.9 1.8-1.86 g/cm3
pH Value 4 - 11 20 °C, 50 kg/m3
Flash point, closed cup 00 °C
Decomposition Temperature 300 00 °C
Auto ignition temperature >140*. .000 °C
Solubility in water insoluble insoluble weight/weight percent
*100 mm sample cube temperature did not exceed 200 ºC
Within the term carbon black there are many variations, which are best described in terms of morphology
and manufacturing process. The most important properties for carbon black are:
 Particle size
 Structure and aggregate size
 Surface area and chemistry
 Porosity
 Physical form
The performance of a particular carbon black grade is determined by its chemical and physical properties
as well as its dispersibility. (Nexant notes that dispersibility in a particular formulation is not only determined
by the carbon black but also by the formulators procedures, the mixing conditions and the processes used.)
The properties of different grades are established in the reactor process during carbon black formation.
Properties, such as particle size and structure for example, are distributional. A particular carbon black is
not produced at a particular particle size, but will consist of a range of particle sizes to which a grade is
referred to. The particular grade will be rated according to a mean particle size and structure. In the same
way that the mean particle size is important, so is the distribution of the particle size. The distribution can
be broad, narrow or bimodal with each type influencing the rubber properties in a different way.
2.7.1 Carbon Black Morphology and Nomenclature
The carbon black industry conventionally refers to the smallest individual unit of carbon as an aggregate
(differing from other industries such as the pigment industry) and refers to the component parts of
aggregates as particles. Figure 13 shows a diagram representative of carbon black structure. The figure
illustrates how nodules combine to form aggregates and aggregates adhere to form agglomerates.
Typically, within the reactor, the almost spherical nodules coalesce into particle aggregates that become
the indivisible entities of carbon black. Aggregates bond by strong electrical forces to form the
agglomerate.(16,(17)

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Figure 13 Carbon Black Structure Development(15)
Nodule Aggregate Agglomerate

15-300 nm 85 – 500 nm 1 - >100 μm
Figure 14 shows a scanning electron microscopy (SEM) image of an individual aggregate and its component
nodules. The SEM image provides a useful aid in understanding the discussions in Sections 2.6.2 through
2.6.6.
A number of aggregates like this will bond together to form an agglomerate. The agglomerate is not visible
to the human eye. The red circle indicates a primary particle or nodule of carbon black. The green line
indicates the structure which is branched resulting from fusion of the primary particles. The orange line
indicates the surface of the carbon black, it may include active groups. The light blue line is indicative of
how the total surface would be measured including pores, cracks and crevices.
Figure 14 SEM Representative of Carbon Black Aggregate(18)

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2.7.2 Particle Size

The particle size primarily determines the color properties of a carbon black as well as determining the
surface area of the agglomerates. Particle size is inversely related to surface area, though the surface area
is also dependent on porosity. A smaller mean particle size and therefore higher surface area increases
the blackness, tint, UV protection, electrical conductivity and lowers the dispersibility of the carbon black in
a formulation.
The average particle size of rubber carbon blacks ranges from 10 to 500 nm. Nexant notes a distribution of
particle sizes is produced and a mean is used which is classified by the first number of the ASTM standard.
Not only is the mean particle size important, but also the distribution which may be broad, narrow or bimodal.
Since the average particle size and surface area are related, the industry has agreed on the convention
that the surface area is directly related to the particle size effects. The standard is to measure surface area
by iodine adsorption, nitrogen adsorption or CTAB surface area measurements.
During manufacture, the yield decreases with increased surface area or particle size. Any way in which the
surface area is increased while the production rate is kept constant is an increase in yield and results in
improved economics.
Of equal importance to the average particle size is the particle size distribution, either narrow, broad or
both, which influences the material properties. During production, a certain amount of control can be exerted
over particle size distribution by manipulation of the process and its conditions. For example, operating a
number of reactors under different conditions and blending of the products is one method of manipulation.
Figure 15 Particle Size Comparison Illustration
2.7.3 Structure and Aggregate Size

Structure is the degree to which a carbon black provides reinforcement to an elastomeric compound and is
a measurement of particle aggregation. The production of this structure is controlled in the reactor. It is a
measure of the three dimensional fusion of carbon black particles to form larger aggregates which in turn
bond together to form agglomerates. Structure is measured by the dibutyl phthalate (DBP) method.
Figure 15 shows a comparison of carbon black structures.

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Figure 16 Comparison of Carbon Black Structures(19)
Low Structure Moderate High Structure

Structure
N990 N762 N121
Carbon blacks produced by the furnace process consist of aggregates as opposed to particles, whereas
carbon blacks produced by the thermal process are composed of a large number of individual spherical
carbon particles.
With aggregates, it is the mean effect of all the aggregates that is controlled. The size and distribution of
aggregates also may vary. It can be a dense distribution of aggregates or composed of open lattices. This
is termed aggregate density, which influences the aggregate count per unit mass which is an important
factor for compounding.
The structure level determines space around the primary aggregates. A high level of DBP absorption
indicates more void space and what is termed a high structure. This indicates a carbon black with high
viscosity, high electrical conductivity and easier dispersion. As the structure increases, blackness and tint
are reduced. A low structure carbon black would be N990, moderate N762 and high structure N121.
2.7.4 Surface Area and Chemistry
Surface area is the amount of carbon black surface available to interact with the compounding material,
which in this case is typically rubber. It is directly related to particle and aggregate size. The smaller the
particle size, the higher the surface area which results in a higher reinforced rubber.
Surface activity refers to the chemical reactivity of the surface, imparted by the amount of oxygen containing
complexes such as carboxylic and phenolic groups chemisorbed on the surface of the carbon black. Some
reports indicate that surface activity may be a function of the number of empty carbon bonds exposed at
the surface of the carbon black as opposed to the chemical groups that may exist there. High surface
activity provides high reinforcement properties in rubbers.
Abrasion, tensile, hardness and tear strength is usually directly related to the surface area, with higher
surface area relating to higher strength. However this is not always the case. Higher surface area also
results in poorer dispersion of the carbon black, leading to poorer processing during compounding. This
sometimes yield a compounded material with poorer strength due to the poorer dispersability within the
compound.

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2.7.5 Porosity
As mentioned previously, porosity of carbon blacks can affect surface area and may influence certain
applications and properties by increasing the effective loading of the carbon black or altering electrical
conductivity. Porosity may be open in the form of small pores or closed, in which internal voids are not
accessible to the surface.
2.7.6 Physical Form
Carbon blacks are availble in a fluffy powder form or a beaded or pelletized product. The pellets are easier
to store, handle and transport than the fluffy form and are dust free. Pellets are also less expensive to
transport than the corresponding powder mainly due to the reduced bulk. The main drawback to pelleted
carbon blacks is that they are more diffficult to disperse than powders when used in formulations.

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2.8 Health Hazards

Carbon is a relatively unreactive element that is insoluble in water. It has found use in food applications as
coloring, in cosmetics as well as prosthetic and biomedical devices. Carbon black will glow when attempts
are made to ignite it. Neither dust explosions nor spontaneous combustion has been reported.
Carbon black is classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) as a group 2B
carcinogen, possibly carcinogenic to humans, based on “sufficient evidence in animals” and “inadequate
evidence in humans for the carcinogenicity of carbon black.” This classification was based on a 2006 week
long blue–ribbon independent panel of scientist’s review.(20,21) The result is based on inhalation studies
carried out on lab rats using IARC guidelines.
The review was made due to an increase in lung cancer mortality of carbon black workers from 5 facilities
based on a 2001 UK study. A 2006 German study of 1 500 employees also found an elevated incidence of
lung cancer mortality, though no link between carbon black exposure and lung cancer mortality was found.
The lung cancer risk was assigned to asbestos exposure and feedstock contact.(22)
Further studies have shown no evidence of clinically significant health effects due to occupational exposure
to carbon black. Additionally, no response relationship has been observed. According to the United Nations
Globally Harmonized System (UN GHS) of classification and labeling, since the mechanism or mode of
action used for the tests on animals is not relevant to humans no classification is necessary. It is not a
hazardous substance according to the UN GHS.(23,24,25,26)
It is listed in food and drug regulations in some countries such as Canada.(27)
2.9 Storage and Transportation

Carbon black is stored in dry, clean areas away from exposure to open flames, high temperatures or strong
oxidizers. Due to carbon black being hygroscopic, it is stored in closed containers; it will also absorb
chemical vapors.(28)
Carbon black is transported by rail tankers, shipped or by road. Often 50 to 70 ton rail cars are used though
this depends on product density. Usually, when transported by road, 20 tons at a time are packed into
specially designed hoppers. When shipped, it is packed in large polyethylene bags that can take 20 tons,
bins or specially designed containers.

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3 Feedstocks
3.1 Introduction
Carbon black is a material made up of colloid particles produced by the incomplete combustion or thermal
decomposition of heavy petroleum products such as:
 The residual decant and clarified oils from the fluid catalytic cracking of gas oils
 Raw coal tar oil, creosote and anthracene from coal coking and gasification
 The residual ethylene cracking tars from the steam cracking of naphtha and gas oil
The feedstocks for carbon black production are generally the residual, viscous, aromatic hydrocarbon oils
derived from petroleum refining operations, production of ethylene and distillation of coal tars. Their
components include branched polynuclear aromatics with small quantities of paraffinic and unsaturated
chemicals.
For the past fifty years or so, the majority of feedstock has been derived from petroleum, primarily the
decant oils supplied from the United States. The United States exports these oils to countries such as India,
Thailand, Egypt, Italy, South Korea, and Japan. Recently, as Figure 3.1 shows, coal derived carbon black
oil has become increasingly significant with the latest capacity expansions in China tipping the scale to
make coal tar based feedstock the major feedstock globally. Nearly all of the carbon black capacities in
China use local coal derived carbon black oil as feedstock.
Around 10 percent of the capacities globally use ethylene bottom oils as feedstock to produce carbon black
and these producers are mainly from Western Europe, Russia, Japan and Taiwan.
Figure 17 Carbon Black Capacity Breakdown by Major Feedstocks
(Total = 17.3 Million Tons)
Fluid Catalytic
Cracking Slurry
37%
Coal Tar
Derivatives
53%
Ethylene Bottom
Oils
10%
Some variations do exist. For example, natural gas, a cheap and readily available feedstock, is used for
some processes such as thermal black production, though vaporizable oil is more often used instead in a
modern plant. Acetylene black, as the name implies, is produced from acetylene feedstock and bone black
is produced from animal bones. These sources of feedstock account for less than one percent of the global
feedstock demand and are not included in the chart above.

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Coke or grit particles are often left over from the incomplete burning of crude oil and coal. Hence, carbon
black producers typically purchase coke-free feedstock, as this increases the purity of carbon black and
ensures fewer defects in the products used in customer applications. Certain large polymerics such as
some asphaltenes may also cause the carbon black to be contaminated with grit.
One major requirement of a carbon black feedstock is to be either a gaseous or vaporizable liquid since
carbon black is formed in the gas phase. Aromaticity, sulfur content and ash content are the three most
important properties for carbon black feedstock specifications. Aromatic unsubstituted polynuclear
compounds with three to five rings provide the best yields for carbon black since the carbon to hydrogen
ratio increases with the number of rings. The sulfur content is restricted in many countries to various
degrees due to environmental regulations. Ash levels tend to indicate the inorganic content of the feedstock,
and its presence will influence carbon black production in the form of impurities in the final product.
The important feedstock properties are listed below:

 Ash content, which includes potassium and sodium, can severely limit the structure of the black
produced. Preferred limits are 1 ppm K and 10 ppm Na.
 Density, since it increases with aromaticity.
 Distillation Residue is related to feedstock conversion to the gaseous phase.
 Viscosity affects the handling properties.
 Contrary to oil used for heating, a high carbon to hydrogen (C/H) ratio is important for the feedstock.
It is also a function of the degree of aromaticity.
 Asphaltene content measurements were adopted when thermal cracking was the most popular
method of carbon black production. Originally, five to seven percent was considered a high
asphaltene content, but more recently 15 percent or more pentane insoluble material has been
considered acceptable.
 Specified impurities, measured by the toluene insoluble filterable solids test, ensure free carbon
and cracking catalyst fines are not present. The resultant black will have high grit content if the
specified impurities are greater than around 500 ppm.(29)
 Seawater contamination can lead to high levels of alkali metals.
Aromaticity, sulfur content and ash content are the three most important properties for carbon black
feedstock specifications.
Naturally the choice of feedstock is determined to a significant extent by the price and its efficiency in
producing carbon black. However, a specific quality criteria is also important. In the process itself the most
critical factor is the carbon black yield, per ton of oil and per gigajoule of natural gas consumed.
3.1.1 BMCI (Bureau of Mines Correlation Index)
An important measure often used for carbon black feedstock is the Bureau of Mines Correlation Index
(BMCI) calculated from the density and mid boiling point, (or density and viscosity for feedstock that cannot
be distilled completely). An index of 110 or more is indication of an economically viable feedstock.
Other characteristics are viscosity, pour point, alkaline content (due to its structural influence on the product
and sulfur content.
With respect to coal tar distillates, the carbon to hydrogen (C/H) ratio is more useful since the BMCI may
not reflect the true aromaticity of the product. Some producers consider the C/H ratio a superior
measurement. Table 14 shows specifications typical of the main feedstocks employed commercially.

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Table 14 Typical Feedstock Specifications(29)

Ethylene Bottom Oil FCC Decant Oil Coal Tar Distillates
BMCI 127 132 161
Density at 15 °C (g/cm3) 1.07 1.101 1.136
API gravity at 15 °C - (3.04) -
Viscosity, (mPas) 25 15 14
Flash Point (°C) 70 130 90
Pour Point (°C) 30 30 60
Distillation residue, (%-w/w) 21.8 n.a. 2.7
Asphaltenes, (%-w/w) 19 8 1.65
Toluene Insolubles, (%-w/w) 0.1 0.01 0.04
Water, (%-w/w) 0.1 0.1 0.1
Ash (%-w/w) 0.02 0.05 0.04
Carbon (%-w/w) 92 90.6 92.1
Hydrogen Content 7.11 7.05 6.4
C/H ratio, (wt) 12.9 12.9 14.3
Sulfur (%-w/w) 0.2 2.1 0.6
Sodium(ppm) 0.8 1.2 1.6
Potassium (ppm) 0.3 0.1 0.2
Typical Decant Oil used as carbon black feedstock have BMCI index in the range of 120 to 130. There are
several refineries that when treating low-aromatics crudes, obtain decant oils with lower BMCI (less than
110), these decant oils are normally used as fuel inside the refinery or can be processed into carbon black
if the appropriate technology was selected to process such a low BMCI. In the case of the Hydrotreated
Decant Oil, the aromatic content and consequently the BMCI are further reduced due to the hydrotreating
reactions and this needs to also be considered when selecting the carbon black technology.
As would be expected in an industry in which the feedstock costs contribute the greatest proportion of total
production costs, an increased integration between feedstock supplier and producer is being seen.
Increasingly, this trend is seen as coal tar distillers are entering or expanding their presence in the carbon
black business, while a number of producers are back integrating into feedstock production.
3.2 FluId Catalytic Cracking (FCC) Decant OIl

Fluid catalytic cracking is an important refinery process used to convert heavy atmospheric gas oil, vacuum
gas oils and sometimes resins into more valuable gasoline and middle distillates. In addition to the fuel gas,
C3s and C4s, the FCC also produces a heavy aromatic oil by product. It is called slurry or decant oil since
the catalyst fines carried over from the cracker settle out of the oil.
The quality of the slurry oil varies with the crude feedstock, the FCC design and equipment, as well as the
catalyst used (e.g., an attrition resistant catalyst produces better quality oil) and the conversion level. By
desulfurizing the FCC feed, the slurry oils sulfur content is reduced. Ash content is often high for slurry
particularly for heavy viscous oils that require longer residence times for the catalyst to settle. Reducing low
ash requires special techniques such as filtering, heating and additives which increase the costs.
FCC bottom oils, also known as slurry oils or decant oils, are widely used in petroleum markets of the United
States (US) where demand for gasoline is high and heavy fuel oil demand is lower. After fuel applications,

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carbon black feedstock is the largest FCC decant oil market. Typically, the FCC decant oil is high in sulfur
content and may have high ash content.
From the refinery operator’s point of view, the decant oil is a minor byproduct representing less than one
percent of output, thus larger oil companies are less interested in the capital expenditure required to meet
carbon black market specifications. The majority of decant oil is supplied by smaller firms that specialize in
these feedstocks. Major suppliers of decant oil based carbon black feedstocks include Cabot, Tauber Oil,
Qatar Petroleum and Suncor Energy. These companies specialize in carbon black feedstock production,
buying feedstocks from the refiners and blending them to customer specifications, removing impurities and
sulfur in some cases.
3.3 Coal Tar Distillates

Carbochemical oils or coal tars are the name given to a number of crude coal tar derived distillates. Within
the literature, the use of coal tar is often used interchangeably with creosote and anthracene. For this
reason the coal tar based feedstock will be described as coal tar distillate throughout this report.
Coal tar is a byproduct of processing coking coal into low ash metallurgical coke. It accounts for less than
five percent of coke produced. Since it can serve as a component of creosote oil for wood treatment
applications in the United States and Europe, its availability is limited in those regions. It is considered a
good carbon black feedstock with high aromaticity and good volatility. It can be used to produce a consistent
product with low sulfur content and low ash content.
The main product of coal tar distillation is coal tar pitch. Of the other crude distillates, the major single
compounds are naphthalene, phenanthrene, and anthracene.
Coal tar pitch is the residue of the coal tar distillation (approximately 55 percent by weight), a sticky, dark
brown or black liquid that resists flowing and has a very strong smell. Raw coal tar pitch can be further
processed into quality coal tar pitch of desired chemical and physical properties. The main application is
the manufacture of anodes for Soderberg and pre-baked electrolytic cells, binding electrodes in the steel
sector and special pitch for refractory material, cathodes waterproofing etc.
Naphthalene (C10H8) is a natural constituent of coal tar (approximately 10 percent by weight), and its
structure consists of two conjoined benzene rings. The main use for naphthalene worldwide is for the
production of phthalic anhydride. Naphthalene is also used in the manufacture of a wide variety of
intermediates for the dye industry; the manufacture of synthetic resins, celluloid, lampblack and smokeless
powder; and the manufacture of hydro naphthalene, used as solvents in lubricants and in motor fuels.
Creosote is the portion of chemical products obtained by the distillation of the coal tar that remain heavier
than water. Creosotes are notably useful for anti-septic and preservative properties. It is commercially
valuable, and produced industrially on a large scale for direct use or as raw material for the production or
extraction of various chemicals. Coal-tar creosote is the most widely used wood treatment today.
Anthracene is a solid colorless to pale yellow compound belonging to the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons,
with a structure that consists of three conjoined benzene rings. It is commercially derived from coal tar.
Anthracene oil distills from coal tar at temperatures greater than 270 °C and is recovered by crystallization
and distillation.
Carbon Black feedstock tends to be a blend of the oil fractions, including creosote and anthracene oils. The
coal tar distillates are preferable for the carbon black industry in terms of efficiency; however, the
petrochemical oils are more readily available in the quantities required globally, though regional variations
occur. In Europe, steam cracker residues sourced from naphtha are readily available. North America favors

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catalytic cracking units, thus the FCC residues predominate and significant volumes are exported. In China,
coal tar oils are more readily available produced by distillation of unrefined coal tar.
3.4 Ethylene Bottom OIl

Ethylene bottom oil (EBO) is the residual steam cracker tar, and is also known as ethylene cracker residue,
pitch or cracker oil. A highly viscous black liquid, it is a heavy aromatic byproduct from the steam cracking
of naphtha or gas oil for ethylene production. This feedstock has low sulfur and ash levels. A typical EBO
carbon black oil consists of C12’s and higher components rich in naphthalene’s, methyl indenes, anthracene,
fluorine and other polyaromatics. In addition to carbon black feedstock, it is also added to fuel oil, and is
used as a rubber softening agent in rubber processing.
3.5 Natural Gas

Natural gas was the predominant feedstock for production of channel blacks until the early 1940s. As the
furnace black process increased in popularity and the feedstocks shifted towards petrochemical based oils,
natural gas lost its importance as a feedstock. This was due to its higher costs and the poor economics
associated with the channel black process in 1941. Despite this, natural gas remains the most important
fuel or secondary feedstock in the commercial furnace black process and is still used for the production of
thermal black in some regions.
The quality of feedstock is, as mentioned earlier, the key factor in yield and quality of the carbon black
product. The naturally low sulfur content of natural gas, its ease in being fully combusted and its lower level
of impurities than other fossil fuels makes it the best choice as the fuel or secondary feedstock. Use of
natural gas tends not to adversely impact product quality. In addition, it is sourced at lower costs than other
fuels.

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4 Commercial Technologies
4.1 Introduction
Modern carbon blacks are the direct descendants of lamp blacks, a pigment used and produced by the
ancient civilizations of Egypt, China and India, used as a synthetic pigment for writing, wall paintings and
cosmetics. It was initially produced by incomplete combustion of wood or bone. The black produced was
not particularly pure, differing in composition from the almost pure carbon product of the present. Demand
for carbon black increased as printing systems for reading matter developed, particularly with the spread
of Gutenberg’s printing press throughout the world in the 1500s, as the consumption of pigment increased.
The single most significant event in the carbon black industry was the discovery of its reinforcing effect
when added to natural rubber. By including carbon black in rubber tires, the life time of the tire was
increased from 3 000 miles in the 1920s with no carbon black filler, to the modern tire tread (incorporating
≈30 percent carbon black filler) achieving lifetimes of more than 40 000 miles. Carbon black demand
increased exponentially. The result was not limited to tires, and carbon black found use in many rubber
goods such as belts and hoses.(30)
Until 1870, the lampblack process was dominant. It was a process in which animal and vegetable oils were
burnt in an open shallow pan under restricted air supply, while soot was collected from a cooled surface.
The modern day lamp process is an improved version of this practice. Its dominance was challenged by
the channel process. Natural gas began to be used in the United States from the 1860s in a modern
process. Carbon black was produced by burning natural gas in a restricted air supply and collecting the
soot. From this technology, the channel process was developed in which a number of small gas flames in
a restricted air supply were cooled by impinging on the underside of water cooled steel channels surface.
A layer of carbon black was deposited on the channels and removed periodically by scraping devices.
The carbon black yields were only five percent and not all the carbon was deposited on the channels. Since
no filters were used, significant volumes of carbon black were released into the atmosphere along with
waste gases. The channel black process is historically important, since the reinforcing effect of carbon black
in rubber was discovered using channel blacks. The United States produced and exported channel black
globally in the early 20th century due to the availability of cheap and readily available feedstock. In Europe,
natural gas feedstock was expensive and other methods were investigated. In 1935, Degussa developed
the gas black process that is used today, in a more modern form. In 1941, the more efficient furnace process
emerged, leading to a change in feedstocks from gas towards petrochemicals. The channel blacks were
manufactured until 1976, after which it was completely discontinued in the United States.
Since its introduction in 1943, the oil furnace process surpassed the gas based process and has become
the dominant technology. In this process, a heavy aromatic hydrocarbon feed is sprayed into a flame where
it vaporizes and is cracked to small molecular fragments. These fragments recombine to form an aciniform
carbon aerosol.(31)
The continuous furnace black process enables the production of a variety of carbon blacks under tightly
controlled conditions. Nearly all the rubber grade and many pigment-grade carbon blacks are currently
manufactured by a modern furnace black process. However, other production processes, such as gas
black, lamp black, acetylene black, and thermal black remain in use.
4.2 Chemistry and Mechanism

Carbon black is formed by either pyrolysis (thermal decomposition) or incomplete combustion of carbon
black feedstock. In the case of pyrolysis, air and feedstock are mixed before leaving the burner. For
incomplete combustion, oxygen diffuses into the gaseous feedstock stream after leaving the burner.

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Pyrolysis is the most common process in terms of the volume of carbon black produced. The chemistry of
carbon black formation by pyrolysis can be represented using the following equation:
CxHySr + pO2+qN2+zCH4 → xC + (z+p)CO2 +(x+p)CO + yH2+qN2 + (r+y)H2S + (z+p+y) H2O
where the letters such as xyz, refer to the stoichiometry. For example, x, y, and r refer to the number of
carbon, hydrogen and sulfur atoms, respectively, in the feedstock composition.
Liquid carbon black oil feedstock (CxHySr) is sprayed into a combustion mixture of natural gas (zCH4) and
pre-heated air (it is the oxygen (O2) content of air that is important). Following the formation of carbon black
(C), the process mixture is then shock-cooled via water (H2O) injection. This is done to instantly cease (or
slow down until the rate is negligible) the reaction, and to prevent unwanted secondary reactions from
occurring. The furnace black process is engineered to allow the manufacturer to precisely define both the
structure and the surface of the carbon black particles as they form. The initial product is in powder form,
but is usually pelletized (beaded) downstream to enhance ease of handling.
The introduction rate of the carbon black feedstock determines the reaction temperatures. Assuming the
air consumption is constant; increasing the oil introduction rate reduces the reaction temperature to produce
a coarser primary particle carbon black. Additionally, higher oil rates increase the output of carbon black.
The carbon black particle size is usually tailored by adjusting the oil rate at a constant fuel and process air
rate. Thus, fine particle blacks are formed at higher temperature, achieved by reducing the amount of
feedstock available thus reducing output and yield.
Additionally, temperature influences secondary reactions. The surface reactions continue after the carbon
black is formed, such as secondary reactions between the carbon black particles and the off gas. The
reactions include homogenous gas phase reactions (e.g., CH4 + H2O → CO + 3H2) and oxidation of carbon
black by carbon dioxide (CO2) and water in the tail gas.
C + H2O → CO + 3H2 and C + CO2 → 2CO
Gasification of carbon from the carbon black surface by water gas and Boudouard reaction leaves pores in
its surface. The earlier quenching of the particles occurs the lower the porosity. Fine particles have
residence or reaction times of 10 to 100 ms, while the large particles formed at 1 200 °C have longer
reaction times up to 10 seconds.
The residence time also affects the surface chemistry, thus short quenched blacks have many carbon and
hydrogen groups on their surfaces accounting for the high tread wear index of hard blacks. Longer
residence times result in lower hydrogen content.
Additives such as alkaline and alkaline earth metals are sprayed into the combustion chamber or injected
with the feedstock. The positively charged metals are assumed to add to the carbon black nuclei, causing
electrostatic repulsion that prevent fusion of carbon black particles. The effect increases with increasing
atomic weight of the metal ion. For medium to high structure blacks, the amount of potassium salts added
is from 10 to 100 ppm; for the specialty blacks with very low structures, the potassium can be added at 100
to 2 000 ppm.
The width of primary particle size and aggregate distribution of size is adjusted but not independently.
However, when the reaction conditions are homogenous, particularly the temperature, feedstock rate,
residence time and flow through the reaction zone, narrower distribution curves are achievable.(31)
If the process air and fuel input are fixed parameters, the amount of feedstock introduced will determine the
desired particle size. The porosity is determined by the quench position, and the level of structure wanted
by the amount of additive introduced.

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For a particular grade of carbon black, the process air rate (typically 2 000 to 10 000 Nm3 depending on the
grade wanted) determines the feedstock rate and subsequently the amount of carbon black produced. Once
the reactor conditions are set, the output is raised or lowered by altering oil rate, fuel rate, additive, and
quench water in proportion to the process air rate. The upper limit of the fuel rate is set by the temperature
resistance of the combustion chamber, the lower limit by the flame propagation velocity.
The amount of quench water and its position allow for the reaction time to be increased or reduced. Quench
water introduction will also determine the reactor outlet temperature. The importance of the temperature at
the outlet of the reactor is the heat available for heating the incoming air and/or fuel in the heat exchanger
located at the reactor’s exit. Fine carbon black particles, formed at higher temperatures, require significantly
more quench water than the large particle blacks.
4.3 Formation
Carbon black is formed by either deposition on the walls of the reactor or in the bulk of the gaseous phase.
In each case the carbon can be soot or carbon black. The carbon black formed is an industrially
manufactured carbon that has spherical or almost spherical fused aggregate particles ranging in size from
100 to 1000 nm. The soot is a randomly formed particulate which contains a number of inorganic and
organic impurities.
The mechanism for the formation of particulate carbon is a subject of dispute and is well described in the
literature, though it is generally agreed that it forms in three different stages:(32)
 Nucleation, in which molecules are transformed to particles. Gaseous carbon black precursors are
formed. As the mass of the precursors increases through collisions with larger fragments, they lose
stability and condense out of the vapor phase to form particles
 Aggregation of the particles through collisions to form larger spherical particles and further
condensation of new precursors onto existing particles
 Agglomeration of the spherical particles into chains of up to 1 mm in length. Small aggregates and
particles become attached or are deposited on the surface of the existing particles to form
aggregates with a characteristic onion microstructure. Coalescence of small particles occurs to
produce larger ones
Following nucleation, the particles surface growth accounts for around 90 percent of total carbon yield for
both pyrolysis and incomplete combustion. Existing particles attach to each other and become incorporated
into each other in addition to further condensation of particles onto the growing particles.
Finally, the carbon black surface reacts with the gas phase. Carbon dioxide, water and other oxygen
containing species attach to the carbon surface. Oxidation is determined by the conditions of temperature,
flow rate and concentration of oxidant.
The physical and chemical reaction mechanisms in carbon black formation are well studied. Formation of
carbon black occurs at 1 250 to 1 650 °C. The feedstock decomposes to a reactive vapor phase species,
the subsequent condensation and dehydrogenation produce macromolecules that precipitate as a cloud of
nuclei in the nanometer range. The roughly spherical nodular growth occurs around these nuclei by
accumulation of material from the vapor phase. The reaction continues converting the material to distorted
carbon crystallites arranged in a concentric pattern around the nuclei.
The growing nodules collide and adhere to produce chain like aggregates. The degree of aggregation and
size of the original particles determine the carbon black character. After the vaporized material has been
consumed, a certain amount of time is required to complete the process which is then quenched. If the
reaction time is too long, pitting and porosity occur.

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The morphology and surface chemistry of carbon black is controllable by changing reaction parameters.
The feedstock supply limits growth. As the feedstock is depleted, no more growth can occur, thus a high
surface area carbon black is produced. For example, the reaction temperature is key for furnace blacks.
Higher temperature results in higher pyrolysis rates, forming more nuclei. The temperature can be
controlled by adjusting the air rate, fuel rate and feedstock rate. Usually, a high surface area black will have
low residence times of less than 10 ms, while low surface area blacks may have residence times of 100 ms
or more.
Alkali metal salts are added to control carbon black structure. Its effectiveness is based on the ratio of the
alkali metal using a few ppm relative to carbon black feedstock. Potassium salts are preferred; the salts
must be available in a vaporized form during carbon black formation. The positive metal ions adsorb on the
carbon black providing an electrostatic barrier to collisions resulting in a lower structure.
During production, the carbon black nodules coalesce to form aggregates of 80 to 810 nm in size composed
of a few hundred particles. Further along in the production process, the electrical forces known as van der
Waals forces bond the aggregates into agglomerates of 1 to 100 mm in diameter, composed of thousands
of aggregates.(32,33,34)
Different carbon black grades shown in Table 15, are typically produced using different reactor designs and
varying the reactor temperatures and or residence times. For example, a thermal black N990 is produced
at a temperature of 1 200 to 1 300 °C and residence times of 10 seconds; a high abrasion, hard rubber
black is produced at a higher temperature of 1 550 °C and residence times of 0.03 seconds.

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Table 15 Typical Reactor Conditions for Different Carbon Black Grades

Residence Maximum Product Surface
Carbon Black Grade Temperature, °C
Time, s Velocity, m s-1 Area, m2g-1
N100 1 800 0.008 143
N200 0.01 180-400 120
N300 1 550 0.031 80
N500 1 30-80 42
N700 1 400 1.5 0.5-1.5 25
N990 1 200-1 300 10 10 8
4.4 Production Routes

4.4.1 Acetylene Black
Acetylene blacks have been produced since the early 1900s. Acetylene is decomposed to carbon black
and hydrogen in a highly exothermic reaction:(35)
nC2H2 → nC + (n/2) H2 ΔH = 227 kJ/mol
Acetylene black is produced in a continuous decomposition process at atmospheric pressures and

temperatures of 800 to 1 000 °C in water cooled refractory lined cylindrical reactors. Acetylene or acetylene
containing gases are fed into the preheated reactors. The acetylene introduction nozzles are specially
designed to avoid the reaction from ‘kicking back.’
Once ignited, the decomposition heat evolved maintains the reaction. Cooling is required to dissipate the
heat and maintain constant reaction temperature by water cooling. The product is a hydrogen stream
containing carbon black. The reactor stream is cooled, followed by separation of the black from the
hydrogen tail gas. The hydrogen is used as fuel or sold. The yield on acetylene is 95 to 99 percent.
The primary acetylene black particles are differently shaped from those of other carbon blacks. The long
residence time, high heat generation and homogenous feedstock yields a very pure black with a high
degree of crystallization and a high structure due to high amounts of aggregation. It is unique in having a
very high degree of structure. The average particle is 40 nm, and while it is not fully reinforcing, it provides
good conductivity and high elastic modulus properties to rubber stocks.
Acetylene black is fluffy with a low bulk density (around 19 kg m-3). It is difficult to compact and resists
pelletization. The commercial grades are compressed to bulk densities of up to 200 kg m-3. Due to the
relatively high price of production, its application is limited to special uses such as in dry cell batteries.
4.4.2 Channel Black
The channel black process has historical importance; it is the oldest process for producing carbon black on
an industrial scale with usage dating back to the 1800s. The reinforcing effect of carbon black in rubber
was discovered using channel blacks and it was the predominant process for a period. However, the
economic issues that led to its obsolescence were quite clear, the costs of production per barrel of carbon
black were $966 in 1913 by 1919 they had risen to an average of $3 125 after the first world war depending
on the scale of the plant. Due to environmental and economic issues, the last U.S. channel black plant
closed in 1976.(36,37)
The typical channel black plant was composed of many metal building 50 m long and four or five m wide.
The process involved burning natural gas in a deficiency of air. Thousands of smoky flames from small

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burners with ceramic openings impinged on cooled metal surfaces, depositing a layer of carbon black which
was removed by periodic scraping.
The burners (called lava tips) could be adjusted to change the distance between the burner and the channel,
allowing particle sizes to be changed from 10 to 30 nm. The channels themselves were produced from mild
steel and were around 0.2 m wide and could be up to 30 m long and ran on overhead trucks on rails that
allowed a continuous back and forth movement. The scrapers were still and accepted movement in one
direction only. A weight was attached to the scrapers to allow continuous carbon removal in a uniform
manner. Air was controlled by sliding doors or slits at the base of the buildings, while the off gases from the
flame passed through the space between adjacent channels and out through vents in the roof. A number
of sources state that the plume of black smoke from channel black plants could be seen for many miles. (
34,38,39)
Figure 18 shows the schematic representation of the channel black process.

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BUCKET
ELEVATOR
0.2 M
STEAM
CHANNEL
BULK STORAGE
PELLETIZED BLACK
CYCLONE
CARBON
GAP BLACK
FLAME
DEPOSIT
1 ¼ In.
BURNER Return
Air AGITATOR
PIPE
TANK
BLOWER
HOT
BURNER
HOUSES
CHANNELS
PELLETIZER
BAG BELT
CONVEYOR
100101.200.2020.017
Air FLUFFY
BLACK
GRIT

DISCARD
HOPPER HOPPER
SCREW
CONVEYOR
Source: Petroleum Products Handbook, ed. V. Guthrie, 1st Edition, McGraw Hill 1960 Chapter 15
Figure 18
Channel Process
43
A00101.0014.4110.vsd
The natural gas feed was burned in multiple small lava tip burners in a limited air supply. The carbon black
was scraped off into a funnel and collected in screw conveyers. The black was conveyed to a cyclone via
a grit removal separator, followed by bagging and/or pelletizing.
Typical channel black process yields were around only three to six percent, thus the desire to improve
recovery and to obtain variations resulted in development of the modern processes that succeeded it. The
channel black had a lower pH, a higher volatile matter content and smaller average particle size than other
blacks.
4.4.3 Electric Plasma
Hydrocarbons can be almost quantitatively decomposed into carbon and hydrogen in plasma with no direct
carbon dioxide emissions. The feedstock can be any hydrocarbon, plant oil or gas. The generic equation
for plasma based carbon black production is:
 Cracking
CnH2n+x + Electrical Energy → CnHb + (n+x/2-b/2) H2

 Synthesis
CnHb → nC + (b/2) H2
The feedstock is introduced into the reaction chamber. The reaction enthalpies for thermal decomposition
of the feedstock are supplied from external electrical power by arc and/or inductively coupled discharges
to achieve very high reaction temperatures of 1 727 to 9 800 °C. Typically a plasma torch is supplied with
high current to produce a large volume of expanded plasma that flows inside the reaction chamber. The
feedstock and plasma flow are well mixed, allowing for production of carbon particles and gaseous by
products.
Many of the leading carbon black producers have researched the field of plasma based carbon black
production, though these producers have not yet rolled out a commercial line. The Kvaerner carbon black
and hydrogen process was used commercially in 1999; it was the only commercial process using plasma
based technology. The key to the process is the endothermic reaction of the feedstock in a plasma burner
at around 1 600 °C to produce hydrogen and carbon black byproduct. The Kvaerner process was based on
a DC carbon electrode plasma generator, and is described in more detail in Section 4.9.
Reports indicate that current developments in plasma based processes are focused on improving carbon
black yield from the feedstock, as opposed to hydrogen production, and production of new carbon black
grades. Much of the initial research was focused on producing carbon black as a byproduct of hydrogen
production, with little control exerted over the black structure. The technology remains popular due to its
high performance and the fact that it is an environmentally clean process.
The proposed flow scheme for a plasma carbon black process is shown in Figure 19. Hydrogen gas
separated from the carbon black can be used to produce electricity and the heat produced can be reused
for drying and/or producing steam and/or electricity. Nitrogen gas may be required, for use as plasma gas
that stabilizes the electric arc and to protect the cathode from erosion by the feedstock.

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Figure 19 Plasma Black Process
FEEDSTOCK
PLASMA GAS
THERMAL
DECOMPOSITON
(PLASMA)
ELECTRICAL SOURCE
CARBON SEPARATION GAS TREATMENT BURNING

ENDUSERS
DENSIFICATION & PALLETIZING

CARBON TREATMENT SILO’S WAREHOUSE
PACKAGING
DEDUSTING
Source: N. Probst, SOLHYCARB’S Day, September 28, 2009, TIMCAL
4.4.4 Furnace Black

The furnace black process is the predominant manufacturing process, accounting for over 95 percent of
the total global carbon black output. The process, based on oxidative decomposition, is a continuous
process operated in a closed reactor with high flow velocities creating high turbulence. The process
versions used by different manufacturers and licensors are very similar, and with slight variations, resemble
the process flow diagram in Figure 20. The reactor, considered the heart of the process is the main point
of differentiation, though other minor points of differentiation exist.
The carbon black oil feedstock is injected usually as an atomized spray into the high temperature zone of
hot combustion gases generated by burning a fuel (or secondary feedstock), such as natural gas, in an
oxygen containing gas, usually air. The oxygen is in excess of the fuel and not sufficient for complete
combustion of the primary feedstock. The feedstock vaporizes then pyrolysis in the vapor phase to produce
carbon black and tail gases. Carbon black is separated from the tail gases, processed and packaged.

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TAIL GAS
MAIN
BAG
FILTER
ELEVATOR
FILTER/SURGE
TANK
SCREENER
FEED
Carbon Black PRE- MAGNETIC

Oil HEATER SEPARATOR
FLUE GAS
TREATMENT/
DeNOX
PRODUCT
PELLETIZER TANK
Air MILLER
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AIR
ROTARY
PREHEATER

DRIER
BULK
TRANSPORT
Fuel BAGGING
CARBON BLACK
REACTOR
FUEL
DRIER
PREHEATER
COMBUSTION
FURNACE
Figure 20
Generic Furnace Black Process
46
A00101.0014.4110.vsd
4.4.4.1 Reactor
This section describes the evolution of reactor technology, and the features common to most carbon black
reactors. While there are many similarities to the reactors used, it is the differences in the reactors that
separate the producers and licensors technology and it is the reactors that are frequently the subject of
patents. The different reactors will be described within the relevant licensor/producer section of the report.
As the oil furnace black process became the dominant technology during the 1950s and 1960s, the reactors
became the subject of research. After the Second World War and the switch to oil furnace processes, the
greatest breakthrough was delivered by Philips Petroleum (U.S.) with the Philips Tangential Reactor for
reinforcing blacks.(39)
The Philips reactor was the catalyst for reactor development, after publication of the 1956 patent(40) the
major carbon black manufacturers began to experiment with the oil furnace process and oil furnace
reactors. Cabot was one of the first to tailor the morphological properties of the furnace blacks, what
followed was further publications on the influence of oil atomization and residence times.(40)
The Vortex reactor developed by Columbian Carbon,(41) considered the first (or one of the first) second
generation reactors, consisted of a vessel in which the feedstock oil was injected into a converging zone
where the feedstock velocity was accelerated. Further research was carried out by Cabot scientists on the
influence of high shear forces to break up a jet of oil, using high flow velocities and high energy densities
of combustion gas using its staged reaction system.(41)
A subsequent Ashland patent(42) issued in 1983 details how energy recovered from the tail gases can be
used to replace the natural gas fuel. In this case, however, the researchers found that air needed to be
enriched with oxygen and the invention did not find use industrially. However, it led the way for further
investigations and to the development of the reactors in current use.
The second breakthrough in reactor technology was also led by Philips. Its 1985 patent(43) describes a new
reactor, the first developed that produced both soft and hard black grades without the need to use multiple
hard and soft grade reactors. The most no feature described in the patent is the injection of feedstock from
multiple positions. The feedstock is injected not just from a radial position into the high flow velocity region,
but also from a radial position or by an axial injector. This additional injection position allowed further
variation and control over carbon black properties, and has led to similar designs by other manufacturers.
The features common to all reactors include a refractory lined tubular vessel enveloped in a gas tight steel
jacket to control the flow of materials to be pyrolyzed. The refractory lining is often composed of several
layers of different ceramics to deal with the high temperatures of 1 500 to 1 800 °C or more.
The refractory layer in contact with the reactants is a gas tight material with the greatest heat resistance,
usually alumina containing some silica. The outer layers of refractory materials gradually increase in silica
content and porosity. This results in decreasing heat resistance, and increasing insulating effect as the
outer most refractory layer is reached. In some cases, expensive zirconia ceramics are used in the oxidizing
atmosphere of the combustion chamber.
The refractory lining is produced from bricks of refractory material or is cast and compacted. The refractory
lining built from bricks provides the highest lifetimes but its installation is time consuming and expensive. A
cast material can be sintered and cast in-situ relatively quickly and at lower costs than bricks with the
disadvantage of a reduced lifetime. The advantage of the in-situ cast refractory is the shorter and less
complex maintenance requirement.
Reactors vary depending on the type of fuel and feedstock to be used and on the grades of rubber to be
produced. Some licensors and/or producers still use two types of reactor. The first type produces hard

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rubber grade blacks, fine particles with a high surface area such as ASTM grades 100, 200 and 300; the
second type is the soft black reactor that produces coarser 500, 600 and 700 ASTM grade blacks. The
former reactors used to produce fine particles are designed for higher reaction velocities and temperatures
and shorter residence times, while the soft rubber blacks are produced at lower temperatures and longer
residence times and are often large volume. These soft black reactors sometimes differ by not requiring a
fuel/secondary feedstock input.
Generally, the reactor is comprised of four main zones:

 A combustion zone, in which fuel is burned in an excess of air to produce hot combustion gases
 A mixing zone where the carbon black feedstock is introduced and mixed (ideally homogeneously)
with the hot combustion gases from the combustion chamber
 A reaction zone in which the majority of the feedstock is pyrolyzed and decomposed to carbon
black and off gases, while a small volume of feedstock reacts with any remaining oxygen
 A quench zone, for slowing down and stopping the reaction by injection of cooling water
The fuel is reacted with the oxidant (usually air) to generate hot combustion gases. The reactor is designed
to ensure proper mixing of fuel and air since this determines the degree of combustion and volume of the
combustion chamber. Mixing is often achieved by premixing fuel and process air by injecting the air
perpendicular to the direction of fuel at high pressure. Increased mixing of feedstock and combustion gases
is achieved by generating shear forces with the use of chokes, venturis and baffles.
The reactions occurring in the combustion zone are determined by the composition of the fuel, the air
temperature and the mass flow of air and fuel. These parameters determine the temperature and
composition of the hot combustion gases leaving the combustion chamber. The fuel to air ratio is
characterized by the consumption factor k which defines the fraction of the total oxygen content of air
consumed by complete combustion of the fuel. For natural gas (or any gaseous) fuel based on a
stoichiometric factor fs, k is given by:
k = 100 x fs (Nm3/Nm3) x gas rate (Nm3h-1)/air rate (Nm3h-1) %
The air consumption factor must remain below 80 percent in a refractory lined combustion chamber when
using high process air temperatures to avoid overheating, while air consumption factors of less than 30
percent cause problems with reduced ignition velocity.
Preheated feedstock is introduced into the hot gases produced in the combustion chamber in the mixing
zone. The zone is characterized by high turbulence and high shear forces. The reactors throughput is
determined by the cross section of the mixing zone, and its geometry influences the properties of the carbon
black product. The inlets and outlets are typically conical or stepped.
The feedstock can be injected axially, radially, upstream or downstream of the zone and combinations of
these, simultaneously. The feedstock is injected through nozzles designed to achieve optimum atomization
of the feedstock and its contact with the hot combustion gases. A good example is the one and two fluid
nozzles licensed by Orion Engineered Carbon that are described in Section 4.11. In some cases the
feedstock is injected directly into the mixing zone making use of the turbulence in a reactor operating at
high velocity.
The vaporized feedstock undergoes exothermic pyrolysis reactions as it enters the reaction zone. It is
important that the feedstock be fully vaporized since the carbon black is only formed by decomposition of
gaseous hydrocarbons. If droplets of oil are decomposed before feedstock vaporization, spherical coke
particles (and possibly grit) are formed, as liquid feedstock impinges on the reactor walls which can
contaminate the final product.

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The volume of the reaction zone is dependent on the throughput and residence time required for the carbon
black grade desired. The volume of the reaction zone is flexible and can be adjusted (by moving sections
or adding sections) depending on the carbon black to be produced. The size of the reaction zone can also
be controlled by the position of the quench.
The temperature in the reaction zone is controlled, since it affects the primary particle size of the carbon
black. Gases from the combustion zone may still contain some oxygen that can react with a small part of
the vaporized feedstock influencing the temperature in this zone.
The quench zone is common to all reactors. It can be a single spray stopping the reactions or slowing them
down rapidly, so that no further conversion takes place, as well as adjusting the outlet temperature of the
reactor effluent. The quench may also be positioned at multiple sites throughout the region downstream of
the reaction zone. In some cases one quench stream may be positioned upstream of the quench zone to
arrest the reaction and one downstream to control the effluent outlet temperature.
Quenching variations include sprays positioned to provide axial quenching, with or against the flow of
reactor effluent. Other variations include the amount of water injected by the different nozzles radial, or
axial.
4.4.4.2 Process
Figure 4.3(44,(45],46) shows the generic process flow diagram for carbon black production. Carbon black
feedstock can begin to crystallize near ambient temperatures; therefore it is often stored at temperatures
of around 70 to 120 °C, depending on the type of feedstock. The feedstock is homogenized by stirring or
circulating via pumps.
Carbon black feedstock is pumped to the reactor via a heat exchanger, where it is preheated from
150 to 250 °C. Preheating the feedstock increases its viscosity making it sui for atomization and improves
reactor efficiency. Since the carbon black structure can be influenced by the presence of alkali metal ions
in the reaction zone, an additive, usually in the form of aqueous potassium carbonate, is often added to the
feedstock oil in the injector or is sprayed into the mixing zone separately.
The energy required to break the carbon to hydrogen bonds (C-H bonds) of the feedstock is supplied by a
fuel, which can be natural gas, petrochemical oil, coke oven gas or vaporized petroleum gas. Natural gas
is often the fuel of choice due to the cleanliness of its combustion. Special burners are used to achieve a
fast and complete combustion. The fuel is preheated then fed to the furnace and burned with an excess of
oxygen in the form of air. The air is preheated from 500 to 700 °C by heat exchange with the reactor effluent.
Preheating the air and fuel saves energy and improves the carbon black yield.
Feedstock oil is injected at a pressure of one to three MPa through one or a number of inlets into the hot
combustion gas, where it is thermally decomposed and dehydrogenated to produce an aerosol of carbon
black particles suspended in gas. The oxygen, which is in excess with respect to the fuel for combustion,
is not fed in sufficient amounts to complete combustion of the carbon black feedstock. This results in
pyrolysis to carbon black at temperatures of 1 200 to 1 900 °C.
The reactor effluent, an aerosol of colloidal carbon particles in a mixture of steam and hot gases, is
quenched with water, cooling it to 700 to 800 °C. Quenching arrests or slows down further reactions so that
their rates are negligible. Further cooling is achieved as the effluent exits the reactor. The effluent heat is
used to preheat the air stream before it is injected to the reactor, and is often used to preheat the incoming
fuel stream and to produce steam.
The effluent may be further quenched to around 204 to 260 °C in a secondary quench, to prevent damage to
the filter bags while being high enough to keep the water content of the reactor effluent from condensing.

100101.200.2020.017
Water condensation would otherwise result in corrosion and salt deposits on the filter bags, reducing efficiency
and potentially damaging the filter. If a secondary quench is used it is located before the filter bag unit.
The cooled effluent enters the filter system, where carbon black is separated and the tail gas is collected.
The tail gas is usually burnt, with the energy used to produce high pressure steam and direct heat for drying,
preheating fuel and feedstock.
The filter bag contains hundreds of bags with a total filtering surface area of thousands of square meters.
The filter is made from glass fibers usually coated in polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) or a similarly chemical
and oxidizing atmosphere resistant material. Due to the high water vapor content of the filtered gas (30 to
50 volume percent), the filter is operated at temperatures above 200 °C to avoid water condensation.
The reactor effluent enters the bottom of the bags, depositing carbon particles on the bags surface while
the off gas leaves overhead. After a certain amount of time, the carbon black layer becomes thick on the
filter bags and is removed in a cleaning cycle controlled by a timing sequence. The bag filter is periodically
purged by a counter flow of filtered gas, repressurizing or using pulse jets. For example, the exhaust valve
is closed, stopping flow, a repressure valve is opened allowing reverse flow through the bags cleaning the
layer of carbon black from the inside of the bag. The carbon black falls by gravity into a hopper and is fed
out by rotary feeder.
The tail gas in the header typically consists of 30 to 50 volume percent water, 30 to 50 percent nitrogen
and one to five percent carbon dioxide as well as small amounts of combustibles such as methane, (6 to
12 volume percent) hydrogen and carbon monoxide. Traces of sulfurous compounds such as hydrogen
sulfide (H2S, CS2, and COS) and nitrogenous compounds (HCN and NH3) are also present depending on
the feedstock composition and process conditions. Residual carbon black in the tail gas is maintained at
less than 100 mg per m3. The tail gas is sent mainly to the tail gas boiler for combustion and to produce
steam. The energy may be used for pre heating the feedstock oil, fuel, producing steam and/or electricity.
A fraction of the tail gas is diverted to the drying section where it is used in the drier combustion furnace
providing heat for drying wet pellets.
The carbon black is conveyed by a closed pneumatic conveying system to the micro pulverizer. It is milled
to the desired size (e.g., 1 mm in diameter). The black is transferred by pneumatic means to a second filter
stage where any remaining gas and the conveying gas is separated and cycled back to the secondary
quench tower.
The milled black may be screened at this point and impurities such as coke and particles of furnace
refractory lining may be removed at this stage. In some cases the impurities are acceptable if the particle
size has been reduced by the micro pulverizers, depending on the product purity required. Magnetic
separation may be used at this stage, to remove any metal abrasions. Additionally, a grit separator such as
a centrifugal separator or separation by fall velocities may also be applied. Carbon black is conveyed by
gravity to the pelletizing unit.
The carbon black produced so far is fluffy with a low bulk density of 20 to 60 kg m-3. It is compacted to
facilitate handling and further processing.
Before pelletization, the carbon black enters a surge bin where an initial densification takes place. The initial
densification is a form of outgassing in which the loose black is stirred slowly allowing the air or any gas to
escape. A more rigorous, controllable densification is achieved by passing the carbon black over porous
evacuated drums which are under reduced pressure. If this is carried out by using a roller, the black is
further densified, a process often adopted for pigment blacks which do not need to be pelletized.(33)

100101.200.2020.017
For the majority of rubber blacks, wet pelletization is used to make the low density (20 to 60 g/l) pellets
more easily handled by the customer. Dry pelletizing is usually carried out on the pigment blacks,
characterized by small pellets. Large particle, high structure blacks are problematic for dry pelletization.
Dry pelletization is a simple process, and avoids the energy intensive drying of pellets. Powdery carbon
black is processed in rotating drums where it is rolled to form small spheres. A portion of the small spheres
of black are cycled by a conveyer back to the pelletizer to seed new pellets. It is a continuous efficient
process though limited in application. The dry pelletization process is shown in Figure 21.(47)
Wet pelletization is used for most rubber grade blacks. During wet pelletization carbon black, water and
small amounts of additives such as molasses (used for binding) are mixed in the pelletizer. The ratio
between water added and carbon black influences pellet size and the degree of densification and its
structure. Thus the ratio is closely controlled. The water dissolved pelletizing agent is injected via spray
nozzles. The pelletizer consists of a horizontal cylinder around 3 m long and 1 m diameter covered with
sharp edged pins configured in a double helix (shown in Figure 22). The cylinder is seated in a drum with
a defined distance of clearance between the heads of the pins and the drum surface. The axis of the cylinder
rotates at around 500 rpm. The speed is a variable used to control carbon black quality. Higher speeds
produce better pellets, although there is a balance between producing good pellets and producing a
pulverized mass of non-pelletized carbon black. The density of the pelletized material is approximately 10
times that of the original black.(48,49)
The pellets contain around 50 weight percent water, which is removed in the dryer drums of rotating drum
type driers. The combustible tail gas from the main bag filter stage is used for indirect heating, in the drier
combustion furnace. The combustion gas stream from the dryer combustor leads to a dryer fire box that
provides both indirect and direct heating.
The wet pellets fall into the rotary drum drier. The drum of each drier is made of stainless steel and,
depending on the line size, may be 2 meters in diameter and 20 meter length or more. Residence times of
up to 2 hours may be applied. Water vapor is removed by a dryer exhaust fan, so that the atmosphere
within the dryer is controlled to maintain the quality of the product. Atmospheric air is drawn into the dryer
drum from its discharge end. Any carbon black that escapes the drier is collected in a filter and recycled.

100101.200.2020.017
TAIL GAS
COMBUSTOR
PULSE JET
PRIMARY BAG
PRODUCT
FILTER
SCREEN
VENT PULSE
JET COLLECTOR
BUCKET
ELEVATOR
PRODUCT
TANK
100101.200.2020.017
AIR PRE-
HEATER RECYCLE BULK PACKAGING

CONVEYOR AND BAGGING
CARBON BLACK
BEADING SYSTEM
Figure 21
Dry Pelletization Process
52
A00101.0014.4110.vsd
Figure 22 Wet Pelletizer

ADDITIVES
CARBON BLACK
INLET
PINS
FIXED TUBE
ROTATING
CONVEYER SHIFT
SCREW
Inlet Granulation Zone Outlet
Drying occurs at around 200 °C (150 to 230 °C). Further modifications such as oxidation of the surface
properties (if required) can be carried out at this temperature. For example, additives such as sulfur and
oxo-acids may be added to increase rubber strength and improve the black’s dispersibility in rubber
compounding.
The dried carbon black, now a bead like product, is then allowed to cool and is conveyed to a stainless
steel bucket elevator. It is further cooled and fed by gravity into the stainless steel tube of a screen classifier
where it is classified according to pellet size. By passing the product through a rotating drum, strong
magnetic separator, small amounts of solid iron containing impurities are removed, before the black is
collected in the product tank. The black is either sent to the storage tank or packing station.
Off specification (off spec.) carbon black may be collected when a new production line is started or a
different grade is produced. Depending on its properties, off spec. black may be blended with material from
subsequent production runs or used in applications with no criticality assigned to quality.
4.4.5 Gas Black
The gas black process is similar to the channel black process in that both are operated in open systems
using a number of small diffusion flames. Degussa developed the gas black process in 1935 to produce a
black with similar properties to channel black though with better economics. While the blacks are no longer
used for reinforcing purposes, they are now used mainly for pigment. The process is based on the principle
of thermal oxidative decomposition where air has free access to the system, resulting in surface oxidation
of the black to produce an acidic black. Orion is one of the few licensor holders/producers of gas black
technology.
The process is described in a number of patents(50,51) by Matlock published between 1922 and 1929.
Conventionally the process uses vaporized oil feedstock, with coal tar distillates being the preferred source
of oil.

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The oil is heated in a vaporizer; the vapors produced are carried in a hydrogen rich gas (containing 70 to
100 percent hydrogen) to burners. The flames of the burners impinge on water cooled rollers. Carbon black
deposits on the cooled rollers from which it is scraped off and the carbon black carried in the off gas stream
is collected within filters. The carbon black streams from the rollers and filters are combined and further
processed such as by milling to homogenize particle size.
The process produces extremely fine particles of 10 to 30 nm with acidic surface oxides. The particle size
is controlled by the process of charging the carrier gas with more or less vaporized feedstock oil. However,
the black’s structure is not influenced by this method. The surface of the black is often further altered by
oxidative after treatments.(52)

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4.4.6 Lamp Black

The lamp black process, which is used primarily for specialty blacks and pigment applications, is one of the
oldest methods to produce carbon black. In this process (shown in Figure 23), the feedstock, which is generally
carbon black oil with high aromatic hydrocarbon content, is incompletely combusted in flat steel pans.
The carbon black feedstock is continuously fed to flat cast iron pans to maintain a constant level of feedstock.
Continuous introduction not only serves to resupply the feedstock, but is also a method of controlling the
temperature of the feedstock in the pan. Feedstock temperature is one factor that influences the lamp black’s
structure. The feedstock is incompletely combusted at the desired temperature, leaving a residual coke
containing oil produced as by product which needs to be removed from the pans periodically. The off-gas,
containing the carbon black product, is sucked into a conical exhaust pipe coated with a ceramic inner liner.
This pipe leads the product and off gas to the cooling and collecting system.
Air is sucked into the apparatus during combustion. The carbon black properties can be influenced to a certain
degree by varying the distance between the pan and the exhaust pipe, and in so doing, the amount of air
sucked in to the system is varied. The filter system may operate with a vacuum, which is used to maintain the
rate at which air is sucked into the apparatus. The carbon black collection system is similar to that shown for
furnace black with the reactor effluent being cooled then passed through the filter bag to separate the carbon
black from the tail gases.(53)
The major variable is the process air rate, which is determined by the vacuum generated and the size of the
gap between the steel pan and exhaust pipe. At high air intake rates, more feedstock is consumed leading to
higher temperatures and smaller primary particles. Fine particle blacks are produced using small diameter
pans and vice versa for large particle blacks.
Lamp carbon blacks are characterized by broad particle size distributions. As air is sucked from outside the
pan, a temperature gradient is formed across the radius of the pan. At the outer periphery of the pan, the air
input results in high temperature flames that form around a cooler core. The feedstock predominantly
undergoes combustion at the outer periphery, while cracking reactions increase towards the center producing
a broad range of conditions and hence broad distribution of product.
Figure 23 LampWater
Black Process
Cooling
Water Cooling
Heat-Resistant
material
Heat-Resistant Exhaust Pipe with Ceramic Liner
material Exhaust Pipe with Ceramic Liner
Cover
Cover
Air
Air
Air
Air
Oil
Oil
Oil
Metallic Plate
Metallic Plate

100101.200.2020.017
4.4.7 Thermal Black

The thermal black process is unique among the carbon black processes in that it utilizes natural gas,
consisting primarily of methane, or coke oven gas, as its feedstock, though in rare cases oil is also used.
The process was developed in the 1930s and is still used for production of non-reinforcing coarse blacks
for specialty applications in the rubber industry. The other distinguishing feature is that energy generation and
pyrolysis are carried out separately, whereas the other black producing processes do so simultaneously.
Figure 24 shows the schematic representation of the thermal black process (in this case using two thermal
black reactors). The reactors are vertical cylinders containing a lattice of heating bricks arranged in such a
way as to allow gas to flow through. The bricks present a cross sectional aspect to the gas flow and store
heat.
The conventional process uses a pair of refractory lined furnace reactors that work in a cycle, alternating
between heating and production cycles lasting 5 to 10 minutes. During the heating cycle, fuel is burned with
air in the reaction chamber until the predetermined temperature of around 1 400 °C is reached. The waste
gas vents are open during this heating. The air supply is stopped and the waste gas vents are closed for
the start of the production cycle.
During the production cycle, feedstock is introduced into the reactor. The feedstock decomposes on the hot
refractory lined inner surface in the absence of air into carbon black and hydrogen. The temperature falls
due to the endothermic nature of the reaction. Once the temperature falls to 900 °C, the heating cycle starts
again.(54)
The output from the reactor, an aerosol material stream of carbon black and nearly pure hydrogen, is
quenched with water sprays and sent to be filtered in the bag filter unit. The carbon black stream is further
processed downstream to remove impurities. It is then pelletized, screened, and finally packaged for
shipment.

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Excess Hydrogen to Steam
Boiler Synthesis
Hydrogen Gas
Hydrogen Gas Blower SCRUBBER Water
SCREENER
MAGNETIC
Hydrogen SEPERATOR
Gas
Holder
Water
(FT)
CYC-
LONE
PELLITIZER
BAG
Air
FILTER
BAG- PRODUCT
Air Quench STORAGE
GING
Water
Natural Natural
100101.200.2020.017
Gas Gas BAGS BAGS BULK
CONVEYORS BUCKET BUCKET
(LOOSE
ELEVATOR ELEVATOR
BLACK)

CONDUIT Decomposition CONDUIT
Heating
Cycle Cycle
TWO FURNACE
UNIT
Source: Encyclopedia of Chemical Processing and Design: Volume 6 Calcination Equipment to Catalysis, John McKetta Jr. CRC Press
Figure 24
Thermal Black Process Using
Natural Gas Feed
57
A00101.0014.4110.vsd
The hydrogen off-gas is burned in the presence of air and used to preheat the second furnace reactor.
Once the reaction is initiated by using natural gas as the heating fuel, the process produces a sustainable
quantity of reform gas (namely hydrogen) to provide fuel for all of the heating cycles. However, if oil
feedstock is used, the hydrogen produced is not pure enough to be used for the heat cycle and is used for
other processes. Two types of thermal black process are known, named according to the feedstock source
as gas thermal or oil thermal black processes.
Fine thermal blacks with a mean primary particle size of 150 to 200 nm (N880) are produced by diluting the
feedstock with recycled hydrogen. Though the method is no longer used, fine thermal black can only be
produced using gas feedstock. Medium thermal blacks with mean particle size of 300 to 500 nm (N990) are
produced using undiluted feedstock and can be produced from oil feedstock. The yield of medium thermal
blacks is around 40 percent.
The low temperatures and long residence times characteristic of thermal black production result in a slow
growing particle. The particles can become very large with a tendency to form filamentous structures.
Thermal black retains a significant market, due to the physicochemical properties of the black produced.
Thermal blacks have the greatest number of primary particles of all the carbon blacks.
4.4.8 After Treatment and Surface Modifications
While the properties of carbon black can be adjusted for use during its production, sometimes an after
treatment is required. For example, a pigment black with a highly polar surface may be desirable, while for
toners a combination of good coloring and a high or low electrical conductivity may be preferred.
4.4.8.1 Oxidations
Oxidation is used to increase the concentration of surface oxides of the carbon black. This influences its
end use application properties, for example, when used as pigment in high quality coatings. The functional
groups on the carbon black’s surface interact with the molecules of the binder. Therefore a highly polar
surface is desirable. In a process called wetting, the carbon black is dispersed in the binder of the lacquer
and affects color change.
Acidic oxides may be generated on the surface, or if present their number may be increased by subjecting
the black to an oxidative after treatment. For rubber processing applications, oxidation of the carbon black
reduces the modulus and increases scorch time. A modulus 300 percent is the tensile stress required to
elongate the rubber to 300 percent of its original length. Scorch time is the measure of rubber curing times;
a low scorch time is related to a fast curing rubber and vice versa. These specifications are monitored
during manufacture and can be tailored by oxidizing the carbon black surface.
Oxidation can be achieved by post treating it with air at 350 to 750 °C, though the degree of oxidation is
limited. Better results, which produce a higher amount of surface oxides, are achieved with greater control
using nitrogen dioxide and air. The treatment is carried out in a fluidized bed at a maximum temperature of
300 °C with residence times of several hours. The nitrogen dioxide acts as catalyst while the air supplies
the oxygen.(40) The advantage of using nitrogen dioxide and air or ozone is that the carbon black remains
in an easily dispersible powder form.
In some cases such as for large particle blacks with a low structure, the carbon black cannot be fluidized,
thus other methods are employed. For example, nitric acid may be added to the pelletizing water. The
surface of the carbon black is then treated at high temperatures during the drying stage.
Alternatively, nitric acid is sprayed onto the carbon black as it is fed to a tubular kiln or stirred stationary
bed reactor. The mixture is heated in a second pass and nitrogen oxides formed as a byproduct are

100101.200.2020.017
removed by reversing the air flow. This method may be disadvantaged due to possible corrosion and
environmental issues.
4.4.8.2 Non Oxidative Treatments
In some cases oxidation is not the desired outcome. Applications in which a plastic article comes into
contact with foodstuffs, or when a white or black colored plastic is produced, the extract matter is removed
from the carbon black. This is to prevent any migration of extracts to foodstuffs or to prevent any
deterioration in color as extract material leaches out into other articles weakening the color quality. In these
cases the extraction must meet stringent limits. Treatment is usually carried out using water vapor at
temperatures of 300 to 500 °C. The treatment primarily removes extract matter from the carbon blacks
surface. The procedure often takes place in a fluidized bed reactor or rotary kiln.(55)
Increased porosity can be achieved during the furnace black process. However, high temperature and
increased residence times are required. Porosity is better achieved, independent of the furnace process,
by utilization of a high temperature water treatment. At temperatures of 900 to 1 100 °C, the residence time
can be decreased by use of a fluidized bed reactor, or alternatives depending on the ability of the carbon
black to sustain fluidization. The reaction is catalyzed by using potassium salts. High temperature steam
attacks the weakest, less ordered regions of the carbon black; it can lead to complete erosion of the particles
inside to achieve surface areas of 1 000 m2g-1 or more. These high surface area carbon blacks are used to
impart electrical conductivity to plastics.
4.5 Aditya Birla

Aditya Birla is the largest carbon black producer globally. Following its 2010 acquisition of Columbian
Chemicals, its current total production capacity is now more than two million tons per year. The acquisition
was completed in 2011. It produces a complete range of ASTM grades and specialty blacks for rubber,
plastics, coatings and inks. The company has a number of production technologies to choose from, making
use of the intellectual capital and experiential legacies of Hi Tech Carbon, Aditya Birla and Columbian
Chemical.
Aditya Birla has 17 production facilities. Some of its subsidiaries and joint ventures include Alexandria
Carbon Black, Hi-Tech Carbon, Thai Carbon Black, Liaoning Birla Carbon and Columbian Chemicals.
Aditya Birla does not license out its technology and tends to form joint ventures as opposed to licensing.
Figure 4.8 shows the flow scheme of Aditya Birla’s Alexandria Carbon Black Company, Egypt carbon black
plant. The plant uses two reactors--one for producing hard grade blacks (a high temperature, high velocity
reactor with short residence time), and the other for soft grade blacks (lower temperature lower velocity and
slower/longer residence time). Each of the reactors has its own air and oil heat exchanger.(56)
The tread reactor is a conventional horizontal type, into which preheated fuel is injected at right angles to
the preheated air (to ensure good mixing). The combined stream is then injected, through a centrally located
inlet, to the combustion chamber of the reactor to produce the hot combustion gases. The feedstock oil,
combined with any additives that may be desired, is atomized and sprayed inside the reaction chamber,
located downstream of the combustion chamber. The feedstock is introduced through nozzles designed to
provide maximum contact of the feedstock with the hot combustion gases to achieve endothermic thermal
cracking.
The carcass reactor in Figure 25 is typical of that described in the 2005 international patent(57) application
to Alexandria Carbon Black Company. The preheated feedstock is injected to the reactor axially through a
centrally located feedstock gun. Preheated fuel and air are supplied both axially through a centrally located
burner, and tangentially through two inlets located on the outer sides of the circular reactor. The rate of
feedstock injection is controlled separately with respect to velocity and volume of fuel and air to produce a

100101.200.2020.017
vortex. The vortex of gases passes through a choke that increases the velocity of the effluent towards the
primary quench zone where the reaction is quenched. The quenching chamber has a larger volume than
the reaction zone that precedes it to allow adiabatic expansion cooling.
Aditya Birla’s reactor developments are described in the 2013 patent(58) application shown in Figure 26.
The patent claims that the reactor improves mixing of fuel and air to achieve efficient combustion, increasing
production by 5 to 20 percent. Efficient mixing of gases and combustion produces hot combustion gases in
the range of 1 000 to 2 200 °C, which are sui temperatures for most grades of carbon black. The fuel burner
is located on the longitudinal axis with the air inlet located perpendicular to the fuel burner. Preheated air is
injected to the reactor and directed by flow guides, increasing the mixing with the fuel at the burner, and
focusing the direction of flow. The key to the invention is the flow guides. The patent claims that the guides
are capable of stabilizing the flame from the fuel burner, to direct it on a horizontal axis, potentially
preventing any damage to the reactors lining. The flow guide is an annular cylinder, although a variety of
geometries are described. The hot combustion gases enter the reaction chamber to thermally crack the
feedstock.

100101.200.2020.017
INLINE BOILER FEEDSTOCK
FEEDSTOCK Air
PRE-HEATER
Carbon Black PRE-HEATER
Feedstock
Air AIR
CARBON BLACK PRE-HEATER Hot Air
AIR
FEEDSTOCK PRE-HEATER
TANK
Fuel
Fuel Quench Water
CARCASS REACTOR
FUEL
TREAD REACTOR
PRE-HEATER Recycle Conveying Gases SECONDARY Hot Air
QUENCH
MAIN FILTER BAG UNIT Offgas

Steam WASTE GAS BOILER
Air
Fuel
CYCLONE
PULVERIZER BFW
AIR DRYING
ON CONVEYOR
AGITATOR
100101.200.2020.017
PELLETIZERS SEPARATOR

PRODUCT
PIN CONVEYOR STORAGE
MAGNETIC
DRYER SEPARATOR
Offgas ELEVATOR
Air
COMBUSTOR
Bagging Transport
Figure 25
Aditya Birla Carbon Black
61
A00101.0014.4110.vsd
Air Inlet Combustion Chamber Reaction Chamber
Fuel Burner
100101.200.2020.017
Flow Guide

Refractory Lining
Figure 26
Aditya Birla 2013 Reactor Schematic
62
A00101.0014.4110.vsd
Aditya’s reactor technology, obtained through its acquisition of Columbian chemicals, includes an
arrangement that avoids the need to invest in two reactors for soft and hard carbon black grades. The
reactor is shown in Figure 27; it has a combined combustion/reaction section and options for introducing
feedstock. For soft carcass grades of carbon black, the carbon black oil is injected through the central port
into the combustion/reaction section. The narrow geometry choke section increases the velocity of the
effluent to the quench zone. For tread grades, preheated process air and fuel are introduced to the
combustion section to produce high temperature gas. The design enables complete combustion of the fuel
before the hot gases reach the choke section and mix with the feedstock as it is injected, improving yield
on the hard grade blacks.
The quench zone is 1.2 to 2 times greater in diameter than the choke, allowing the pressure to drop and
adiabatic cooling expansion to occur. The quench zone has multiple quench inlets, allowing variation in
residence times. One other feature is a breech zone designed to provide effective residence times for
quench water evaporation before the flow of effluent exits the reactor.
Aditya Birla have also addressed the pelletizing process with the aim of reducing water and energy
consumption and simultaneously improving productivity and pellet quality.(59) The focus of the work is in
providing a uniform distribution of water and binding agent on the carbon black surface using an amine
based surfactant dispersing agent. The pelletization step requires producing a homogenous mixture of
carbon black, water binding agent and dispersing agent. Typical inputs used in favorable patent examples
include use of the polymeric amine polyether surfactant at 0.005 to 0.1 weight percent and lignosulfate
binding agent at 5 to 15 weight percent of the mixture. The mixture is pelletized in the conventional manner
using a drum pelletizer, followed by drying to remove moisture. Drying is achieved in 30 to 45 minutes at
180 to 220 °C. The patent claims increased production rates are achieved, consuming reduced volumes of
water and lower energy consumption during drying.
Aditya Birla’s most recent patent activity focuses on sulfur reduction. High sulfur content in the feedstock
has ramifications with respect to environmental issues. Additionally, it lowers the effective BMCI value and
can potentially become incorporated into the product as an impurity, which is particularly detrimental for
specialty applications. A 2012 patent(60) application teaches removal of sulfur from feedstocks by a process
of dilution with a solvent followed by reaction with sodium to desulfurize the feedstock.
A later 2013 patent(61) application describes a process of treating the product. Carbon black is reacted with
sodium metal using sodium hydroxide in xylene at 250 to 300 °C to reduce the sulfur content in the final
product to less than 0.07 percent.

100101.200.2020.017
QUENCH INLETS
Carbon Black BREECHING

COMBUSTION/
Feedstock Oil Inlet SECTION
REACTION SECTION
for Carcass Grade
QUENCH SECTION
Carbon Black Feedstock

Oil Inlet for Hard Grade
100101.200.2020.017
Air/Fuel Inlet
Figure 27
Columbian Chemical Reactor Schematic
64
A00101.0014.4110.vsd
4.6 Asahi Carbon Company

Asahi Carbon Company became a consolidated subsidiary of the Bridgestone Corporation in 1998. The
other Bridgestone Carbon Black producers include the Mexico Carbon Manufacturing Sa De CV, in
Altamira, Mexico and Bridgestone Carbon Black, based in Rayong, Thailand. Bridgestone is one the world’s
largest tire manufacturers and provider of other rubber goods. It markets carbon black under the
SunBlack™ brand name.
Bridgestone is the only tire company to be back integrated into carbon black production. It owns technology
for and produces tire grade carbon blacks and operates a 10 kta thermal black plant. Bridgestone was
founded in Japan in 1951; it is one the world’s largest manufacturers of tires and other rubber goods.
4.6.1 Furnace Black
It is the contact between the feedstock and the hot combustion gas that influences the physical and
chemical characteristics of the carbon black product. Asahi patents(62,63,64,65,66,67,68,69) dating from the 1990s
to the current time (2014) describe developments in the furnace reactor. These include a reactor with an
adjustable volume, where different grades of carbon black can be produced by altering the inner diameter
of the furnace and by varying the operating conditions.
Asahi’s research appears to focus on the feedstock introduction and reaction zone of the reactor. The aim
of the inventions is to achieve the maximum contact efficiency between hot combustion gases and the
feedstock in the reactor. This has been achieved by narrowing the feedstock introduction zone of the
reactor, and engineering the internal dimensions of the reactor to maximize contact and avoid any non-
contact regions between feedstock and hot combustion gas.
Figure 28 shows a schematic of the Asahi Carbon reactor.(70,66-71,72) The distinguishing feature of the reactor
is the unique cross section of the reaction zone. It has a ratio of major cross sectional axis to minor axis of
2 to 10 forming a torus like shape as illustrated in figure.
The reactor has a gas tight metal jacket to control material flows and is lined inside with a ceramic. The
high temperatures involved may exceed 1 850 °C. The resultant oxidizing /reducing atmosphere produced
in the reactor led Asahi to develop a refractory furnace lining.

100101.200.2020.017
QUENCH/ QUENCH/ QUENCH/
HEATED AIR REACTION REACTION REACTION
INTRODUCTION COMUSTION FUEL THE FEEDSTOCK CONTINUATION
REACTION CONTINUATION CONTINUATION
INLET INTRODUCTION COMBUSTION ATOMIZERS/ CHAMBERS CHAMBERS
CHAMBER CHAMBERS
CHAMBER CHAMBER INLETS
FUEL
INTRODUCTION
PORT
CURRENT
PLATES
100101.200.2020.017
FUEL
INTRODUCTION
PORT
COMUSTION FUEL THE FEEDSTOCK

CURRENT QUENCH/
INTRODUCTION COMBUSTION ATOMIZERS/ QUENCH/ QUENCH/
PLATES REACTION
CHAMBER CHAMBER INLETS REACTION REACTION
REACTION CONTINUATION CONTINUATION CONTINUATION
CHAMBER CHAMBERS CHAMBERS CHAMBERS
Figure 28
Asahi Carbon Reactor
66
A00101.0014.4110.vsd
The refractory is described in the 2003 Japanese patent,(68) and is based on yttrium type ceramic supported
on an aluminum base. The lining has a yttrium oxide (Y2O3) content of more than 80 to 99.9 weight percent,
while the remainder consists of alumina (Al2O3), chromium (III) oxide (Cr2O3), blended with lesser amounts
of Ceria (cerium (IV) oxide, CeO2) and Zirconia (zirconium dioxide, ZrO2). The combustion zone of the
furnace is lined with the yttrium based ceramic due to the harsh conditions produced within. In order to
reduce costs, cheaper ceramics, with lower yttrium loadings are used for lining the other reactor zones. The
lining has a lifetime of two years so maintenance is planned to take this into account; the metal jacket has
longer life times.
The combustion chamber is cylindrical and connected to an intermediate conversion chamber which
gradually becomes more of a torus in cross section. Downstream of this chamber is the reaction chamber,
which is toric in cross section and has a number of feedstock atomizing inlets that are positioned to
maximize contact between feedstock with the hot combustion gases.
The 2004 patent(69) describes the specially designed nozzles that spray the feedstock into the furnace in
the reaction chamber. The nozzle is subjected to high temperatures in excess of 1 500 °C, and can become
damaged or blocked by caulking. The patent describes measures to prevent damage, describing a nozzle
that is embedded in the furnace refractory lining. The nozzle also has a truncated cone atomizer tip that
sits inside its own cooling jacket.
Downstream of the reaction chamber, a continuation chamber allows for further growth reactions on the
carbon black surface, before the effluent reaches the quenching chambers. The carbon surface contains
active groups of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen that continue to react with surface reactions such as the
Boudouard and water gas reactions for as long as the particles are surrounded by gases at high
temperature. On reaching the quenching chambers, water is sprayed from multiple inlets. The temperature
is cooled to below 900 °C, stopping further reactions from occurring. Each of the quench chambers has a
greater volume than the chamber that precedes it, to allow expansion of the gases adiabatically, lowering
the temperature in a Joule-Thomson expansion.
By use of multiple quenching inlets from different locations within the quench chambers, the effective
reaction volume of the reactor can be adjusted. The patent(73) claims that residence times from 10 to 100
milliseconds (ms) are achievable. The yields are dependent on the grade of carbon black produced and the
type of feedstock.
4.6.2 Thermal Black
The 1996 Asahi Carbon patent describes developments in thermal carbon black production. The technology
moves away from the two-reactor design, using heating and making cycles. The patent describes a single
reactor that can produce thermal type carbon blacks, and (due to the difficulty in Japan of obtaining gas
feed) can consume liquid oil as opposed to gas as raw material.
The reactor is shown in Figure 29 to Figure 31. It is a vertical cylinder, lined with refractory compounds that
are resistant to the oxidizing high heat conditions of pyrolysis. The reactor is split by a cylindrical partition
which contains the pyrolysis chamber within the center.

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Figure 29 Asahi Thermal Reactor

Secondary
Gas Inlets
Secondary
Oxygen Fuel/
Gas Inlets
Inlet
Fuel Inlet
Carbon Black
Feedstock Longitudinal
Inlet Section
Longitudinal
Section
Longitudinal
Section
Oxygen Fuel/
Inlet
Fuel Inlet
Figure 30 Asahi Thermal Black Reactor

Carbon Black
Feedstock Inlet
Combustion Center
Combustion Center
Pyrolysis Chamber
Oxygen/Fuel
Thermal Black
inlets
Reactor
Flue
Secondary Gas
Inlets

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Figure 31 Asahi Thermal Reactor 3
Carbon Black
Feedstock
Inlet
Combustion Pyrolysis Cross

Chamber Chamber Section
Cross
Section
Partition
The pyrolysis chamber is heated by combusting fuel in an excess of oxygen in the combustion chamber.
The inner chamber is heated by radiant heat, so as to avoid direct contact of the combustion fuel and the
feedstock undergoing pyrolysis.(74)
The reactor has a feedstock inlet that leads directly to the inner pyrolysis chamber. The oxygen and fuel
inlets premix fuel and oxygen before being fed to the reactor and heating pyrolysis chamber. Secondary
inlets allow further introduction of fuel, air or feedstock to be added to tune the physical properties of the
black as it exits the pyrolysis chamber.(72)
In a conventional oil thermal process (i.e., one in which a liquid oil feedstock is used as opposed to natural
gas), the hydrogen produced is too contaminated to be used in the heat cycle. However, in this case no
contact between the heating gas and the feedstock occurs. After separation of the carbon black from the
tail gas in a conventional bag filter, the gases can be cycled back to use as fuel for preheating with no
contamination issues. The carbon black leaves the reactor flue and is milled to the desired grain size if
necessary, pelletized, and packed.

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4.7 BlackCat Corporation

The BlackCat Corporation was founded in June 1994 with an initial capacity of 8 000 tons. It is a China-
based company that produces coal tar distillates, silicones, and carbon blacks. Since 2005, it has added
over half a million tons of carbon black capacity to become one of the world’s largest volume producers of
carbon black.
It is currently a producer and holds at least 10 patents relevant to carbon black production technology. The
patents cover soft carbon black reactors(74) hard black reactors(75) secondary quench(75) filtering devices,(76)
pelleting devices (77) tail gas waste heat boiler,(78) and a hot air conveying system.(79) To the best of Nexant’s
knowledge, the company has not yet licensed its technology.(80)
4.8 Cabot Corporation

Cabot is one of the largest carbon black producers globally operating a number of rubber black and specialty
black facilities globally as well as in joint ventures. Cabot has carbon black patents dating back to 1882
authored by its founder Godffrey Lowell Cabot, and the company history is entwined with that of the
commercial carbon black industry. It has technologies to produce carbon black commodity, specialty and
pigment grades.
Cabot has its own carbon black technology and prefers to form joint ventures for production as opposed to
licensing it technology. It produces almost 2 million tons of carbon black annually and markets it under the
Black Pearls™, Elftex™, Vulcan™, Mogul™, Monarch™, Emperor™, Regal™, United™, Spheron™ and
Sterling™ trade names.(81)
Cabot has developed a patented multistage reactor that is reportedly capable of producing all grades of
reinforcing and non-reinforcing carbon blacks. The multistage reactor is shown in Figure 32.(82,83)
In the first stage, preheated air and fuel are injected into the reactor to produce hot combustion gases. The
feedstock is injected from a number of inlets to the reactor to achieve high mixing rates with the hot
combustion gases, ensuring high yields by the rapid and complete decomposition of the feedstock.
Optionally, an additive such as potassium salt(s) is mixed with the feedstock before injection, depending
on the end product specifications desired. When metal ions are introduced with the feedstock, the ions
become incorporated uniformly into the black.
The volume of the reactor can be altered to provide a number of quench chambers, while the temperature
can be controlled by introduction of the fuel and air. Thus, temperature and residence time can be
controlled, as can the carbon black properties by adding feedstock or other additives through inlets
upstream or downstream of the reaction zone.

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Carbon Black
Feedstock
Carbon Black inlet 2
Feedstock
inlet 1
Carbon Black
Feedstock
inlet 3
Oxidant
Fuel
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Partial Quench
Water
Complete Quench
Water
Figure 32
Cabot Furnace Black Reactor
71
A00101.0014.4110.vsd
A 1999 patent(84) describes the use of tandem quenching, and how quenching control (through
residence/reaction time) can be used to determine aggregate size and structure of the black. The patent
describes how the residence time can be reduced to 2 thousandths of a second using this method. The
invention was expanded on to allow either introduction of water, feedstock and/or mixtures of feedstock and
water to the reactor to achieve quench reactions and alter the carbon black properties.
One example is injection of additional feedstock to the reactor downstream of the initial injection point. The
temperature is decreased and the particle size of the blacks produced increases. The combined stream
then passes downstream into conventional cooling by complete quench before entering the heat exchanger.
One favorable example in the 2000 patent(84) describes the majority of the preheated carbon black feedstock
being injected into the stream of hot gases to form a precursor that contains a seed carbon black. A second
and/or third feedstock injection occurs downstream with differing amounts of feedstock from multiple inlets as
indicated in Figure 32 labeled as inlet two or three. Addition of a second feedstock stream partially quenches
the reactions already occurring, resulting in a temperature difference of around 300 °C or more between the
two feedstock injection zones. Quench water from the partial quench inlet may also be used to maintain the
temperature difference to control the conditions required for the particular black grade.(85)
The problem of fouling the air preheater and method to avoid it is described in a 2003 patent.(86) Fouling
occurs in a self-feeding cycle as a result of a temperature gradient in the heat exchanger and consequent
deposition of carbon on the exchanger surface. As the carbon black (and other reactor effluents) builds up
on the internal surface of the heat exchanger, it provides sites for more deposition to occur. The result of
the fouling is less effective heat transfer and potential contamination of the black produced. Fouling is
avoided by maintaining a constant temperature difference between the two (heated and heating) streams
throughout the heat exchanger. This is achieved by a method of controlling the velocity of flows through the
heat exchanger.
A 1993 patent(87) and a more recent 2013 patent(84) teach how to produce low structure carbon blacks using
the furnace reactor in the configuration shown in Figure 33. The invention describes how to make a low
structure carbon black without the use of large volumes of potassium salt. Conventionally, adding potassium
salt to the furnace during operation decreases the black’s structure with the disadvantage of increased
metal content. This leads to increased conductivity, decreased optical density, decreased tint, more
charged groups and more acidity, which may be unsui for coating or printing applications. It is not clear if
the low structure black would be equivalent to a thermal N990 grade carbon black.
The reactor is capable of injecting the fuel into different regions of the reactor via an adjus probe. The
superheated fuel and preheated air (air to fuel ratio of 30 to 35 percent) are contacted in the combustion
zone of the reactor to produce hot combustion gases.

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Quench
Entry Reaction Fluid
Zone Zone
Combustion Converging Carbon Black Transition

Zone Zone Feedstock Inlet Zone
Probe Fuel
Inlet
Quench
Inlet
Fuel
Inlets
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Quench
Inlet
Figure 33
Cabot Low Structure Black Reactor
73
A00101.0014.4110.vsd
Hot combustion gases flow downstream to the transition zone where carbon black feedstock is injected as
before. The reactor design includes options to introduce feedstock through an adjus probe, to the
combustion zone, as well as via the multiple inlets of the reaction zone and downstream of the reaction
zone. Feedstock injected to the reaction zone from a number of inlets, rapidly and completely converts to
carbon black as it contacts the hot gases. Additionally, an auxiliary hydrocarbon, such as natural gas, can
be introduced through the adjus probe or inlets situated in the same plane as the feedstock. This provides
a range of conditions to enable fine tailoring of the carbon black properties.
This reactor also has an adjus quenching zone that allows for the total residence time to be controlled. The
patent describes a reactor that could be installed on a production line committed to specialty carbon black
production.
With respect to new developments, Cabot has patented a method to produce volumes of hydrogen gas or
syngas in addition to carbon black. In each case the gases evolved and the carbon black product require
purification steps.(88)
4.9 China Synthetic rubber Corporation

The China Synthetic Rubber Corporation (also named Xingda Carbon Black Engineering Company) has
seven production sites globally, with one in India, one in Taiwan, two in China and three in the United
States. It is also the full owner of the subsidiary China Rubber Group Carbon Black Research & Design
Institute Southwest Carbon Black (CCBI). It is a hi-tech carbon black enterprise integrated with scientific
research, design, production and services. In 1995, the company acquired the assets of the Continental
Carbon Company along with its carbon black production technology.
China Synthetic Rubber Corp provides a furnace carbon black technology producing a wide range of hard
and soft grade carbon blacks as well as licensing specialized carbon black technology.
CCBI has patented(89,90) technology for the oil and air preheater using the heats of the furnace reactor and
tail gas to preheat the incoming streams of feedstock oil and air (in that order), before they are injected to
the reactor. The technology is unique as it describes integration with the coal tar distillation unit. The carbon
black preheaters, the oil processing cogeneration unit and water treatment system can all make use of the
heats produced in the furnace to aid coal tar distillation. A 1991 patent(91) describes the dual purpose reactor
for producing hard and soft grades of carbon black.
Other developments have addressed the process downstream of the reactor, including a self-cleaning filter
system(92) in which the mechanical filters used in some Chinese plants is replaced with a more conventional
means of purging filters with cycled gas.(93) CCBI has also developed its own granulation technology(94)
making use of a triple helix for the teeth of the granulator, which according to the patent is more efficient
than other methods. Advances to the rotary dryer(95) include a method of sealing the feed and discharge
end of the dryer.(96,(97)
A 2011 patent(98) addresses the after treatment required to produce a high surface area black by adding an
activation agent such as n-octanol to the reactor at a pressure of 1.6 MPa and 1 650 °C. Other favorable
examples include addition of calcium stearate, nickel carbonyl and glycerol stearate. The surface areas
produced range from 350 to 650 m2g-1. The best results are achieved using acetone and ethylene glycol at
1.2 MPa and 1 600 °C, to produce a carbon black with a surface area of 1 500 m2g-1 in a generation time
of two seconds.
A 2012 patent(99) describes a gas phase chemical purification to produce a high purity carbon black for use
as a pigment or as a conductive black in a high purity lithium ion battery. The after treatment involves
heating carbon black in a closed reactor at 0.1 MPa with carbon tetrachloride at a temperature of 900 to

100101.200.2020.017
3500 °C for 5 minutes. A high temperature inert gas such as nitrogen is passed through the reactor to
remove the purifying gas and to cool the carbon black. The resulting black is very pure; it has an ash content
of less than 100 ppm, low metallic impurity content and low moisture content.
4.9.1 Thermal Black
A 2013 patent(100) describes the thermal black furnace shown in Figure 34. The furnace body is divided into
a preheating section and a cracking section. The feedstock is sprayed from the top of the reactor, through
the preheating section. The preheating section is constructed from a crisscross arrangement of heat storage
bricks in grid like layers that allow a passage of gas through in a vertical direction. The lower end of the
reactor is the cracking section.
Natural gas (in the form of coal bed methane) is used to preheat the heat storage bricks, raising the
temperature of the natural gas from 800 to 1 000 °C in a short time to avoid generation of carbon black.
The reactor has a high temperature zone that heats the preheat section. The arrangement basically allows
a heating and cracking cycle in the same reactor, and a longer cracking cycle at a narrowly controlled
temperature range.
Preheating is achieved by circulation of the feedstock through heat storage bricks in the upper layers.
Cracking occurs in the cavity of the cracking section. From inspection of the patent, it appears that the lower
cracking section is heated by fuel combusted with an excess of oxygen, using radiated heat. The reactor
uses the heat of pyrolysis to preheat the heat retaining bricks in the upper preheating level, which is used
to preheat the feedstock before cracking. The carbon black outlet and a heat storage smoke gas outlet are
located at the bottom of the reactor.

100101.200.2020.017
Figure 34 CCBI Reactor
NATURAL GAS
INLET
COMBUSTION
CHAMBER
HEAT RETAINING
CHECKERED
REFRACTORY
PATTERN TILE
FURNACE LINING
BRICKS
IRREGULAR SHAPED VENT (BLAST

HEAT RETAINING BRICKS PROOF VENT)
HEAT
RETAINING
BRICKS
CARBON BLACK
OUTLET
FLUE GAS OUTLET
CARBON BLACK
FOR HEAT
OUTLET
RETAINING BRICKS
SQUARE HEAT
RESISISTANT
BRICKS
4.10 DENKA Denki Kagaku Kogyo KaBushiki Kaisha

Denka Denki Kagaku Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha (DENKA) was established in 1915. It set up its acetylene
black plant on Merbau Island, Singapore in 1984, followed by expansions in 1997 and a new line for granular
acetylene black in 2001.
DENKA specializes in Denka Black, an acetylene black produced by the thermal decomposition of
acetylene. It is a very pure, conductive black, manufactured especially for use in dry battery cells and power
cables.
DENKA utilizes a vertical type thermal decomposition furnace operating at 1 800 to 2 200 °C depending on
the desired acetylene black quality. Due to the exothermic nature of acetylene decomposition, temperatures
in the reactor can reach 2 500 °C or more. Because the acetylene black structure becomes weak at
temperatures above 2 400 °C, and a tarry substance is produced below 1 700 °C, the reactor temperature
must be tightly controlled.
Conventionally, production occurs in a water cooled retort with an electric arc used to maintain the
decomposition. However, DENKA found that using water cooled reactors led to build up of carbonaceous
materials on the inner furnace walls and subsequent issues such as adding impurities to the final product.
Instead of cooling water, DENKA utilizes a cooling gas of hydrogen, an exothermally decomposable
hydrocarbon and nitrogen to maintain the temperature in the reactor.

100101.200.2020.017
The exothermally decomposable unsaturated hydrocarbon is added to ensure the temperature difference
between the cooling gases is not too high, so as to not adversely influence the carbon blacks structure.
Table 16 shows the heats of formation and the temperatures reached for a range of hydrocarbons; benzene,
toluene, ethylene and butadiene are suitable alternatives. Use of the unsaturated hydrocarbon has the
additional advantage that its carbon content can be recovered as part of the carbon black.(101)
Table 16Heats of Formation and Theoretical Maximum Temperatures
Involved in Decomposition of Selected Hydrocarbons(7)
Maximum Heat or Formation Kcal/kg MOL
Temperature, °C (1 atm, 25 °C)
C2H2 (acetylene) 2 500 54.19 x 103 (G)
C3H4 (methyl-acetylene) 1 460 44.32 x 103 (G)
C4H6 (ethyl-acetylene) 1 010 39.48 x 103 (G)
C4H6 (1,2-butadiene) 990 38.77 x 103 (G)
C4H6 (dimethyl-acetylene) 910 34.97 x 103 (G)
C4H6 (1,3-butadiene) 720 26.33 x 103 (G)
C6H8 (1,2-pentadiene) 720 34.80 x 103 (G)
C8H8 (styrene) 600 35.22 x 103 (G)
C2H4 (ethylene) 600 12.50 x 103 (G)
C6H6 (benzene) 480 19.82 x 103 (G)
C7H8 (toluene) 280 11.95 x 103 (G)
C3H6 (propylene) 180 4.88 x 103 (G)
C8H10 (ethyl-benzene) 130 7.12 x 103 (G)
C8H10 (p-xylene) 80 4.29 x 103 (G)
The acetylene and cooling gas mixture (containing the hydrocarbon such as ethylene), is fed from the top
of the reactor while the decomposition products are discharged from the bottom of the reactor. The reaction
is self-sustaining due to the heats of decomposition.(102)
DENKA’s technology has been continuously enhanced over the years, including improved mixing between
the cooling gases and acetylene as described in a 1995 Japanese patent.(103) By introducing cooling gases
from four strategic angles at the top and bottom of the reactor, good mixing with the acetylene fed from the
top of the reactor can be achieved, and hot spots can be avoided. The improved mixing is claimed to result
in increased heat control and better product quality.
The most recent patent developments from DENKA describe production of conductive fibrous carbon black
composites, at 600 to 1 000 °C.(104) A 2012 patent(102) describes production of a highly conductive acetylene
black, where small amounts of benzene, ferrocene and thiophene are added to the hydrogen cooling gas
to increase conductivity.
4.11 EuroTecnica SpA
Eurotecnica is an Italian-based engineering and contracting company established in 1962 and
headquartered in Milano. Eurotecnica is part of Proman Group - a corporation with assets in Trinidad &
Tobago, USA, Mexico, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Portugal, Oman. Their proprietary ET Black™
Technology is based on the furnace black process type.
ET Black™ Process has been selected by companies the likes of ADNOC Takreer for their facilities at
Ruwais Refinery in UAE and by Carbon Simorgh in Mahallat, Iran. Within the frame of U.A.E. Abu Dhabi

100101.200.2020.017
strategy to reduce its reliance on the crude oil market by developing a number of downstream sectors,
ADNOC decided to implement a carbon black & delayed coker complex (CBDC) at the Ruwais Refinery.
The purpose of this new complex was to produce Hard Black grades, in particular the N115 semi conductive
and N220 UV Grade. Both high value-added grades are used for production of plastic pipes for water supply
and wire/cable products. Both require very low grit residue and no-taste/no-smell feature.
What is noteworthy is that the ET Black™ is able to run on some desulfurized feedstocks (main and
secondary) with particularly low BMCI, 91 and 95 respectively. The feedstock in fact comes out of a Slurry
Oil Hydro-Desulfurization Unit that treats the Residue Fluid Catalytic Cracker (RFCC). While the treatment
confers the desirable characteristic of very low sulfur content, on the other way around it is responsible for
the further deterioration of the BMCI.
By the end of 2018, the ET Black™ Carbon Black unit, capable of producing more than 40,000 ton/year of
carbon black, was commissioned in UAE, able to treat very low BMCI (85-92) hydrotreated slurry oil and
produce grades with very low Grit and high tint specs.
Eurotecnica licenses carbon black technology with separate reactors for hard black and soft black using
proven designs. Both reactor types are able to treat any different type of feedstock oils, such as FCC Slurry
Oil, Hydro-treated RFCC Slurry Oil, Ethylene Tar Oil, Heavy Oil from Coal Tar Oil.
Figure 4.18 shows the major steps for ET Black™ furnace carbon black technology. Feedstock oil is stored
at around 60 to 90 °C, depending on the type of feedstock, and stirred by occasional circulation or mixing.
The feedstock is pumped through steam powered suction heaters to make it more fluid and filtered to
remove extraneous bodies. Were the extraneous bodies to remain, they could potentially affect the
performance and integrity of the downstream equipment. The feedstock is preheated from 200 to 250 °C
and injected into the reactor.
Eurotecnica designs and utilizes both soft and hard reactors to produce the whole range of ASTM grade
blacks. Common to all reactors is a gas tight metal jacket to control material flows, lined inside with a high
alumina refractory (composed of high alumina content and completely chrome-free to avoid risk of chrome
pollution during the disposal) that can withstand high temperatures of over 2 000 °C. Typically, the reactor
has a combustion zone in which hot combustion gases are produced, followed by a mixing and reaction
zone in which feedstock is introduced, a reaction/continuation zone and a quenching zone to terminate the
reactions.
The hard black reactor is operated at 0.05 MPa. Air is first preheated from 800 to 900 °C before its
introduction to the reactor, simultaneously cooling the smoke, composed by carbon black and combustion
gases, before it enters the filter bag unit. For a standard hard black grade of carbon black, the pre-heated
air and pre-heated auxiliary fuel (natural gas, fuel oil or conversion oil) are injected to the combustion zone
of the reactor and combusted to produce hot gases at temperatures greater than 1900 °C. The feedstock
is atomized and sprayed inside the reactor through nozzles designed to provide maximum contact of the
feedstock with the hot combustion gases. The feedstock vaporizes then pyrolyzes in the vapor phase to
produce carbon black and tail gases.

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CONVERSION
COOLER
Feedstock Flue Gas
to Atm.
Off Gas to Boiler
Process Air Conversion Oil
to Other Stm from Other
Reactors Off Gas to Dryer Combustion Furnace
Air Reactors CONVERSION
HEATER
Boiler Off Gas BOILER
Feedwater Quench From STACK
Water Main Bag
CONVERSION Conversion Oil Filter
OIL TANK Condensate to Other
Stm Reactors
RE-PRESSURE DENOX
COMPRESSOR
Additives
Vent to Atmosphere MAIN BAG FILTER Boiler
TAIL GAS BOILER
Feedwater
Process
REACTOR Water
BOILER DISCHARGE Air
AIR VENTURE CONVEYOR
PREHEATER Stm From

SCRUBBER
Booster Fan
Boiler
Conden- Feedwater Condensate
sate Blowdown
Fuel
Blow HP Steam
Down
HARD BLACK
CONVERSION MICRO
REACTOR QUENCH
OIL PREHEATER Quench PULVERIZER
Water TOWER
Carbon Black to Cyclone
Tail Gas from Bag Filter

BOOSTER Vent to Atm.
FAN Vent to Atm.
To Quench Tower
100101.200.2020.017
Instrument Air
DRYER
STACK
Air
Carbon Black from Bag Filter

PURGE GAS
FILTER
CYCLONE DENOX
COMPRESSOR COMBUSTION
Kerosine LOOSE BLACK FURNACE AIR PELLET PRODUCT
FURNACE PREHEATER
SURGE TANK SCREW CONVEYOR
Stm
Molasses
STORAGE
BIN
Water PELLETIZER
ROTARY DRYER
Steam SCREW
Condensate CONVEYOR Storage
and
BUCKET Packing
ELEVATOR
Figure 35
Eurotecnica ET Black™ CB Process
79
A00101.0014.4110.vsd
The soft black reactor operates at lower temperatures and velocities than those required for hard grade
reactors. The air is preheated from 600 to 700 °C before injection to the reactor. The feedstock is preheated
from 200 to 250 °C before being injected into the reactor operating at 0.05 MPa. In the case of the soft
black reactor, no auxiliary fuel is required since lower heats are used.
Quenching is achieved by spraying the gases and carbon with a cooling medium (usually water), cooling
the gases from around 500 to 800 °C. By using multiple quenching inlets at different locations within the
quenching chambers, the effective reaction volume of the reactor may be adjusted allowing residence times
to vary from 10 to hundreds of milliseconds (ms). The quench has the additional task of cooling the reaction
products before they exit the reactor.
Energy from the hot smoke outlet of the reactor is recovered by heat transfer in the reaction air preheater,
in the reactor boiler to produce medium pressure steam, and in the reactor feedstock oil preheater. The
reactor effluent then passes to a quench tower, further cooling the effluent in the range of 280 to 300 °C
before it enters the main bag filter. The filter is normally a reverse flow bag type, though different filter types
can be used.
Carbon black is separated from the off gases in the main bag filter. In the case of the bag type filter, it may
contain hundreds of bags in multiple chambers, with a total filtering surface area of thousands of square
meters, the bag filter essentially removes 100 percent carbon black from the smoke containing gases. The
filters are glass fibers coated with graphite and silicone. Due to the water vapor content of the filtered gas,
the filter is operated at temperatures around 250 °C to avoid water condensation. The reactor effluent enters
the bottom of the bags, depositing carbon particles on the bags surface, while the off gas leaves overhead.
After a certain amount of time, the carbon black layer becomes thick on the filter bags and is removed in a
cleaning cycle controlled by a timing sequence. In a multi compartment filter, the exhaust valve closes,
stopping flow, a repressure valve opens allowing reverse flow through the bags cleaning the layer of carbon
black from the inside of the bag. Pulse-jet cleaning of the filters may be used in some circumstances. The
carbon black falls by gravity into a hopper and it is fed out using a screw conveyor and processed, when
necessary, in special equipment such as micro pulverizers and/or micromills where the grit (hard particles)
is crushed and reduced in very fine particle size.
The tail gas in the header depending on the feedstock specifications consists of water vapor, nitrogen,
carbon dioxide and combustibles components such as methane, hydrogen and carbon monoxide which
determines a LHV of the gas around 720 Kcal/Nm3. In case sulfur is present in the feedstock, SO2 will be
also contained in the Tail Gas in a quantity depending from the sulfur content in the feedstock.
Residual carbon black in the tail gas is maintained at less than 30 to 40 ppm. The tail gas is sent mainly to
the tail gas boiler and a fraction is diverted to the drying section where it is used in the drier combustion
furnace providing heat for drying wet pellets.
The balance tail gas, not utilized in the dryer combustion furnace, is burned in a tail gas boiler for producing
steam. About 2% of the steam is utilized in the ET Black™ process, while the remaining part can be either
exported to local users or supplied to a power block for the generation of electricity.
If the sulfur content in the feedstock is low, no further treatment to flue gas from the tail gas boiler is required.
Vice versa, the local environmental regulations have to be checked whether necessary to implement a SOx
removal unit for the flue gas from tail gas boiler, before being released to the atmosphere.
The energy recovered in a carbon black plant can be converted in electricity. A carbon black line the
nameplate capacity of 50 kty is able to generate 10 MWe.

100101.200.2020.017
After milling in the micro pulverizers, the carbon black is pneumatically conveyed to a cyclone, where the
conveying gas and any remaining off gas are separated from the black and recycled upstream to the quench
tower while the black falls by gravity into the loose black surge tank. Initial densification takes place in the
surge tank as gas is released from the fluffy black powder. The black is then fed to the pelletizer along with
water and special additives to form strong wet pellets.
The pelletizer is a rotating shaft covered with sharp edged pins in a double helix configuration seated in a
horizontal cylinder. The axis of the pelletizer rotates at around 500 rpm, the speed being a variable used to
control the pellet quality. During pelletization, the pelletizing agent dissolved in water is injected via spray
nozzles and the density of the pelletized material is increased approximately 10 times that of the original
black. Molasses (or alternatively sodium lignosulfate) is the agent for binding.
The carbon black pellets still containing around 50 weight percent water, in the form of wet, strong, spherical
pellets are fed by a screw feeder to the dryer. Vaporized water and any powdered carbon black are removed
by filtration and cycled back to the surge tank, while any hot gases are released to the atmosphere.
The drum of each drier is made of stainless steel, and has a diameter of 2 m and length of 20 m. Residence
times may be up to two hours. The water vapor is removed by a dryer exhaust fan; the atmosphere is
controlled since it is important to the quality of the product. Atmospheric air is drawn into the dryer drum
from its discharge end. Any carbon black that escapes the drier is collected in a filter and recycled.
Drying occurs at around 200 °C (150 to 230 °C) allowing further modifications such as oxidation of the
surface (if required) of the black’s properties. Additives, such as sulfur oxo acids may be added during the
drying stage to increase rubber strength and improve the black’s dispersibility in rubber compounding.
Combustible tail gas from the main bag filter stage is burnt and used for indirect heating (via the refractory
lined jacket of the dryer), in the drier combustion furnace. The combustion gas stream from the dryer
combustor leads to a dryer fire box providing indirect and direct heating. The exhaust dryer gas is passed
through the exhaust bag filter to collect any dust. The pellets leaving the dryer contain less than 1 percent
water.
The dried pellets are elevated to the top of the silos by bucket elevator, then fed through a strong magnetic
separator to remove eventual small pieces of solid iron due to accidentally breakage of parts of equipment,
before the black is collected in the product tank, and sent to the storage tank or packing station.
Off spec carbon black may be collected when a new production line is started or a different grade is
produced. Depending on its properties, off spec black may be blended with material from subsequent
production or used in applications where quality is not so critical.
Key features of ET BlackTM technologies claimed can be summarized as per the following:
 Able to treat very low BMCI (85-92) hydrotreated slurry oil (where the benchmark is typically 110)
 High operating flexibility, with easiness to shift from one CB grade to another in less than 2 hours,
minimizing lost production time and off-spec material.
 High Performance Reactors due to peculiar design. A single reactor, either it be for soft or hard
black grades, is capable to produce all relevant ASTM grades.

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4.12 Kvaerner ASA

Kvaerner was established as a specialized oil and gas EPC company in 2010 after a successful demerger
from Aker Solutions. Aker Holding remains a long term investor in Kvaerner engineering.
Kvaerner developed a process in the 1980s called the Kvaerner Carbon Black & Hydrogen Process
(CB&H). It started commercial carbon black and hydrogen production in June 1999 in Montreal, Canada.
The plant produced 20 000 tons per year carbon black and 2.5 billion cubic feet of hydrogen per year, but
was closed in 2003 due to poor economic conditions.(105,106,107) The hydrogen was sold to/used in an
adjacent petroleum refinery. The technology remains proprietary. From inspection of the literature, the
general consensus is that both carbon bridging between the electrodes (resulting in short circuiting) and a
high degree of electrode consumption were the main causes of the poor economic conditions that led to
the plant closure.
Previously, Boxer Industries, (a U.S. company that claims to develop innovative, cost effective and
environmentally sustainable technologies) proposed constructing a pilot plant in Redwood City, California
U.S., using Kvaerner’s technology. The proposal submitted in 2013 was declined due to possible
environmental impacts.(108) Recently in 2015, Monolith announced plans to build a commercial scale carbon
black facility adjacent to Nebraska Public Power District’s power plant in Hallam, Nebraska (NE). The by-
product hydrogen will replace coal as the fuel for a power plant boiler. The plant started up in 2019 and
also uses Kvaerner’s technology.
Particular advantages claimed during the commercialization in 1999 include:

 Almost 100 percent feedstock efficiency, resulting in purer carbon black and lower process costs.
The only impurities are those introduced by the feedstock
 Feedstock flexibility; all hydrocarbons from light gases to heavy oil residues can be used as
feedstock. Electrical energy demand per ton of carbon black product is reduced when the carbon
fraction in the feedstock is increased, though at decreased hydrogen production
 Carbon black grade flexibility and quality, by controlling the reaction temperature. By varying the
electrical energy supplied to the torch, plasma gas and feedstock rates and the location and number
of injection points, different grades of carbon black can be produced in the reactor. Grades ranging
from N300 to N700 can be produced
 Lower carbon black production costs. This claim comes with the caveat that customers must be
found for the hydrogen produced (in addition to the carbon black)
 Modular process, i.e. capacity can be increased by adding modules
The process makes use of a high temperature plasma burner to split the natural gas (or other feedstock)
and reuse some of the hydrogen produced to supply the plasma. The major inputs are feedstock and the
electrical energy demand of the plasma torch. The process can theoretically produce any kind of carbon
black by control of the pyrolytic process parameters for carbon black formation.

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The reaction mechanism is described as a series of dehydrogenation steps from methane (CH4) via ethane
(C2H6), ethylene (C2H4) and acetylene (C2H2) to produce carbon (C) black. Acetylene is the most important
intermediate in the reaction mechanism:
2CH4 → C2H6 + H2 → C2H4 + H2 → C2H2 + H2 → 2C + H2
Since the thermal stability of ethane and ethylene is low, the conversion to acetylene is very fast. The
scheme above is a simplification, since the step from acetylene to carbon is, according to the literature, in
fact a polymerization to a large aromatic via benzene.(109)
Figure 36 shows the process flow for the CB&H process. The plasma torch and the attached reactor
chamber are the most important components. The hydrocarbon feedstock is decomposed in the plasma
torch and further processed in the reactor.(110)
The plasma torch generates thermal plasma (charged gaseous ions) by discharging direct current (DC),
normally by using two electrodes. The electric arc is formed between the graphite electrodes, in the case
of the original Kvaerner technology, and is used to continually ionize the gases in an avalanche type
ionization process to produce plasma. The plasma jet/flame is generated by continuous input of the
carrier/working gas. The thermal plasma is projected out of the torch as a plasma flame or jet.
The plasma torch is equipped with a magnetic coil enabling the rotation of the arc to maintain homogeneous
plasma gas temperature and low even electrode consumption. The electrode is consumed during the
process. Graphite electrodes are used since they can be continuously replenished, do not pollute the
products, and are cheaper to use than non-consumable electrodes.
The Kvaerner plasma torch is described in a 1996 patent.(111) It uses tubular electrodes, comprising one
exterior electrode and a central electrode. The electrodes are cooled by a cooling medium supplied through
channels within the electrodes, in an annular shape with an annular coil around all the electrodes.
The annular coil creates the magnetic field. Within the central electrode in contact with the inner cooled wall
is a ferromagnetic material that concentrates the magnetic field to control the DC arc.
Each electrode can be positioned independently of the others; the reactor may also use more than one
plasma torch. By using electrodes composed of graphite the process is non-polluting and the electrode
wear materials can be converted to carbon black in the same way as the reactants.
The magnetic coil allows control of the arc while the plasma is burning, hence the arcs rotation rate can be
controlled and the arc can be extended down the length of the electrode. In this way, residence time and
temperature can be controlled. The temperature is also controlled by power supplied to the plasma torch
and the rate of methane input.
Energy supplied by direct radiation of the plasma torch and convection by the plasma gas provides energy
to evaporate the feedstock and achieve pyrolysis temperature. Heat exchange is used to recover heat
which is used to preheat the plasma gas and feedstock. Any excess heat can be used to produce steam
for export or electricity generation.

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PLASMA FLAME
TORCH STACK
HYDROGEN
COMPRESSOR
HYDROGEN
SUPPLY
REACTOR
CHAMBER
FILTER
BAGS
FINISHING
COOLER
PIPE
COOLER Preheated
ARGON Plasma Gas
SUPPLY
MAIN
FILTER
Preheated
Feed Gas FILTER SILO
100101.200.2020.017
NITROGEN
SUPPLY

METHANE DRAIN
EVAPORATOR CYCLONE WITH
STORAGE TRAP
COOLER
TANK
Carbon Black
Product
Source:
EP 0 635 044 B1
07.02.1996 Bulletin 1996/06
Inventors:
LYNUM, Steinar N-0284 Oslo (NO); HOX, Ketil N-7021 Trondheim (NO);
HAUGSTEN, Kjell, E. N-0370 Oslo (NO); LANG Y, Jostein N-3430
Spikkestad (NO) SLAG SILO-
COARSE GRAINS
Carbon Black Product
Figure 36
System for Production of Carbon Black
84
A00101.0014.4110.vsd
The decomposition reactor is an insulated chamber with an inlet for admixtures/gases in its walls. Methane
is introduced into the reactor chamber through a liquid cooled tube, where it is decomposed by at high
temperature with heat supplied by the plasma burner. Preheated (1 000 to 2 000 °C) feedstock can also be
supplied though ports in the side of the reactor to tune the carbon blacks properties. The additional methane
is decomposed in the reactor in a similar manner to the methane from the plasma torch. The already formed
carbon particles act as nuclei onto which decomposed carbon will deposit and grow. Inlets at the bottom of
the reactor can introduce feedstock that deposits on existing particles resulting in larger more compact
particles.
The reactor effluent is cooled and the heats used to preheat plasma gas and feedstock gas. The effluent
stream passes through a cyclone to separate coarse particles, is further cooled and then enters a filter,
where hydrogen is separated and taken off above, while carbon black product is collected in the filter silo.
The hydrogen can be recovered and used to sell to other industries or stored for later use. A portion of it is
also used to supply the plasma torch. The flame stack is a safety addition to allow gas to be burnt off if
necessary. Argon and nitrogen may also be supplied for safety reasons.
4.13 Mitsubishi Carbon

Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation was incorporated in 1994 with the merger of Mitsubishi Kasei Corporation
and Mitsubishi Petrochemical Company Ltd. It manufactures and sells various types of carbon black
produced by furnace technology. The company has developed its own technology, and apparently does
not license it to other companies.
Mitsubishi has a significant number of patents relating to the process and reactor design dating back to the
1980s.(112) Areas of development have included the means of mixing feedstock with hot combustion gases,
the nozzle design for introducing feedstock into the reactor,(113,114) pelletization,(115)and surface treatments.(116)
Mitsubishi’s 1994 patent(117) describes an advanced reactor (Figure 37) used to produce both soft and hard
carbon blacks. It features multiple inlets for feedstock introduction and multiple quench points to allow
residence time and velocity to be well controlled. The reactor has a flexible geometry and makes use of
accelerating the gases into a mixing zone to achieve good mixing of feedstock with hot combustion gases
and the option to introduce hot combustion gases from other inlets to promote turbulence. The multiple
feedstock inlets allow further tailoring of the carbon black. A 2007 patent (118) describes a similar reactor
though with slightly different geometry to produce a carbon black used as a printing ink.

100101.200.2020.017
FEEDSTOCK
THROAT
INLETS
QUENCH
INLETS
AIR INLET
FUEL INLET
100101.200.2020.017
INLET FOR HIGH
TEMPERATURE
COMBUSTION GAS
Third Reaction First Reaction

Second Reaction Zone
Zone Zone
Figure 37
Mitsubishi Reactor
86
A00101.0014.4110.vsd
Mitsubishi Carbon has also patented designs for preheating feedstocks and fuel, as well as filter bags
amongst other arrangements.
A more recent (2012) patent(119) describes the production of a green carbon black with a high specific
surface area using an animal or plant oil as raw material. Examples of feedstock include animal tallow and
wood tar oils derived from Japanese cedar or oak trees. Although the process uses renewable raw
materials, the carbonization of the wood necessary to produce the tar is not particularly green.
4.14 Orion Engineered Carbon

Orion Engineered Carbon resulted from the acquisition of the former Evonik Carbon Black business by two
private equity companies (Triton Partners and Rhone Capital) in July 2011. The company specializes solely
in carbon black manufacture and operates a number of production sites at several strategic locations
globally, including a site in South Africa. Orion’s 2014 production capacity is 1.4 million tons.
Orion produces more than 200 different grades of carbon black and is the number one specialty carbon
black producer. It has more than 100 years of experience in carbon black based on the legacies of Evonik,
Degussa and Continental Carbon. Orion produces and holds technology for furnace, thermal, gas and lamp
blacks, and has formed joint ventures with companies wishing to use its technology.
4.14.1 Furnace Black
Based on inspection of the patent literature, Orion’s furnace design seems to be based on technology
originally developed by Philips Petroleum Company and later acquired by Degussa. The reactor is believed
to be one of the first next generation reactors capable of producing all grades of carbon black from one
reactor. The method has the advantage over the two reactor system in reducing the capital costs and
simplifying the process by removing additional preheat and feed systems. Figure 38 shows the main
components of Orion’s furnace reactor.(120,121)
The reactor has adjustable geometry so that the volume, shape and number of quench sites (and hence
effective reaction volume and residence time) can be modified. This enables control over the carbon black
morphology and properties.
Preheated fuel is burnt with the aid of preheated air to produce high temperature combustion gases of
1200 to 1900 °C for a typical reinforcing carbon black. The hot combustion gases pass through the reactor
to a narrowed reaction zone. Feedstock oil can be injected from a number of nozzles at, before or just after
the narrowest point, depending on the grade of black desired. By having multiple feedstock inlets, a high
mixing rate with the hot combustion gases can be achieved. This ensures high carbon black yields by rapid
and complete decomposition of the feedstock.
The feedstock can also be injected through the axial lance enabling feedstock to be injected to most
locations in the reactor to achieve good control of the decomposition temperature. Once the desired
residence time is achieved, the reaction is stopped by means of a water quench nozzle. By controlling the
flow speed through the reactor and by adjusting the position of the quenching nozzle, residence times
ranging from 1 ms to 1 s can be achieved, with a corresponding impact on the aggregate size distribution
of the black.

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Combustion Air
Oil Nozzle Reactor Narrow

Point Reaction
Zone
Natural Gas
Burner
Combustion Chamber
Adjustable Lance
100101.200.2020.017
Water
Quench

Optional Feeds
Figure 38
Orion Carbon Black Reactor
88
A00101.0014.4110.vsd
Orion has patented a number of atomizer designs and licenses this technology to other producers. The
2004 patent(122) and 2011 application(123) describe the nozzle or nozzles used within the reactor for efficient
atomization. The atomizer can provide internal or external mixing of liquid or gaseous carbon black material
and may be a single unit or include two components. The vaporized carbon black feedstock can be used
to atomize the liquid feed, or alternatively, a change in pressure will atomize the liquid on injection.
The droplet size can be controlled by throughput using the one fluid atomizer and is independent of
throughput in the case of two fluid atomizers. The two fluid nozzles are operated at 0.6 to 0.8 MPa and
provide good controllable atomization. However, additional energy is required in the form of air or steam.
The single fluid nozzles are operated at pressures of 0.6 to 6 MPa.
The single reactor is flexible, and is used to make a range of blacks with different structures. A 2002
patent(124) describes a seeding method in which feedstock oil is introduced into the combustion zone to
produce initial carbon black nucleation sites. Additional carbon black can be added to the black particles in
a downstream zone. Another variation includes introducing silicon oil into the reactor (the resulting black is
used to produce rubber which has a reduced rolling resistance) or carbon black may also be introduced
with the silicon oil.
The carbon surface contains active groups of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen that continue to react with
surface reactions such as the Boudouard (redox reaction of carbon dioxide and carbon to carbon monoxide
or vice versa) and water gas reactions for as long as the particles are surrounded by gases at high
temperature. Downstream of the reaction chamber, a continuation chamber allows the carbon black growth
reaction to continue. The reaction products moving at high velocity are then quenched by a number of water
sprays.
The quenching zone of the reactor may have a number of quenching chambers equipped with water
introducing spray nozzles. Each chamber has a larger volume than the chamber that precedes it. The
change in volume allows adiabatic expansion of the gases, allowing the temperature to lower in a Joule-
Thomson expansion. In this way, the total residence time can be controlled.
4.14.2 Gas Black
The gas black process is similar to the channel black process in that both are operated in open systems
using a number of small diffusion flames. Degussa developed the gas black process in 1935 to produce a
black with similar properties to channel black, although with better economics. Orion is the sole producer
of gas black globally. The product has a positive hue contribution for coatings as a pigment, UV stabilizer,
and can be used as a conductive black.(125)
Figure 39 shows the 3D representation of the reactor. The reactor, cooling gap and exhaust hood are made
of stainless steel to prevent any grit forming impurities. The carbon black feedstock is vaporized from a
continuously fed vaporizer which has an oil drain attached to remove any residue. The hydrogen rich carrier
gas (containing 70 to 100 percent hydrogen) carries the vaporized oil to the burner pipe, which has a
number of slits. The carrier gas and carbon black feedstock can optionally be mixed with hot air and/or a
salt solution of potassium carbonate and passed into the burner pipe.
The gas mixture is burnt while ambient air and the flames are drawn in by suction through the cooled narrow
gap. The stream is cooled from behind the cooling gap surface using cooling water.

100101.200.2020.017
Figure 39 Orion Gas Black Generator
Exhaust
Hood
Cooled
Narrowing
Gap
B LE
TA
US E
A DJ PIP
HT ER
IG RN
HE BU
In the conventional method, the flames from the burners impinge on water cooled rollers. Carbon black
deposited on the rollers is scraped off and the gaseous carbon black is collected within the filters of a
conventional filter bag system. The gas black streams collected from the rollers and the filters are combined
and further processed, such as milling to achieve uniform size, and then sent to packing.
A 2011 patent(126) describes a process in which an aerosol of black is produced and collected in the filter
bag unit and not deposited on the cooling surface. The product is a carbon black with a narrow aggregate
size distribution, achieved without the need to mill. Figure 40 shows the cross section of the cooling gap
used in Orion’s carbon black aerosol technology.
The key to the process is forming a thin boundary layer of particle free gas between the flame and the cold
surface so the black does not settle on the surface. The boundary layer is produced by injecting air or an
inert gas along the cooling surface. The exhaust hood is designed to follow the shape of narrowing gap to
prevent loss of product while waste gases are removed in a waste gas handler. Energy in the form of tail
gases is recovered and used to produce steam and/or electricity. The patent also describes the use of a
wire mesh to center the flame and promote an accelerated laminar flow (without turbulence), so that the
carbon black aerosol can be produced.

100101.200.2020.017
Figure 40 Carbon Black Aerosol Technology

Carbon Black
Aerosol
Cooling Gap
Cooling Water
BURNER
NOZZLE
Wire Mesh for

Stabilizing the
Flame
Air
Fuel (Acetylene/Air/
O2)
Since the process does not use rotating parts, the capital and maintenance costs are reduced, and the
need for homogenizing the product by milling is eliminated. Overall levels of impurities are reduced, since
no mechanical processing is required in the form of scraping cooling surfaces and milling.
4.14.3 Lamp Black
The lamp black process was described in Section 4.1.7. Orion’s website states that the Lamp Black process
produces one type of specialty carbon black and one type of rubber black characterized by a broad particle
size of 60- more than 200 nm. A 2010 patent(127) application describes how the lamp black is processed in
a rotary ball mill to mechanically reduce the size structure of the product, and improve its use as filler.

100101.200.2020.017
4.14.4 Other Developments

A 2013 patent(128) describes a process for after treatment of blacks to increase the volatile content of the
product. Carbon black is subjected to a flow of carrier gas, such as air, nitrogen or combustion off gases,
using a fluidized bed. An additional gas stream containing a reactive component such as ozone, formic acid
or a halogen or an inert gas is introduced at an angle opposite to or almost opposite to the direction of the
main gas flow. The resulting change in surface properties of the carbon black promotes increased
interaction with the binder in coating applications.
A 2011 patent application describes how coupling carbon black production with sugar, graphite or silicon
dioxide production can be achieved. The patent describes using the energy released during the furnace
black process to generate electrical energy for use in melt furnaces, etc.
4.15 Petrokemija d.d. Kutina

Petrokemija d.d. Kutina is a Croatian chemicals producer with its own technology for carbon black
production. The 32 000 plant was mothballed in 2009 due to the financial problems at the time. The plant
produces a range of soft and hard grades of carbon black making use of two reactors. Petrokemija is
apparently trying to sell the plant and license its carbon black technology.
4.16 Philips Carbon Black Limited

Philips Carbon Black Limited (PCBL) is a leading producer of carbon black in India and is ranked number
seven in terms of carbon black capacity globally. Established in 1960, the company produces specialty and
standard grades of carbon black. It has announced plans to back integrate to coal tar pitch, creosote oil
and naphthalene to reduce the costs of production.
PCBL claims it is the first carbon black producer in the world to receive carbon credits for its captive green
power plant at Palej, which makes use of the tail gases to produce electricity and sell it to the grid. It has a
total power generation capacity of 76 MW in India.
PCBL was developed in association with Philips Petroleum, Sid Richardson and Columbian Chemicals and
is not available for licensing. The original manufacturing process was patented by Philips Petroleum
Company, U.S.A., who was a collaborator of PCBL until 1978. PCBL then entered a technical agreement
with Columbian Chemicals Company in 1988 and received access to modern technology. It acquired
Gujarat Carbon & industries Limited in 1996 and merged with Carbon and Chemicals India Limited in in
1997.
4.17 Imerys Graphite & Carbon (Formerly Timcal)

Imerys Graphite & Carbon (formerly TIMCAL which was acquired in 2004) is a Swiss-based company with
a 100 year history of carbon production. The TIMCAL MMM process has been used to produce carbon
black commercially since 1982. It produces conductive carbon blacks, a niche area with a small but profit
market that accounts for less than one percent of the total carbon black market.(129)
The TIMCAL MMM process is based on partial oil oxidation. In contrast to the conventional carbon black
process, it uses low flow rates, no cold water quenching and no additives. However, the production costs
are high due to the costs of raw materials, equipment and the technology requirements. The MMM
technology produces a series of carbon black products under the ENSACO™ and SUPER P™ series
monikers. These are conductive carbon black products with high purity (metal impurity content below
50 ppm, ash content less than 0.1 percent), which are widely used in lithium batteries.

100101.200.2020.017
The MMM reactor is proprietary technology. Within the literature the MMM process carbon blacks are
always compared with plasma blacks. All the patents submitted by TIMCAL and Erachem Europe are
related to production of carbon black using plasma technology.
A 2000 patent(130) describes a reactor using a three electrode plasma torch to produce carbon black. The
three electrodes are controlled to direct the plasma flame. The feedstock is passed through an arc zone to
produce carbon black and hydrogen, and the product effluent is quenched at the bottom of the reactor. The
hydrogen produced is recycled to fuel the plasma torch.
A 2008 patent(131) describes further improvements such as the use of a venturi section in the reactors
geometry. A venturi is positioned between the arc zone and the feedstock injection site; it narrows in the
direction of the reaction chamber. The venturi allows better control of the reaction conditions and prevents
any circulation of the feedstock or products through the arc. The feedstock is injected through multiple
injection sites distributed around the reaction zones circumference. According to the patent, this allows
better tailoring of the carbon black properties.
4.18 Tokai Carbon

Tokai Carbon was originally established in 1918 as the Tokai Electrode Company, and was renamed in
1975 to Tokai Carbon. In addition to its three plants in China, Japan and Thailand, Tokai acquired Cancarb
in January 2014, extending its global presence to include a production plant in Canada and a number of
warehouses in the United States and Europe.
Tokai produces all ASTM grades of carbon black, and a range of specialty grades. Through the acquisition
of Cancarb and Sid Richardson, it also obtained access to their thermal black and furnace black
technologies.(132,133)
From a patent inspection, Nexant believes that Tokai has developed and now uses a single reactor for
producing all grades of carbon black. The reactor described in a 2008 patent(134) has a tangential air supply
to provide good mixing between fuel and air. A number of primary burners (4 in the patent example) are
used to burn fuel in air to produce hot combustion gases in an axial direction. A feedstock spray nozzle is
attached to a water cooled adjustable lance. The lance is complex; it also has an adjustable raw material
burner attached to its lower portion allowing for a high degree of temperature control in addition to control
of feedstock injection. Tokai carbon black reactor is shown in Figure 41.
Figure 41 Tokai Carbon Black Reactor
EXTERNAL Quench
CYLINDER RAW Inlet
MATERIAL BURNER Flue
Air Inlet
FEEDSTOCK COMBUSTION Quench

INLET CHAMBER
Reaction Zone Zone
NOZZLE Choke Section
FUEL INLET AND

PRIMARY BURNER
TELESCOPIC
FEEDSTOCK
NOZZLE
Source: Matsushima U.S. 2008/0095696 to Tokai Carbon

100101.200.2020.017
A 2011 Japanese patent(135) describes an alternative configuration of what appears to be the same reactor
design (in terms of internal geometry). In this case, the reactor has a number of inlets for feedstock injection
in the middle of the reactor. This allows further tailoring of the carbon black properties and different grades
to be produced by the same reactor.
4.18.1 Thermal Black
Cancarb’s thermal black process (acquired by Tokai) is a semi continuous process using two refractory
lined reactors, filled with a lattice of refractory bricks. The reactors alternate between carbon black
production and reheating.
The pre-heated natural gas feed is decomposed at 1 400 °C in the absence of air to produce carbon black
and hydrogen. The reactor effluent is then cooled to around 125 °C before separation of carbon black from
hydrogen and off gases in the bag filter unit. The hydrogen is cycled back to the reactor and used to reheat
the reactor before natural gas is reintroduced. The separated black is passed through magnetic separators,
pelletized, screened and sent to storage. The reported yield is 35 to 60 percent.(136)
The refractory system (Figure 42) in the reactor is described in detail in a 1998 patent.(137) The invention
makes use of refractory bricks with a circular cross section that allows flow of gases through the bricks,
reducing any dead regions of gas flow and minimizing the deposition of carbon black on the brick surface.
This arrangement extends the time between refractory brick replacement due to erosion, and reduces the
risk of impurities being introduced into the final product.

100101.200.2020.017
Figure 42 Carbon Black Refractory System
AIR
INLET
FEEDSTOCK
INLET
REFACTORY
MATERIAL
REACTOR
BODY
CHECKER
WORK
REACTOR QUENCH FILTER BAG

INCIN- EFFLUENT SPRAY HOUSE
ERATOR INLET
Source: D. Hurkot, U.S. Patent 5 817 287, October 6, 1998, to Cancarb Ltd.,
4.18.2 Furnace Black

Sid Richardson was acquired by Tokai in 2018 which brought with it the furnace black technology. The
company was founded in 1947 and purchased its first channel black plant in 1948. It later became a leading
manufacturer of oil furnace carbon black with plants scattered throughout the United States.
The company boasts almost half a million tons per year capacity and two of its plants are cogeneration
units, exporting half of the total 55 MW to the deregulated market. Sid Richardson produces tire ASTM
grade blacks, pigments and specialty grades. To Nexant’s best knowledge, Sid Richardson does not
currently license its technology.
Sid Richardson patented a number of innovative reactor designs over the 1970s to 1980s. A 1977 patent(138)
describes a single reactor for producing hard and soft carbon black grades fitted with a turbofan engine and
an afterburner. The turbofan engine produces a preheated air supply with a low oxygen content to the after
burner. The after burner is then supplied with fuel to combust the stream of oxygen containing gas for the
furnace. The turbofan has a second task of providing a second stream of lower temperature and pressure
air that can be used to cool a second reactor, so that less refractory material is required.

100101.200.2020.017
The company patented new burner designs with improved mixing of fuel and oxygen containing
air.(139,140,141) Further tailoring of the carbon black properties were investigated and resulted in the double
venturi reactor system.(142) The internal dimensions of the reactor were extended with two venturi flow
constrictions to create a pressure profile in the reaction zone. The second constriction was to provide the
means for altering the pressure profile further to vary the properties of the carbon black. The reactor also
has a number of feedstock inlets so that the grade of carbon black can be altered.
The most recent developments from Sid Richardson involve after treatment of the carbon black. A U.S.
Patent Application(143) describes treating the carbon black prior to pelletization with water soluble sodium
polysulfide or other polysulfide salt. The result is a carbon black in pellet form that can provide reduced
hysteresis and belter abrasion resistance in rubber applications.

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5 Developing Technologies
5.1 Introduction
Research into green and bio based carbon black has been carried out by major carbon black producing
companies, rubber and tire manufacturers. The economics of any green and bio based carbon black is
currently not favorable. Consumers willing to purchase fully sustainable rubber products incorporating
sustainable carbon black must pay a hefty premium for the privilege. A number of these developments were
outlined in the previous section.
The literature includes exploration into biomass and vegetable oil based carbon black to be used as filler.
Feedstocks researched include bamboo stem, coconut shells and oil palm empty fiber bunch.(144)
5.2 Green Chemistry and Biotechnology

According to Bridgestone, fully sustainable tires will only be rolled out commercially in 2050. Bridgestone is
currently developing tire technologies that will be made from entirely sustainable materials, including bio
sources of carbon black using feedstocks such as vegetable fats and oil biomass.(145,146,147)
Bridgestone is not alone; the Mitsubishi Group has developed technology to commercially produce carbon
black using plant oil as feedstock. However, due to the low aromatic content in castor oil and resin, mass
production is not currently possible.
In response to coating manufacturers demanding less toxic raw materials and more compliance with
environmental regulations, Orion Engineered Carbon has developed PRINTEX® Nature. This is an
innovative carbon black pigment based on renewable feedstocks such as plant oils. The pigment is used
in printing inks, polymer formulation and coatings. PRINTEX® is produced by making modifications to the
furnace black reactor.(148) When the carbon black is combined with natural based binder systems and bio-
solvents, Orion claims that a formulation with more than 90 percent sustainable content can be achieved,
for use in indirect food contact applications.
A 2011 patent application(149) describes production of carbon black from biomass. One example describes
using half carbonized pine wood to make a biomass powder. The biomass is semi carbonized by rapid
thermal decomposition followed by pulverization to produce a biomass carbon powder. The powder is milled
to the desired surface area and activated. Activation is achieved in a gas atmosphere using a plasma
discharge in a rapid thermal decomposition. The carbon black is cooled and processed in a conventional
manner.
Carbon black production from rice husk is described in a 2001 Chinese Patent.(150) The rice husk is crushed
and milled before being carbonized and milled. Some sort of thermal process is used to activate the carbon
black.
5.3 Solar Carbon Black
The goal of solar based carbon black is to decompose natural gas in a high temperature solar chemical
reactor to produce both hydrogen and carbon black from renewable energy.
CH4 → C + 2H2 ∆H298K = 74.9 kJ/mol
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) carried out proof of concept experiments on solar
carbon black production at NREL’s High Flux Solar Furnace in 2000 and 2002. In Europe, the
SOLHYCARB(151) project was focused on a similar process.
Figure 43 illustrates a solar reactor.

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Figure 43 Solar Reactor

C, Ar, H2
QUARTZ GLASS
PARTICLE CLOUD
CONCENTRATED
SUNLIGHT
(2000 X)
GRAPHITE TUBE
FLUID-WALL GAS (AR)
NOZZLES
SPINNING BRUSH
PARTICLE
FEEDER
PROCESS GAS FEED PARTICLES

(Ar/CH4) (CARBON BLACK, C)

100101.200.2020.017
Figure 44 is similar to that used in the NREL studies, except for differences in the reactor technology. The
reactor produces hydrogen gas and carbon black which are separated. The hydrogen can be sold, or used
as fuel; any natural gas is cycled back to the reactor. The carbon black is separated off, and processed.
While hydrogen production was the key goal of the solar projects, carbon black production was also
important due to its impact on the economics.(152,153,154)
Figure 44 Solar-thermal Hydrogen and Carbon Black Co-product Plant
The reactor design described in the 2002 NREL report was a high flux solar furnace using a series of mirrors
to concentrate a focused beam of sunlight into the furnace. The furnace used a heliostat with 92 percent
solar weighted reflectivity, and an area of 31.8 m2, reflecting sunlight to a primary concentrator of 12.5 m2.
The paper claims the furnace was capable of delivering flux densities of 100 to 1 000 W/cm2.
For the more recent European project, the solar furnaces at the Paul Scherer Institute in Zurich
(Switzerland) were used. The project resulted in the development of a novel 50 kW pilot reactor, which
achieved methane conversions of 98.8 percent and hydrogen yield of 99.1 percent. However, the carbon
yield never exceeded 63 percent. Good quality carbon black was claimed to be produced.
As with all technologies, the economics are key to the commercial viability of the solar processes. The costs
of production are dependent on the price for which the hydrogen can be sold, and are also significantly
influenced by the fixed capital costs.
In 2019, Saudi Arabia has announced a plan to construct a mega integrated complex for solar and carbon
black to speed up renewable energy adoption in the country. However, there has been no updates since
the announcement. There are also no other notable developments on solar carbon black.

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5.4 Recycling of Tires

The pyrolysis of tires into useful products has been researched for a number of years. Scrap tires contain
predominantly styrene butadiene rubber 60 to 65 percent, 29 to 31 percent carbon black, zinc oxide, sulfur
extender oils and additives. Tire pyrolysis produces a large amount of gas that can be used as fuel, an oil
that can be used to produce carbon black, and a char that can be used to make activated carbon. Carbon
black production has always been attractive in tire pyrolysis since the oils derived from the tires are similar
to those used in an oil furnace process.
The process involves processing the tire to obtain the maximum amount of value from its components. The
steel tire cord is removed and the rest is milled. The scrap tires are shredded, then pyrolyzed. Pyrolysis is
usually performed at 900 °C to produce fuel gas, pyrolysis liquids and char. The liquids are condensed
while the gas separates off. The liquids can be fed to a carbon black furnace, using the gas to provide the
process heat requirements. The char produced can be activated using carbon dioxide to produce activated
carbon.
The pyrolysis of tires has been studied for many years. In 1974, the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company
began a project in Colorado (U.S.) in conjunction with the Tire Oil Shale Company. Although the project
operated successfully for a while, it had to be stopped due to problems associated with and the expense of
shredding tires. Other projects were run in Germany and Japan. A review in 1996 found tire pyrolysis to be
uneconomic due to high investment and operational costs and low energy recovered from the gas and oil
products.(155) Companies such as Scutum Capital have listed companies based on the technology to
produce carbon black, while Environmental Waste International has been running a pilot plant since 2011.
The economics of such a process may have improved with new technologies and punitive waste tire
regulations and other incentivizing tools.
Typically, the process makes a carbon black with a lot of coarse grain type residues. On average the black
produced is equivalent to a N300 black in terms of reinforcing properties. However, the carbon blacks
produced are a mixture of N600, N700, N100 and N200 grades, and have been used mainly in non-
demanding applications such as floor mats and playground materials.
While historical efforts have concentrated on producing carbon black from the pyrolysis oils, the latest
research indicates other methods are being adopted. A few of the current developments are outlined in the
following subsections.

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Hydrogen
Recycle
REACTOR
Carbon Black,
Hydrogen
CARBON BLACK
Hydrogen
Natural STORAGE TANKS

Product
Gas
BLOWER
HEAT
EX
100101.200.2020.017
Natural
Gas
BAG HOUSES PNEUMATIC
CONVEYOR
Source: Dahl 158, Dahl, J. et al., “Rapid Solar-thermal Dissocaition of Natural Gas in an Aerosol Flow Reactor”,
Proceedings of the 2002 U.S. DOE Hydrogen Review_page 22)
Figure 45
Solar Carbon Black
101
A00101 0014 4110.vsd
5.4.1 Advanced Pyrotech Sdn. Bhd.

Advanced Pyrotech was founded in 1999. It is a Malaysian company that focuses on developing technology
for waste tire pyrolysis and providing solutions to waste tire disposal and management within Malaysia. The
company also seeks to commercialize processes that can monetize the byproducts of tire pyrolysis.
A U.S. Patent(156) describes a continuous process used to reclaim materials from used tires. It is a change
from the batch systems described in the previous literature and/or production systems that produce material
that is unsuitable for use in downstream applications.
The tires are debeaded and shredded. After shredding, the steel wire is removed from the tires by magnetic
separation. The tire shreds are conveyed to a second shredder that reduces the tire particles to around 10 mm
in size. Any remaining steel wire is extracted by magnetic means and the shredded particles are sent to a
central collection vessel. The particles are fed to the pyrolysis reactor.
The tire particles are pyrolyzed to produce oil vapor, syngas and a small quantity of partially decomposed
waste. The waste is passed through a second pyrolysis cylinder in which it is decomposed into carbon black.
The oil vapor and syngas are withdrawn from the reactor under vacuum and quenched. The quenched stream
passes through a condenser where the oil vapors condense and flow to an oil storage tank.
The syngas passes from the condenser to a knock out drum where any entrained oil is removed and sent to
oil storage. The syngas is used as fuel in a burner to provide energy for pyrolysis, while the flue gas is used
to produce steam and electricity.
The carbon black and any remaining steel are cooled. The steel wire residue is extracted by magnetic
separation and carbon black is milled to the desired dimensions.
Advanced Pyrotech faced financial difficulties in 2012 and reached a debt settlement in 2014. Since then, the
company has focused on copper mining business in Australia and there are no updates on its tire pyrolysis
technology segment. There are, however, other companies producing recovered carbon black (rCB) in
Malaysia such as Eco Power Synergy Sdn. Bhd., who could produce approximately 300-350 kg of crude
carbon black out of 1 ton of waste tires.
5.4.2 Black Bear Carbon Company
Black Bear Carbon BV was founded in 2010 in the Netherlands. It is currently developing its process of
reclaiming carbon black by tire pyrolysis. It markets the product as BBC 500, a green, renewable alternative
to N550 and N660 furnace grade carbon blacks.(157)
The Black Bear process involves five steps: feed stock sizing; feed stock storage and preparation; pyrolysis;
and upgrading.
Tires are the only feedstock used in the process. The company claims that only renewable sources are used
for all the process inputs. The feedstock rubber is processed to of granules or chips with a size of 30 mm3.
Pyrolysis is carried out in a rotary kiln, yielding 15 to 20 percent pyrolysis gas, 30 percent char and 50 to 55
percent oil. This process differs from other methods in that it processes the char to obtain carbon black by
milling, followed by 102 alletization.
A 2012 International patent(158) application describes a two stage pyrolysis. The reactor is a kiln cylinder,
through which material is conveyed gradually as it rotates towards the exit. The first reactor stage is used to
obtain intermediate char material with a volatile content of 5 to 10 weight percent by pyrolysis at 630 to 670
°C. This is followed by reduction of the char’s volatiles content to less than two weight percent in the second
stage pyrolysis at 680 to 720 °C. Residence times in each stage are around 30 to 40 minutes.

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Milling of the char product is carried out by jet milling with compressed air or steam in combination with a
vibratory mill. This is followed by a standard method of wet pelletizing using molasses or lignin sulfonate
binder. After milling, the product undergoes magnetic separation to ensure any metal, such as that used as
reinforcement in truck tires for example, is removed.
In 2016, Black Bear Carbon managed to raise 16 million Euros worth of funds to start the worldwide roll-out
of their technology. The company currently has more than 30 clients, such as AkzoNobel, which uses carbon
black to manufacture powder coatings. Black Bear Carbon is currently operating an industrial-scale prototype
plant located in Nederweert, The Netherlands with Kargro, one of Europe’s leading tire recyclers. The plant is
capable of processing more than one million waste tires per annum, while producing 5 000 tons of carbon
black, 5 000 tons of bio-fuel, 3 000 tons of steel and one megawatt hours of green electricity.
5.4.3 Carbon Green LLC
Carbon Green LLC, based in Chicago (U.S.), was formed in 2006 with the goal of supporting the renewable
energy industry. One of its projects was an alternative recycling process which does not require pyrolysis,
and reportedly produces a gas which can be used to provide eight times more energy than that consumed
in the process. The company also claims to be able to produce about 3.4 kg of carbon black from an average
car tire.(159) Further details on the Green Carbon process are not available. The company was publicly
traded but became private in 2011.(160,161)
5.4.4 Pyrolyx AG (formerly Scutum Capital AG)
Pyrolyx AG is a Germany based company founded in 2009, based on its patent-protected proprietary
technology. It started operation of its first industrial reactor line in Drunen, Netherlands in March 2012.(162) The
company then expanded its operations in Germany in 2012 and in Terre Haute, Indiana in 2019. Pyrolyx’s
facility in the US consists of 20 batch ovens, and is capable of producing 13 000 tons per year of recovered
carbon black (rCB). Currently, the company had already commenced the construction of a second plant at its
Terre Haute site aiming to double its capacity in the US. Pyrolyx AG operates the plants itself but also licenses
its technology to third parties.
Its tire pyrolysis process operates at 350 to 750 °C, and makes use of the oils and gases evolved for energy
and heat recovery. The unique feature of the technology is the combination of pyrolysis and depolymerization.
A 2011 International patent(163) application describes a multistage process in which shredded tires (or other
rubber wastes) are fed to a pyrolysis reactor. The reactor has multiple zones capable of heating the shredded
tire feedstocks at pressures of 0.002 to 0.004 Mpa. The residence time in each zone is around 2 to 4 hours.
Each heating zone is operated until no more oils are issued. By using a slow thermal treatment process, the
production of refactory organics is claimed to be avoided.
The first zone operates at 150 to 180 °C and acts as a depolymerization zone, withdrawing the light oils from
the tires. The granular effluent is fed to a second zone that operates at 200 to 300 °C and removes the medium
heavy oils. Pyrolysis only occurs in the third zone, where the heavy oils are converted at temperatures of 400
to 500 °C and granules are removed from the reactor.
An optional refining step at high temperature can be carried out after the third zone, if the pyrolysis occurred
at temperatures below 500 °C. Refining can be carried out at 800 °C for 2 hours to produce a commercial
grade carbon black. The solid reactor effluent contains a high surface area carbon black and steel. The stream
undergoes a milling followed by a separation. The carbon black is further milled and pelletized.
In late 2019, Pyrolyx USA had acquired J&R Used Tire Service, Inc. (one of the region’s largest tire processing
businesses) to allow for sustainable supply of waste tires to both the former’s existing and future recovered
carbon black production site in Indiana. Within the same period, Pyrolyx AG had also entered into a five-year
agreement with Continental for the supply of recovered carbon black in latter’s tire manufacturing facilities

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worldwide. Under this agreement, the company is expected to produce 10 000 tons per year of carbon black
from nearly 3 000 000 waste tires while reducing 25 000 tons of CO2 emission over the period of this agreement.
5.4.5 Environmental Waste International
Environmental Waste International is a Canadian company founded in 1992. It is a design and development
company specializing in eco-friendly systems that handle organic materials. It has patented a Reverse
Polymerization™ (RP) process based on microwave technology.
The technology is described in a 2012 International patent(164) application. The process applies microwave
energy to tires as they pass through a nitrogen filled tunnel on a continuous line. The reaction occurs at
temperatures of 150 to 350 °C in an oxygen free atmosphere. Feed is introduced through a conveyor to a
microwave tunnel, which is lined with small microwave generators that control the energy at any given location.
By varying the power input to the magnetron of each generator, the microwaves strength can be adjusted. In
a favorable patent example, the microwaves are tuned to emit at around 2 250 MHz.
The idea behind the technology is that microwave energy is absorbed by the organic material. The increase
in molecular vibration caused by microwave absorption strains the intermolecular bonds resulting in narrow
band infrared energy. The infrared energy is absorbed by the surrounding materials, breaking them into
simpler lower molecular weight compounds.
Use of nitrogen prevents formation of hazardous byproducts, such as dioxins and furans, and purges any
ambient air from the chamber. The process produces a gas stream consisting of methane, ethane, propane,
butane and nitrogen, while the oil produced is similar to synthetic crude. The product from the reactor is a
solid char material composed of carbon black and steel. A liquid separation system is used to recover the
carbon black by floating, while the steel sinks. The carbon black product is further processed in the
conventional manner.
On its website, Environmental Waste International claims that the carbon black produced can be reused and
that 3.18 kg can be recovered from a 9.1 kg tire. Using its TR-6000 module, the company claims it can process
nearly 21 500 tons of tires per year, reclaiming 6 350 tons of carbon black, 1 810 tons of steel and more than
1.7 million gallons of oil.(165) The company claimed that the reverse polymerization process generates nearly
zero waste.

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6 Process Economics
6.1 Costing Basis
The cost analyses cover the cost of production at the plant gate and exclude the following:
 Feedstock acquisition and trading costs
 Distribution, selling and marketing costs
 Research and development (R&D) costs
 Corporate (or head office) overhead costs
 Interest on capital cost financing and other financing related charges
The methodology used to develop the cost estimates is briefly summarized below, while Appendix A and B
describe more fully the capital cost and operating cost elements that will be encountered in the cost of
production is given later in this section.
6.1.1 Investment Basis
A process plant can be viewed as consisting of two types of facilities. The first is the manufacturing area
containing all process equipment needed to convert the raw materials into the product. The capital costs of
these facilities are commonly referred to as the inside battery limits (ISBL). The second group of facilities
contains the outside battery limits (OSBL) or offsites. These include general utilities (e.g., instrument and
utility air, nitrogen, fire water, etc.), administrative buildings, steam generation facilities, cooling water
system, electrical distribution systems, waste disposal facilities, etc.
For all the cases considered, investment costs assume “instantaneous” construction or implementation in
the designated year. This is a simplification because initiation, design, and construction can take several
years to complete. In order to undertake the instantaneous analysis, phased investment costs and
associated financial charges are consolidated into a single overall project cost.
In addition to the plant capital, the owner usually has other costs associated with the project such as project
management, startup, etc. Working capital is calculated to reflect raw material, byproduct, and supplies
inventories; accounts receivable; cash requirements etc., with credit for accounts payable.
6.1.2 Pricing Basis
The pricing basis for the economic analyses that follow is summarized in Table 17. Most prices are from
Nexant’s internal databases and established third party pricing sources, while a few values have been
obtained from industry contacts. For China, North-West Europe, South-East Asia, and the United States
Gulf Coast (USGC), the prices quoted are gross prices, meaning they are the headline published prices
before any negotiation between buyers and sellers, which typically takes place on a confidential basis.
Unless stated otherwise, for China the prices quoted are average ex-works for domestic use.
The process economics have been modeled for the major existing and emerging technologies in selected
important locations. Costs of production economics are developed for Nexant’s estimate of first quarter
2020 prices.

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Table 17 Prices of Raw Materials, Products, Utilities, and Labor, Q1 2020

China NW Europe USGC
US$ 1 = CN¥ 6.97 € 1 = US$
Raw Materials Units $ per unit $ per unit $ per unit
Coal Tar Distillate ton 322.95 [1]
Ethylene Bottom Oils ton 295.68 [1]
FCC Slurry ton 319.07 [1]
Natural Gas GJ 6.60 [2] 5.91 [3] 1.99 [4]
Acetylene (COP + 10% ROI) ton 1782 [1]
Byproducts
Flue Gas GJ 1.99 [5]
Hydrogen ton 1 419.61 [5] 1 208.07 [5]
Utilities
Quench & Process Water ton 0.46 0.38 0.38
Boiler Feedwater ton 0.72 1.07 0.63
Electrical Energy MWh 79.59 74.53 49.12
Fuel GJ 6.60 5.91 1.79
Steam (medium pressure) ton 20.35 28.32 9.96
Fixed Costs
Labor Thousand USD per Worker 11425 58461 60860
Foremen Thousand USD per Worker 22016 68202 69081
Supervisor Thousand USD per Worker 16255 116922 83358
Maintenance, Material & Labor % of ISBL 2.00 2.00 3.00
Direct Overhead % Labor & Supervision 100 65.00 45
General Plant Overhead % Direct Fixed Costs 50 60 60
Insurance & Property Tax % Total Plant Capital 0.8 1.00 1.00
Environmental % Total Plant Capital 0.00 0.00 0.00
Notes: LHV (Butane) = 45.3; LHV (Fuel Oil) = 39.5; LHV (Hydrogen) = 120.0; LHV (Natural Gas) = 47.1; LHV (Propane) = 46.3 (where LHV = Lower Heating
Value in GJ/ton)
[1] Nexant estimate
[2] Government mandated price
[3] Free delivered spot price
[4] Free delivered contract price
[5] Fuel value equivalent

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6.1.3 Cost of Production Basis

Raw material costs, utility costs, and byproduct credits are considered variable since they are, to a large
extent, dependent on the plant’s operating rate.
Direct and allocated fixed costs, as their title indicates, are largely independent of the operating rate. Labor
costs are based on typical manpower rates, whereas direct overhead (fringe benefits) and maintenance
costs are at normal industry levels. It is to be noted that manpower requirements can vary tremendously
depending on local government regulations, company policy and available skill level. What is given in the
analysis that follows is only intended to give a rough idea of such costs. Other fixed costs included in the
analysis such as general overhead and insurance/property taxes, are also based on typical industry levels.
The sum of variable and fixed costs is termed the “cash cost”. This is the out-of-pocket expense that the
owner incurs before including depreciation and any return on capital employed (ROCE).
Depreciation is assumed to be 20 years for OSBL and 10 years for ISBL including the capitalized other
project costs (OPC).
A nominal 10 percent return on capital employed (ROCE) is included in the cost of production s. The final
line in the cost of production estimate (cost of production + ROCE) can be thought of as a way of estimating
the minimum price the product must be sold for to get such a 10 percent ROCE. The arbitrary 10 percent
ROCE used in these analyses is at the lower level for public companies and is more representative of the
return expected for new construction, at the bottom of the business cycle. Many firms would actually seek
returns in the range of 15 to 30 percent (and higher depending on the region) over the course of a full
business cycle.
An operating rate of 100 percent is assumed, and is based on scheduled operation for 8 000 hours per
year. Information received at different on-stream time was normalized to 8 000 hours.
Generally speaking, the cost of production is the important cost to consider for newly built or fairly new
plants since these still have to factor in an account for depreciation, while it would be more appropriate to
consider the cash cost for mature plants that are fully depreciated.
6.2 Furnace Process

A typical world scale plant has multiple production lines, each line containing one or more reactors
dedicated to a particular grade or grades of carbon black. The plant produces a mix of carbon blacks
including pigment, hard and soft blacks, with individual production volumes that vary according to market
demand.
Raw material costs are mainly comprised of the carbon black feedstock oil. The most critical metric for the
carbon black manufacturer is the yield. Typically yields range from 50 to 70 percent per ton depending on
the type of feedstock, feedstock quality, process technology, and grade of carbon black being produced.
The yield for any individual producer is considered to be proprietary information. Feedstock selection is
reflective of the regional characteristics: coal tar distillates for China, ethylene bottom oils for Europe and
FCC slurry oils for the United States.
The feedstock oil tank requires a background steam supply to maintain the oil at a temperature of 50 to
60 °C. The ratio between fuel and feedstock determines the quality and economic efficiency of the carbon
black produced. The most commonly used fuels are natural gas, propane or butane, though tail gas or
synthetic gas may be used if natural gas is not available. Natural gas is often used due to its purity and low
requirements. In Nexant’s production cost estimates, the fuel gas is taken at the price of natural gas. When
liquid fuels are used, pretreatment may be needed to reduce sulfur and other trace elements.

100101.200.2020.017
Air is fed at a ratio to the fuel input so that complete combustion of the fuel is achieved, with excess air
being used to control the temperature in the reactor’s combustion chamber. Air is compressed and delivered
at a rate of 2 000 to 10 000 Nm3 per ton of carbon black, depending on the feedstock quality and grades
produced.
Water is required for reaction quenching and is directly injected into the quenching zone of the reactor
through multiple ports. Water is also used in pelletizing. The amount of pelletizing water added depends on
the grade of carbon black produced and ranges from 0.815 to 2.3 tons per ton. In our production cost
estimates, the quench water has been priced as demineralized water. Demineralized water has been used
to avoid contamination of the carbon black during quenching and pelletizing.
Electrical energy is required for compressors in the pneumatic conveying system, elevators, magnetic
separators, pulverizer, compressors pumps, pneumatic blower’s vacuum systems etc.
Small quantities of potassium carbonate, alkaline hardening additive are added at 0 to 0.45 kg per ton
depending on the grade/requirement. Molasses (or alternatively sodium lignosulfate), if and when required,
are added automatically to the water in the pelletizing section as a binder to control the pellet hardness.
The major waste from this process is generated as off gas from the bag filter house, which is discarded
after recovery of its heat content by steam generation. Discontinuous water treatment is applied as required
for removing oil and grease, flocculation and coagulation and polishing.
Maintenance includes bag filter bag replacements, which is assumed to happen every two years. Reactor
linings have differing lifetimes depending on the conditions to which they are exposed. Due to the maturity
of the process, maintenance costs are assumed to be 2 percent of ISBL.

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6.2.1 Coal Tar Distillate (China)

Process: Generic Furnace Black, China, First Quarter 2020
CAPITAL COST MILLION U.S. $
Plant start-up 1Q2020 Inside Battery Limits (ISBL) 88.74
Outside Battery Limits (OSBL) 38.03
Location China Total Plant Capital 126.77
Capacity 150 thousand tons per year Other Project Costs (OPC) 31.69
331 millions lbs per year Total Project Investment 158.46
Operating rate 100 percent Working capital 11.06
Throughput 150 thousand tons per year Total Capital Employed 169.52
UNITS PRICE ANNUAL

Per Ton U.S. $/ U.S. $ COST U.S.$ U.S. $
PRODUCTION COST SUMMARY Product Unit Per Ton millions Per Lb
RAW MATERIALS Coal Tar Distillate ton 1.948 322.95 629.10 94.37
Catalysts & Other Chemicals U.S. $ 1.000 14.24 14.24 2.14
TOTAL RAW MATERIALS 643.35 96.50 0.29
TOTAL BYPRODUCT CREDITS - - -
NET RAW MATERIALS 643.35 96.50 0.29
UTILITIES Quench & Process Water ton 5.566 0.46 2.56 0.38
Boiler Feedwater ton 11.951 0.72 8.60 1.29
Electrical Energy MWh 0.630 79.59 50.16 7.52
Fuel Gigajoule 15.790 6.60 104.28 15.64
Steam (medium pressure) ton (10.400) 20.35 (211.66) (31.75)
TOTAL UTILITIES (46.06) (6.91) (0.02)
NET RAW MATERIALS & UTILITIES 597.28 89.59 0.27
VARIABLE COST 597.28 89.59 0.27
DIRECT FIXED COSTS Labor 42 employees 11 425 U.S. $ 3.20 0.48

Foremen 5 employees 22 016 U.S. $ 0.73 0.11
Supervisor 2 employees 16 255 U.S. $ 0.22 0.03
Maintenance, Material & Labor 2 % of ISBL 11.83 1.77
Direct Overhead 100 % Labor & Supervision 4.15 0.62
TOTAL DIRECT FIXED COSTS 20.13 3.02 0.01
ALLOCATED FIXED COSTS General Plant Overhead 50 % Direct Fixed Costs 10.07 1.51
Insurance & Property Tax 1 % Total Plant Capital 6.76 1.01
Environmental 0 % Total Plant Capital - -
TOTAL ALLOCATED FIXED COSTS 16.83 2.52 0.01
TOTAL FIXED COSTS 36.96 5.54 0.02
TOTAL CASH COST 634.24 95.14 0.29
Depreciation @ 10 % for ISBL & OPC 5 % for OSBL 92.96 13.94 0.04
COST OF PRODUCTION 727.20 109.08 0.33
Return on Capital Employed (ROCE) at 10% 113.01 16.95 0.05
COST OF PRODUCTION + 10% ROCE 840.22 126.03 0.38

100101.200.2020.017

UNITS PRICE ANNUAL

TOTAL BYPRODUCT CREDITS - - - -
NET RAW MATERIALS - 559.06 83.86 0.25
Fuel Gigajoule 14.789 6.60 97.67 14.65
TOTAL UTILITIES (13.18) (1.98) (0.01)
VARIABLE COST 545.88 81.88 0.25

TOTAL CASH COST 582.84 87.43 0.26

100101.200.2020.017

UNITS PRICE ANNUAL

Fuel Gigajoule 14.837 6.60 97.98 14.70
TOTAL UTILITIES (23.25) (3.49) (0.01)
VARIABLE COST 567.46 85.12 0.26

TOTAL CASH COST 604.42 90.66 0.27

100101.200.2020.017

UNITS PRICE ANNUAL

Fuel Gigajoule 12.829 6.60 84.73 12.71
TOTAL UTILITIES 2.57 0.39 0.00
VARIABLE COST 512.87 76.93 0.23

TOTAL CASH COST 549.82 82.47 0.25

100101.200.2020.017

UNITS PRICE ANNUAL

Fuel Gigajoule 12.105 6.60 79.94 11.99
TOTAL UTILITIES (31.70) (4.76) (0.01)
VARIABLE COST 523.80 78.57 0.24

TOTAL CASH COST 560.76 84.11 0.25

100101.200.2020.017

UNITS PRICE ANNUAL

Fuel Gigajoule 12.670 6.60 83.68 12.55
TOTAL UTILITIES (44.87) (6.73) (0.02)
VARIABLE COST 516.13 77.42 0.23

TOTAL CASH COST 553.09 82.96 0.25

100101.200.2020.017

UNITS PRICE ANNUAL

Fuel Gigajoule 8.431 6.60 55.68 8.35
TOTAL UTILITIES (22.72) (3.41) (0.01)
VARIABLE COST 431.38 64.71 0.20

TOTAL CASH COST 468.34 70.25 0.21

100101.200.2020.017

UNITS PRICE ANNUAL

Fuel Gigajoule 5.369 6.60 35.46 5.32
TOTAL UTILITIES (49.10) (7.36) (0.02)
VARIABLE COST 429.87 64.48 0.19

TOTAL CASH COST 466.82 70.02 0.21

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6.2.2 Ethylene Bottom Oils (NW Europe)

Process: Generic Furnace Black, NWE, First Quarter 2020
Location NW Europe Total Plant Capital 169.02
UNITS PRICE ANNUAL

RAW MATERIALS Ethylene Bottom Oils ton 1.721 295.68 508.86 76.33
TOTAL BYPRODUCT CREDITS 0.00 0.00 0.00
Fuel Gigajoule 12.829 5.91 75.88 11.38
Steam (medium pressure) ton (6.197) 28.32 ( 175.49) ( 26.32)
TOTAL UTILITIES ( 54.77) ( 8.22) ( 0.02)
VARIABLE COST 471.32 70.70 0.21

Environmental 0 % Total Plant Capital 0.00 0.00
TOTAL CASH COST 542.30 81.34 0.25

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6.2.3 FCC Slurry Oils (USGC)

Process: Eurotecnica ET Black™, USGC, First Quarter 2020
Location USGC Total Plant Capital 120.69
UNITS PRICE ANNUAL

RAW MATERIALS FCC Slurry ton 2.080 319.07 663.66 99.55

Fuel Gigajoule 10.580 1.79 18.95 2.84
TOTAL UTILITIES (95.53) (14.33) (0.04)
VARIABLE COST 583.64 87.55 0.26

TOTAL CASH COST 650.12 97.52 0.29

100101.200.2020.017

UNITS PRICE ANNUAL


Fuel Gigajoule 7.500 1.79 13.43 2.01
TOTAL UTILITIES (64.95) (9.74) (0.03)
VARIABLE COST 524.88 78.73 0.24

TOTAL CASH COST 591.37 88.70 0.27

100101.200.2020.017

UNITS PRICE ANNUAL


Fuel Gigajoule 5.600 1.79 10.03 1.50
TOTAL UTILITIES (46.13) (6.92) (0.02)
VARIABLE COST 483.08 72.46 0.22

TOTAL CASH COST 549.56 82.43 0.25

100101.200.2020.017

Process: Eurotecnica ET Black™, USGC, First quarter 2020
UNITS PRICE ANNUAL


Fuel Gigajoule 0.000 1.79 - -
TOTAL UTILITIES (35.99) (5.40) (0.02)
VARIABLE COST 496.41 74.46 0.23

TOTAL CASH COST 562.90 84.43 0.26

100101.200.2020.017

Process: Eurotecnica ET Black™, USGC, First quarter 2020
UNITS PRICE ANNUAL


Fuel Gigajoule 0.000 1.79 - -
TOTAL UTILITIES (37.80) (5.67) (0.02)
VARIABLE COST 488.22 73.23 0.22

TOTAL CASH COST 554.70 83.21 0.25

100101.200.2020.017
6.2.4 Grade Comparison

Figure 46 shows the costs of production for different carbon black grades. The general trend observed is
that the cost of production decreases as the carbon black grade number increases (or mean particle size
increases) though, as can be seen, there are slight variations.
The results assume that each grade is produced at the same capacity of 150 000 tons per year. In reality
each production line may be composed of a number of reactors, with one dedicated for tread grades, one
for carcass grades and one for specialty grades. Alternatively, the reactors may be swing reactors,
producing a range of grades or be used to produce powder or dry beaded grades. Thus the net costs of
production may vary throughout the operating period depending on the grade produced and the volume of
that grade produced.
Figure 46 Costs of Production Comparison for Carbon Black Grades
(First quarter 2020, China Basis)
800
700
600
500
US$ per ton
400
300
200
100
0
-100
Furnace Furnace Furnace Furnace Furnace Furnace Furnace Furnace
Black Black Black Black Black Black Black Black
N121 N220 N234 N330 N339 N375 N550 N660

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6.2.5 Regional Comparison

The N300 carbon black series tend to have the highest volume consumption globally in rubber
reinforcement applications. Thus, the regional analysis was carried out for the N330 grade. The analysis
assumes the feedstock used is in line with regional trends, ethylene bottom oils in North Western Europe,
FCC decant oils in the United States, and coal tar distillate in China, as shown in Figure 6.2.
Figure 47 Regional Analysis for Costs of Production of N330 Carbon Black
(First quarter 2020, Regional Basis, 150 000 tons per year capacity)
700
600
500
400
US$ per ton
300
200
100
0
-100
Furnace Black N330 Furnace Black N330 Furnace Black N330
China NWE USGC
The lowest costs are found in China where cheap coal based feedstock, lower investment costs and low
labor costs provide the advantage. Because Nexant model assumes a credit for export steam, net
production costs in North West Europe turn out to be lower than those in the USGC, in spite of the higher
feedstock and investment costs in Europe versus the United States. The highest net production costs are
found in the USGC.

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6.3 Specialty Grades

Specialty grades are sold at a premium to other grades of carbon black. Acetylene black, for example, is a
high purity, highly conductive product used in dry cells among other applications. Other grades listed in this
section include the thermal carbon black (N990) and the plasma process.
6.3.1 Thermal Carbon Black (N990)
Table 32 shows the economics for producing medium thermal carbon black grade N990 using conventional
gas thermal technology, based on construction and pricing in the first quarter 2020.
The total project investment costs for a 15 000 tons per year carbon black plant operating in USGC is
estimated at about $23 million.
Raw material costs are mainly comprised of the carbon black feedstock costs, in the estimation below this
is natural gas. Natural gas is assumed to be used as both feedstock and fuel. Typically yields for gas
thermal blacks range from 40 to 50 percent per ton depending on the type of feedstock, feedstock quality
and process technology. A similar yield on fuel was assumed.
The aerosol material stream of carbon black and off gases is quenched with water sprays and filtered. The
major waste from this process is generated as off gas from the bag filter house. This effluent stream,
composed of mainly hydrogen, is conventionally used to preheat the second furnace. In our production
costs estimates, the hydrogen and flue gases are combined and credited at their respective fuel values,
using the lower heating value for hydrogen.
6.3.2 Acetylene Black
Table 33 shows the economics for an acetylene carbon black plant using conventional gas thermal
technology, based on construction and pricing in the first quarter 2020.
The total project investment costs for a 10 000 tons per year carbon black plant operating in China is
Raw material costs are comprised of acetylene costs which is assumed to be transferred at cost plus a 10
percent ROI. Typically, yields for acetylene blacks range from 95-99 percent per ton depending on the
process technology.
The electrical energy is used to generate the electric arc that maintains the acetylene decomposition.
Electrical energy is also required for auxiliary equipment such as pumps and compressors etc.
6.3.3 Plasma Process
Table 33 shows the speculative economics for a plant producing hydrogen and carbon black by the
Kvaerner plasma technology, based on construction and pricing in the first quarter 2020.
The total project investment costs for a 10 000 tons per year carbon black plant operating in USGC is
The inputs and outputs are based on Kvaerner’s published input and output data. A portion of the hydrogen
produced is cycled to the plasma torch. The rest of the hydrogen is assumed to be sold on at 1.8 x the fuel
equivalent of hydrogen.

100101.200.2020.017
Table 32 Cost of Production Estimate for: Thermal Carbon Black N990

Process: Generic Thermal Black, USGC, First quarter 2020
UNITS PRICE ANNUAL

RAW MATERIALS Natural Gas Gigajoule 163.356 1.99 325.66 4.88

BYPRODUCT CREDITS Flue gas GJ (66.873) 1.99 (133.32) (2.00)
TOTAL BYPRODUCT CREDITS (133.32) (2.00) (0.06)
Fuel Gigajoule 23.263 1.79 41.66 0.62
Waste Treatment 1.000 10.00 10.00 0.15
VARIABLE COST 278.24 4.17 0.13

TOTAL CASH COST 469.01 7.04 0.21

100101.200.2020.017
Table 33 Cost of Production Estimate for: Acetylene Carbon Black

Process: Generic Acetylene Black, USGC, First quarter 2020
UNITS PRICE ANNUAL

RAW MATERIALS Acetylene (COP + 10% ROI) ton 1.0942 1,782.00 1,949.87 11.70
TOTAL RAW MATERIALS 1,949.87 11.70 0.88
BYPRODUCT CREDITS Hydrogen ton (0.0833) 1,419.61 (118.20) (0.71)
NET RAW MATERIALS 1,831.67 10.99 0.83
NET RAW MATERIALS & UTILITIES 1,859.57 11.16 0.84
VARIABLE COST 1,859.57 11.16 0.84

TOTAL CASH COST 2 054.63 12.33 0.93
COST OF PRODUCTION 2 383.92 14.30 1.08
COST OF PRODUCTION + 10% ROCE 2 791.53 16.75 1.27

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Table 34 Cost of Production Estimate for: Carbon Black

Process: Kvaerner Carbon Black and Hydrogen Process, USGC, First quarter 2020
UNITS PRICE ANNUAL

RAW MATERIALS Natural Gas ton 75.900 1.99 151.31 1.51

BYPRODUCT CREDITS Hydrogen ton (0.250) 1,208.07 (302.02) (3.02)
NET RAW MATERIALS (136.46) (1.36) (0.06)
Waste Treatment 1.000 10.00 10.00 0.10
VARIABLE COST 23.37 0.23 0.01

TOTAL CASH COST 521.44 5.21 0.24
COST OF PRODUCTION 1,009.21 10.09 0.46
COST OF PRODUCTION + 10% ROCE 1 598.59 15.99 0.73

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6.3.4 Comparison
Figure 48 compares the costs of production of the specialty thermal black and acetylene black with the
speculative costs of a carbon black produced by the Kvaerner plasma process. The figure shows that fixed
costs represent a significant portion of the total production costs for these grades. In each case, credit was
taken for the fuel value of the hydrogen produced and the flue gas. The plant capacities of the thermal
black, acetylene black and speculative Kvaerner Plasma processes were assumed to be 15 000, 6 000 and
10 000 tons per year respectively.
Acetylene black has the highest costs of production among the three grades, mainly due to the feedstock
costs. The costs of production of thermal black for the U.S.-based plant are lower partly due to the low costs
of natural gas currently experienced in the United States. The costs of production for the plasma process
is speculative.
Figure 48 Costs of Production for Thermal, Acetylene and Plasma Carbon Blacks
(First quarter 2020, USGC (Thermal and Plasma) and China (Acetylene) Basis)
2500
2000
1500
US$ per ton
1000
500
-500
Thermal Black Acetylene Black Plasma Black
USGC China USGC
One of the most notable observations is that both the thermal and plasma black have significantly lower
production costs, even in comparison to the furnace black grades shown earlier. One of the key contributors
to such a low production cost is the price of its main feedstock, natural gas particularly in the United States.
Natural gas prices have dropped significantly due to the advent of the shale gas industry, which has brought
an abundant source of natural gas and creating an oversupply. It is for this reason that there has been
increased interest in processes that utilize natural gas in order to capitalize on this feedstock advantage.
The analysis above does not take into account the depreciation and ROCE, which for the plasma black
process results in a significant increase in cost to above $1 500 per ton due to the high investment cost
relative to its production capacity.

100101.200.2020.017
7 Commercial Applications
7.1 Overview
Carbon black has several key functionalities:
 Reinforcement (improving strength and durability by increasing tensile strength, hardness, tear
resistance and abrasion resistance) --- pigmentation (imparting color, jetness, undertones, gloss
and opacity to products) --- protection (ultraviolet, heat and infrared)
 Rheology control (for the control of viscosity in liquid and semi-liquid compounds that are used in
the manufacture of molded, extruded or fluid products)
 Electrical conductivity (increasing or decreasing the transmission or conduction of electricity in
jacketing compounds in wiring and cables. Carbon black also prevents the build-up of static charge)
 Thermal conductivity (increasing thermal conductivity in friction products such as brakes and
clutches)
 Reduction agent (can react chemically with an oxide, such as quartz--–silicon dioxide---to convert
the oxide to the metal silicon)
While carbon black can be produced by a number of different processes, the furnace black process
dominates the industry. The furnace process offers the highest efficiencies, best production economics and
the greatest control over properties during manufacturing.
goods such as tires, belts, hoses and rollers. Furnace black, or technical grade carbon black, is used in this
application. Over 90 percent of global carbon black output is consumed by the production of rubber
products. 73 percent is applied to the manufacture of tires. Other rubber products include gaskets, wire and
cable sleeves, coated fabrics, roofing, conveyor belts, hoses, gloves, packaging, mats, footwear,
metallurgy, toys and pontoons. Non-rubber products are consumed in the inks, plastics (cables, pipes,
moldings, and fibers), paint, inks, adhesives and sealants, toners and paper sectors.
The breakdown of carbon black’s demand by application in the global market is presented in Figure 49.
Figure 49 Global Carbon Black Demand by Application, 2020
Speciality
7%
Cars
Non Tire Usage 28%
20%
Other Tires
21% Bus andTrucks
24%

100101.200.2020.017
The major commercial application of carbon black is for use as a rubber reinforcement agent. Typically a
car or truck tire contains 30 percent by weight carbon black. The rubber properties are influenced by the
physical and chemical properties of the carbon black, the most important being aggregate size, shape,
particle size, surface activity and porosity. The physical form of the carbon black pellet or powder influences
its handling and mixing characteristics, and the rubber properties. Dispersibility is important for rubbers.
The tire/automotive sector dominates consumption: an average of 47 kilograms of carbon black is required
to process 100 kilograms of rubber and the average car contains 3.6 kilograms of carbon black.
Consequently, the industry performance is closely tied to the overall macroeconomic conditions.
Non-automotive industrial rubber goods account for a further 20 percent of demand. These goods include
gaskets, wire and cable sleeves, coated fabrics, roofing, conveyor belts, hoses, gloves, packaging, mats,
footwear, metallurgy, toys and pontoons. When colors other than black are required for rubber goods, such
as trainers, fumed silica is used despite worse abrasion resistance when compared with carbon black.
Consumption of special blacks in inks (LaserJet/photocopies toners), master batch applications, coatings
and paper account for the remaining seven percent of demand. In coatings, carbon black is used as a
pigmenting agent, an ultraviolet (UV) stabilizing agent and a conductive agent. When added to externally-
exposed polymer products, it inhibits weather degradation by absorbing UV radiation. Carbon black is also
used in some metallurgy applications because of its ability to reduce metal oxide to the metal itself.
The following is an alphabetical listing of the applications of carbon black:

 Aerospace & Defense: Metallurgical Products, Military Components, Superalloys, Thermoset
Composites
 Automotive: Adhesives & Sealants, Automotive Basecoats, Batteries & Energy Storage, Coatings,
Friction Materials, Industrial Rubber Products, Mold Flux Powders, Silicones, Thermoset
Composites, Tires, Catalysts and Other Fine Chemicals
 Brand Protection: Security Printing
 Chemical Processing: Catalysts and Other Fine Chemicals, Metallurgical Products, Specialty
 Construction: Adhesives & Sealants, Coatings, Daylighting, Silicones, Thermoset Composites,
Building Insulation
 Electronics: Adhesives & Sealants, Capacitors, Electronics Packaging, Fuel Cells, Sputtering
Targets, Thermoset Composites
 Energy: Drilling and Completion Fluids, Fuel Cells, Oil & Gas Insulation, Solar, Specialty,
Superalloys
 Environmental Protection: Catalysts and Other Fine Chemicals
 Glasses & Ceramics: Mold Flux Powders, Sputtering Targets
 Life Sciences: Care, Cosmetics, Pharmaceuticals
 Mineral Processing: Mining Wear Protection
 Plastic Products: Cable, Electrostatic Discharge, Fiber, Film, Molding, Pipe, Sheet
 Printing: Decorative Metallic Graphics, Electrophotographic Printing, Inkjet Printing, Printed
Electronics, Printing Inks, Security Printing, Specialty.
 Rubber Products: Industrial Rubber Products, Silicones, Tires
 Textiles: Apparel
 Transportation: Industrial & Cryogenic

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7.1.1 Applications by Grade

Table 35 further illustrates the applications that are used for different carbon black grades.)
Table 35 Typical Application by Carbon Black Grade
(As recommended by China Carbon Group)
Grade N220 N234 N326 N330 N339 N375 N550 N660 N762 N772
Others Paints & printing ink √ √ √ √ √ √
Non-rubber
Moulded goods √ √ √ √
Moulded goods condensed √ √
Plastics
Cable components √ √
Film & sheet √ √ √ √
Footwear √ √ √ √
Cable √ √ √ √ √
Door seal √ √
Oil seal √ √ √
Hose √ √ √ √
Non-tyre
Vee belts √ √ √ √
Rubber
Conveyor belts √ √ √ √ √ √ √
Tube √ √ √ √
Cycle tyre √ √ √
Retreading industries √ √ √ √ √ √
Beads/plies √ √ √
Sidewall √ √
Tyre
Thread √ √ √ √ √
Off-the-road (OTR) √ √ √ √
Although each producer will have their own recommendation for the carbon black grade that is suited for a
particular application, they generally do not differ significantly from each other. They can be roughly grouped
together into the following types:
 N100, 200, 300 series
These grades are typically used in applications where high abrasion resistance is required, e.g.
typically tire treads.
N100 grades tend to find use in truck, off road and performance tire treads since these grades
impart the highest abrasion resistance qualities
The major grades used are the N200 and N300 series, of which N220, N234, N326, N330 and
N339 are the general purpose reinforcing grades also known as tread or hard grades.
 N500, 600, 700 series
These are known as the soft or semi-reinforcing grades and are used in components that require
low heat build-up during stress. They are used to improve air retention and improve ply
strength whilst reducing elastic hysteresis (the inability to return to its original shape after
being stretched). The coarsest carbon blacks are used in mixtures that require good
extrusion proportions.
The N550, N650 and N660 series are used to improve dynamic properties and provide moderate
reinforcement. Applications of these grades include the inner liners, tire sidewalls, extruded
goods, belts, sheeting and hoses.

100101.200.2020.017
The N700 series offer the most dynamic properties and are typically used in tire carcasses,
sidewalls and beadings as well as hosing and belts.
 N800, 900 series
The less common N800 and N900 series are used for non-tire applications and they are produced
from the thermal black process.
The N990 series has high elongation and loading capacity. Meanwhile, it also provides low
reinforcement while having low modulus, hardness, hysteresis and tensile strength. This
series is mainly used in belting, hosing, gaskets, O-rings and tire inner-liners. (166)
Figure 50 shows Nexant’s estimate of global carbon black demand by rubber grade estimated as of 2020.
The dominant black grades are those of the reinforcing hard grades from N100 to N300 that are typically
used for tires for abrasion resistance, which account for 66 percent of global demand. The N500-700 grades
typically used for carcass tires (600 and 700 for slow speed tires) account for 30 percent while the specialty
blacks which are composed of purer STM grades and proprietary customized grades account for the rest.
Figure 50 Global Carbon Black Demand by Grades, 2020
(12 million tons)
Other Grades
4%
N500-700 Grades
30%
N100-300 Grades
66%
In general, the non-tire applications tend to be able to use a wider range of carbon black grades while the
tire applications tend to use the lower digit carbon black grades. Table 36 describes some general
properties imparted to rubber different carbon black grades.

100101.200.2020.017
Table 36 Key Physical and Thermodynamic Properties of select grades

Old generic names Grades General Rubber Properties Typical Uses
Special service tire treads (e.g.
Super abrasion furnace (SAF) N100s Extremely high abrasion resistance and good processing
off-road)
Tire treads, rail pads, solid
Intermediate SAF (ISAF) N200s Very high abrasion resistance and good processing wheels, mats. Tire belts,
carcass, retread compounds
Tire belt, carcass, sidewall
High abrasion furnace (HAF) / High abrasion resistance and good processing, low modulus, good tear
N300s compounds, weather strips,
Super processing furnace (SPF) strength, fatigue and flex cracking resistance
hoses
Fast extrusion furnace (FAF) N500s High modulus, high harness, low die swell, smooth and fast extrusion Tire, cable, printing, coatings
Carcass, sidewalls, inner liners,
General purpose furnace (GPF) N600s Medium modulus, good flex fatigue resistance and low heat build-up seals, cable jackets, hose, soling,
EPDM compounds
Footwear, inner tubes, inner
Semi-reinforcing furnace (SRF) N700s High elongation and resilience, low compression set
liners, mats
Fine / medium thermal N800s / 900s High loadability, low compression set, low compound viscosity Polymer compounding
7.1.2 Applications by Type

Thermal blacks are primarily used in the rubber industry, where they improve resilience and elasticity in
components such as seals, gaskets, O-rings, diaphragms, belts and hoses. Other markets include wire and
cable jacketing, refractories, metallurgy and high temperature insulation type of large particle, non-
reinforcing carbon black manufactured from natural gas feedstock.
Acetylene black process provides special carbon black with higher structures and higher crystallinity, and
is mainly used for electric conductive agents in batteries, where it provides conductivity in heavy-duty zinc
carbon and certain specialty batteries. Other markets include wire and cable, conductive rubber and plastics
goods, and conductive coatings and adhesives.
Lamp blacks are used as a non- or semi-reinforcement in rubber goods. They are used to a lower amount
as pigment for tinting, cosmetics, enamels, inks paints etc. They have found use in niche applications such
as production of resistors, brushes and arc carbons. Gas blacks are produced for mainly pigment
applications in printing inks, plastics, lacquers and coatings.
A small amount of byproduct carbon from the manufacture of synthesis gas from liquid hydrocarbons has
found applications in electrically-conductive coatings compositions. However, it is possible to produce
approximations to these grades by the furnace process.
Carbon black is often marketed in the form of pellets. These are small, solid or densely packed ball or
masses. Producers market wet, dry and oil carbon black pellets, with the majority of the carbon black sold
in the form of wet pellets. Dry pellets are developed for some rubber applications and for pigmentation in
other applications. Oil pellets are produced for printing industry applications.
Carbon black has a history of use as a pigment and ink dating back to 3500 BC. It has also been used for
eye cosmetics and kohl in the Middle East and India. Currently carbon black is used in coatings, printing
inks, pigment for plastics and antistatic properties rubber and plastics. Additionally, it still finds use in
cosmetics as mascara, eye shadows and nail enamels.
For use as pigment, carbon black is classified as high color, medium color, regular color, and low color and
a third letter indicates the manufacturing process such as F for furnace etc.
A color black requires a high jetness, easy dispersion and good viscosity stability in formulation. High jet
blacks are used in automobiles for optical instruments, and as solar collectors. It is used due to the high
degree of blackness and almost unlimited heat and light resistance.

100101.200.2020.017
Coatings are used for decorative, protective and functional treatment such as coils, metals, appliances,
furniture, woods, marine automobiles, etc. When coated on undersea pipelines they are protective; ship
coatings are resistant to corrosion and fouling. Other coatings are used in silicon chips, printed circuit
boards and in the now virtually obsolete technology of video tapes and computer disks. Surface coatings
are viscous liquids containing a film forming binder, a pigment or combination and a volatile liquid. The
surface area of carbon black is important in achieving good color properties. Surface area is inversely
proportional to particle size, and small particles are desirable for a color coating, though small particles
increase viscosity. Conductive coatings are essential for automotive plastic parts as primers and
electrostatic dissipation control. These find use in aircraft pains, spark resisting equipment, electrostatic
spraying primers, heat resistive coating and inks in electrical circuits.
Carbon black is used in plastics for coloring and opacity, stabilization against UV light and reinforcement,
as well as conductivity. The reinforcement effect of carbon black in plastics is similar to that of rubber.
Printing inks is an important application for carbon black, including use as toner in photocopiers and
newspaper ink. Small volumes are used as tinting in confectionary and tinting of synthetic fibers, as well as
anticaking agent in cements and fertilizers.
7.2 Summary
Ideally, rubber compounds containing carbon black should have better wear and traction, lower rolling
resistance, and less heat generation and noise. In non-tire applications, carbon black should impart the
rubbers with increased resilience and dimensional stability.
It is important to understand how different carbon black grades impact the end application product.
Figure 51 is a morphology map to understand the positioning of different blacks and their properties.
Figure 51 Simplified Property Considerations for a Compounder Using Carbon Black
200
Modulus
180 Green strength High hardness
Good dispersion
160 High viscosity
Good extrusion
Critical stress
140
DBP, cm3 / 100g
120
Abrasion
100
Tensile
Resilience
80 Tear
strength
60
40
Elongation
20 Good flow Poor
Crack initiation dispersion
0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160
Iodine level, mg/g

100101.200.2020.017
Key properties that are evaluated include the following:

 Dispersion
 Extrusion
 Modulus
 Green strength
 Hardness
 Viscosity
 Critical stress
 Abrasion
 Tensile
 Tear
 Elongation
 Crack initiation
 Resilience
Figure 52 also provides a simplified application mapping with regards to the carbon black grades.
Figure 52 Simplified Product Application Mapping in Relation to Carbon Black Properties
200
180
160
Non-tire extruded products

140 E.g. weather strips, hoses etc.

Tires
High conductivity applications
DBP, cm3 / 100g
120
100
Non-tire products Tires
80 e.g. hoses, tubes, Non-tire products e.g. belts, gaskets etc.
packing, gaskets
60 etc.
40 Non-tire products e.g.

Belts, packing, gaskets, tubes. Etc.
20
0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160
Iodine level, mg/g

100101.200.2020.017
8 Regional Market Analysis

8.1 Global Outlook
8.1.1 Global Consumption
The global market for carbon black was 13.3 million tons in 2017, gradually increasing and reaching 13.5
million in 2019. However, it is estimated that demand will fall to around 12 million tons in 2020 due to the
slowdown in economic growth and the impact of Covid-19 with many of the major automotive and rubber
production facilities were forced to shut down during the quarantine period across the globe.
The regional consumption of carbon black is shown in Table 37. Asia Pacific accounts for more than
60 percent of global demand, driven mainly by China, which accounts for almost 60 percent of the Asia
Pacific total. The next largest markets are North America and Western Europe, accounting for 13 and six
percent respectively.
Table 37 Global Carbon Black Consumption by Region
(Thousand tons)
Average Annual
2017 2018 2019 2020 2017-2020
North America 1 823 1 874 1 850 1 572 (4.81)
Western Europe 918 927 880 748 (6.57)
Asia Pacific 8 393 8 326 8 534 7 680 (2.91)
Rest of the World 2 151 2 172 2 194 1 974 (2.81)
Global Total 13 284 13 299 13 458 11 976 (3.40)
8.1.2 Supply
Global carbon black capacity is estimated at 17.3 million tons in 2020. Historically, the bulk of the carbon
black capacity has been located outside of Asia. Over the last five years, the majority of capacity
developments have been focused in Asia Pacific, due to the growth in demand and as manufacturers have
relocated production to countries with lower operational costs. This trend is projected to continue as
manufacturers establish operations closer to major tire manufacturers who have also relocated to, or
expanded operations in the region. Capacity increase in North America and Western Europe is not
significant. With the recent economic slowdown and negative impact of Covid-19 on the global economy,
new capacities in the near term are expected to be delayed. Further market consolidation is potentially
likely to happen in the near term as well.
Industry consolidation has also been taking place in more mature markets, such as the acquisition of
Canada’s Cancarb by Tokai Carbon, Cabot’s acquisition of Mexican producer Nhumo, and more recently
Tokai Carbon’s acquisition of Sid Richardson in 2018. Major producers such as Cabot and Birla Carbon
have been carrying out debottlenecking projects at their plants across the globe to increase production
efficiency and expand their capacities.
Cabot is the single largest producer of carbon black globally, with an installed capacity of 2.3 million tons
per year. The company has production facilities in almost every continent in the world. The next largest
capacity is Birla Carbon with 2.2 million tons, then Black Cat Carbon with 1.2 million tons, followed by Orion
Engineered Carbons, as shown in Figure 53.

100101.200.2020.017
Figure 53 Global Carbon Black Supply, 2020, 17.3 Million Tons

Cabot
14%
Others Birla Carbon

38% 13%
Black Cat Carbon

7%
Orion Engineered
Continental Carbon Carbons
2% 7%
Tokai Carbon
Baohua Carbon Black
6%
2%
Omsk Carbon Group
CSRC 4%
Phillips Carbon Black
3%
4%
Cabot has been actively expanding its capacities globally, through debottlenecking projects and acquiring
NHUMO in Mexico. The Black Cat Corporation has continued to expand in recent years to replace Orion
Engineered Carbons as the third largest producer in the world. Black Cat has expanded aggressively from
its founding in June 1994 with 8 000 tons of production capacity to its current capacity of 1.2 million tons.
Table 38 shows carbon black capacity by region.

Table 38 Carbon Black Capacity by Region
(Thousand tons)
Average Annual
2017 2018 2019 2020 2017-2020
North America 2 140 2 120 2 183 2 192 0.8
Western Europe 843 858 913 913 2.7
Asia Pacific 10 048 10 783 11 295 11 365 4.2
Rest of the World 2 642 2 723 2 783 2 823 2.2
Global Total 15 673 16 484 17 174 17 293 3.3
There are currently only two producers in Africa: Birla Carbon and Orion Engineered Carbons. The
production facility owned by Birla Carbon is one of the largest carbon black manufacturing facilities in the
world and supplies predominantly to the European and Middle Eastern markets.
The manufacturing facilities in the Middle East are mainly located in Iran. The Iranian facilities largely
service the domestic market and are currently limited in their ability to export products due to the current
economic sanctions in place. Kemya, an ExxonMobil and SABIC joint venture in Al-Jubail, Saudi Arabia,
started up a 50 000 tons per year carbon black plant in 2015. In the UAE, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company
(ADNOC) constructed a 41 000 tons per year production plant in 2018. Both of these plants supply the up
and coming tire manufacturing industry in the region.
Petroleum companies such as Ashland, Cities and Conoco have all exited the business, which is now
dominated by chemical companies for whom carbon black is a core product. Reflecting larger trends in the

100101.200.2020.017
rubber, tire and automotive industries, the carbon black market is now also a global industry with a long-
term trend to further consolidation among suppliers. Most producers have a global scope to their operations
and for most producers, carbon black is a core product in their overall business.
8.1.3 Global Supply, Demand, and Trade
Carbon black’s demand growth is primarily driven by the production of tires for the automotive sector. The
estimated $192 billion tire industry consumes 73 percent of the global production of carbon black. With the
decline in demand in 2020 due to the slowdown in economic growth and the impact of Covid-19 where
many of the major automotive and rubber production facilities were forced to shut down during the
quarantine period across the globe, operating rates are estimated to decline significantly in 2020. This is
expected to be a short term impact and in the medium to longer term outlook, recovery in demand for
carbon black is forecasted.
Some growth is also expected to be driven by non-rubber applications, although these are niche, small
volume applications which often use higher margin, more differentiated specialty blacks. Demand for these
applications tends to be less impacted by the cyclicality in the automotive and rubber goods sectors. Future
growth in thermal black principally depends on greater penetration of the Asian market, particularly as
rubber compounders in the region strive to raise quality to meet global standards.
Table 39 Global Carbon Black Supply, Demand, and Trade
Average Annual
2017 2018 2019 2020 2025 2020-2025
Firm Capacity 15 673 16 484 17 174 17 293 19 003
Speculative 0 0 0 0 0
Total Capacity 15 673 16 484 17 174 17 293 19 003 1.9
Operating Rate 85% 81% 79% 69% 76%
Production 13 255 13 321 13 499 11 918 14 471
Net Export (29) 23 41 (57) 26
Consumption 13 284 13 299 13 458 11 976 14 445 3.8
Figure 54 Global Carbon Black Supply, Demand, and Trade

20000 90%
18000 80%
16000 70%
14000
60%
Operating Rate
Thousand tons
12000
50%
10000
40%
8000
30%
6000
4000 20%
2000 10%
0 0%
2017 2018 2019 2020 2025
Production Consumption Total Capacity Operating Rate

100101.200.2020.017
8.2 North America

8.2.1 Supply
North America is a fairly mature market with no major changes observed in the recent years. Cabot has
slightly increased the capacities of its plants across the world, including Canada and the U.S., through its
global debottlenecking project. Cancarb, the world’s largest producer of thermal black which was acquired
by Japanese producer Tokai Carbon in 2014, is planning to start up its 6th unit in September 2020. Monolith
Materials has also started up a new plant in 2019, and has plans to ramp up its capacity to 220 000 tons
per year by 2022.
One major acquisition in North America that was completed recently was the acquisition of a major
producer, Sid Richardson by Tokai Carbon. This adds 440 000 tons per year of capacity to Tokai Carbon’s
profile through the three plants operated by Sid Richardson in the U.S.
Table 8.4 shows the carbon black capacity in North America for 2020.
Table 40 Carbon Black Capacity in North America
Country Company Location 2020
Canada Birla Carbon Hamilton, Ontario 110
Cabot Sarnia, Ontario 120
Cancarb Medicine Hat, Alberta 54
Mexico Nhumo Altamira 140
Bridgestone Carbon Manufacturing Altamira 35
USA Birla Carbon Centerville, LA 155
Birla Carbon Ulysses, KS 60
Cabot Franklin, LA 188
Cabot Ville Platte, LA 178
Cabot Pampa, TX 25
Continental Carbon Ponca City, OK 130
Continental Carbon Phoenix City, AL 90
Continental Carbon Sunray, TX 85
Monolith Materials Olive Creek, NE 14
Orion Engineered Carbons Borger, TX 105
Orion Engineered Carbons Orange, TX 50
Orion Engineered Carbons Ivanhoe, LA 125
Orion Engineered Carbons Belpre, OH 75
Pyrolyx Terre Haute, IN 13
Sid Richardson Borger, TX 170
Sid Richardson Addis, LA 155
Sid Richardson Big Spring, TX 115
Total 2 192

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8.2.2 North America Supply, Demand, and Trade

North America is a mature market and demand has been slowing since 2019. It is estimated that the market
was severely affected in 2020 due to the impact of the Covid-19 outbreak. The widespread lockdown
measures across the world to combat the outbreak has reduced demand from end users, as automotive
and tire sales decrease. Carbon black producers also halted production during the lockdown period but
recovery is assumed towards the end of 2020 to reach pre-Covid levels by medium term forecast to 2025.
Table 41 shows the supply, demand and trade balance for the region.
Table 41 North American Carbon Black Supply, Demand, and Balance
Average Annual
2017 2018 2019 2020 2025 2020-2025
Firm Capacity 2 140 2 120 2 183 2 192 2 411
Speculative - - - - -
Total Capacity 2 140 2 120 2 183 2 192 2 411 1.92
Operating Rate 85% 83% 80% 70% 78%
Production 1 825 1 760 1 746 1 534 1 881
Net Export 2 (114) (103) (38) (38)
Consumption 1 823 1 874 1 850 1 572 1 919 4.07
8.3 Western Europe

8.3.1 Supply
Italy and Germany have the largest capacities in the region. Birla Carbon closed down its plant in Hannover,
Germany in 2015 and Orion Engineered Carbons also shut down its plant in Ambes, France in 2016. Since
then, there has been only a few increase in capacity in the region. Noncarb Engineered in Sweden, which
is owned by Orion Engineered Carbons carried out a debottlenecking project in 2017. Birla Carbon also
debottlenecked its plant in Italy in 2018 and expanded its capacity in Spain to 95 000 tons per year in 2019.
Orion Engineered Carbons added a specialty black production line at its Italian plant in 2019, expanding
the variety of carbon black that it offers to its customers. It also has plans to expand its gas black production
capacity in Germany in the near future, but did not disclose any date or capacity.
Table 42 shows the carbon black capacity in Western Europe for 2020.
Table 42 Carbon Black Capacity in Western Europe
France Cabot Port Jerome 95
Germany Deutsche Gasrusswerke Dortmund 128
Orion Engineered Carbons Kalscheuren, Cologne 140
Italy Birla Carbon Trecate 95
Cabot Ravenna 110
Orion Engineered Carbons Ravenna 100
Netherlands Cabot Botlek, Rotterdam 100
Spain Birla Carbon Santander 95
Sweden Norcarb Engineered Malmo 50
Total 913

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8.3.2 Western Europe Supply, Demand, and Trade

Western Europe reduced its capacity in 2016 and 2017, but since then has been increasing steadily.
However, the demand within the region itself has been relatively stagnant as there is not much expansion
in the tire industry. The surplus in supply is mainly export to Eastern Europe.
In 2019, the consumption of carbon black in Western Europe has decreased due to drop in tire sales. The
situation worsened in 2020 as the Covid-19 disease strongly hits the major economies in Western Europe
such as Italy, Germany, France and the United Kingdom. Operating rate is expected to be low as many
producers shut down their facilities to curb the spread of the virus. Demand is expected to recover slowly
towards late 2020.
Table 43 Western Europe Carbon Black Supply, Demand, and Trade
Average Annual
2017 2018 2019 2020 2025 2020-2025
Firm Capacity 843 858 913 913 962
Total Capacity 843 858 913 913 962 1.05
Operating Rate 86% 82% 75% 65% 77%
Production 728 704 685 593 741
Net Export (190) (223) (196) (155) (155)
Consumption 918 927 880 748 896 3.66
8.4 Asia Pacific

8.4.1 Supply
Asia Pacific has the greatest capacity globally with an estimated total of 11.4 million tons 2020. The majority
of capacity is based in China, currently estimated at almost eight million tons. Leading players such as
Black Cat Corporation, the third largest producer in the world after Cabot Corporation and Birla Carbon,
operate solely in China.
India has the next largest capacity with almost 1.3 million tons nameplate capacity, followed by South Korea
with 730 000 tons, Japan with 642 000 tons and Thailand with half a million tons of capacity.
India has seen several capacity expansion projects in 2019, and more are expected to happen in the coming
few years. In 2019, Phillips Carbon Black expanded its plants in Palej and Mundra, Himadri Specialty
Chemicals expanded its plant in West Bengal, and Balkrishna Industries started up a 60 000 tons per year
facility in Bhuj. Himadri Specialty Chemicals plans to further expand its plant capacity to 320 000 tons per
year by 2023, and Balkrishna Industries plants to ramp up its new plant capacity to 140 000 tons per year
by 2021. Two more new plants of 150 000 tons per year and 300 000 tons per year are also expected to
be completed in 2022 by Phillips Carbon Black and Epsilon Carbon respectively.
Hyundai Oilbank started up a new facility in Seosan, South Korea in 2018, with capacity of 100 000 tons
per year. It is planning to expand the plant capacity to 150 000 tons per year in 2020. Orion Engineered
Carbons has also consolidated its plants in Yeosu and Bupyeong in 2018.

100101.200.2020.017
Table 44 Carbon Black Capacity in Asia Pacific

India Phillips Carbon Black Burdwan, Durgapur. West Bengal 164
Phillips Carbon Black Kochi, Kerala 93
Phillips Carbon Black Palej, Gujarat 142
Phillips Carbon Black Mundra, Gujarat 205
Balkrishna Industries Bhuj 80
Birla Carbon Renukoot, Sonebhadra, Uttar Pradesh 85
Birla Carbon Gummidipoondi, Tamil Nadu 145
Birla Carbon Patalganga, Maharashtra 85
Continental Carbon Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh 85
Himadri Specialty Chemicals Mahistikry, West Bengal 180
Ralson Goodluck Ludhiana, Punjab 40
Indonesia Cabot Cilegon 90
Japan Tokai Carbon Taketoyo, Chita 100
Tokai Carbon Kita-Kyushu, Fukuoka 55
Tokai Carbon Ishinomaki, Miyagi 45
Cabot Chiba 100
Cabot Yamaguchi 52
Mitsubishi Chemical Yokkaichi 90
Mitsubishi Chemical Kurosaki 15
NSCC Carbon Tahari, Aichi 60
Asahi Carbon Niigata 125
Pakistan National Petrocarbon Karachi 33
South Korea Birla Carbon Yeosu 120
Hyundai Oilbank Seosan 150
OCI Pohang 170
OCI Kwangyang 100
Orion Engineered Carbons Yeosu 190
Taiwan CSRC Kaohsiung, Hsien 120
Thailand Birla Carbon Angthong 275
Bridgestone Carbon Black Rayong Province 55
Tokai Carbon Sriracha, Chonburi 180

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Table 44 Carbon Black Capacity in Asia Pacific (Continued)

China Anlun Chemical Yuncheng, Shanxi 450
Baohua Carbon Black Suzhou, Jiangsu 220
Baohua Carbon Black Dazhou, Sichuan 40
Baohua Carbon Black Guiyang, Guizhou 40
Baohua Carbon Black Wuhai, Inner Mongolia 100
Best Chemical Dongying, Shandong 160
Bestar Carbon Black Factory Taierzhuang, Zaozhuang, Zaozhuang 80
Birla Carbon Weifang, Shandong 70
Birla Carbon Jining, Shandong 240
Black Cat Carbon Jingdezhen, Jiangxi 130
Black Cat Carbon Hancheng, Shaanxi 120
Black Cat Carbon Chaoyang, Liaoning 100
Black Cat Carbon Wuhai, Inner Mongolia 175
Black Cat Carbon Handan, Hebei 160
Black Cat Carbon Guye, Hebei 160
Black Cat Carbon Qingxu, Shanxi 110
Black Cat Carbon Jining, Shandong 200
Black Diamond Material Science Hefei, Anhui 18
Black Horse Carbon Black Hejin, Shanxi 100
Boao Carbon Black Qingzhou, Shandong 100
Cabot Shanghai, Shanghai 145
Cabot Hangu district, Tianjin 290
Cabot Hangu district, Tianjin 25
Cabot Xingtai, Hebei 140
Changji Huadong Rubber Urumqi, Xinjiang 30
China Carbon Black Institute Zigong, Sichuan 45
CSRC Maanshan, Anhui 125
CSRC Anshan, Liaoning 130
CSRC Changshou, Chongqing 30
Dayou Enterprises Jiayuguan, Gansu 65
Detai Chemical Ningbo, Zhejiang 65
Dexinlong Chemical Yuncheng, Shanxi 30
Doublestar Group Zhumadian, Henan 35
Fushun Baishi Carbon Black Fushun, Liaoning 55
Guangbei Carbon Black Dongying, Shandong 50
Guangrao Aolong Carbon Black Guangrao, Shandong 100
Hengda Chemical Jiangxian, Shanxi 90
Jinneng Science & Technology Dezhou, Shandong 340
Jinxing Chemical Jiangxian, Shanxi 50

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Table 44 Carbon Black Capacity in Asia Pacific (Continued)

China Jiuqi Fine Chemical Qingdao, Shandong 80
Junthin Chemical Baicheng, Xinjiang 90
Laiwu Taishan Carbon Black Laiwu, Shandong 30
Liaobin Carbon Black Factory Dashiqiao, Liaoning 150
Linglong Rubber Additives Linglong, Shandong 120
Lixin Chemical Taiyuan, Shanxi 30
Longmen Carbon Black Hejin, Shanxi 80
Longxing Chemical Shahe, Hebei 300
Longxing Chemical Jiaozuo, Henan 100
Maoming Huanxing Carbon Black Maoming, Guangdong 60
Mengxi Hengxin Carbon Black Ordos, Inner Mongolia 30
Nicest Carbon Black Dongying, Shandong 130
Ningxia Dadi Circular Development Pingluo, Ningxia 80
NSCC Carbon Pizhou, Xuzhou, Jiangsu 50
OCI-Jianyang Carbon Black Zaozhuang, Shandong 80
Orion Engineered Carbons Qingdao, Shandong 75
Panther Carbon Black Pingxiang, Jiangxi 30
Panther Carbon Black Fengcheng, Jiangxi 60
Panzhihua Qianjin Carbon Black Panzhihua, Sichuan 30
Pingxiang Flying Tiger Carbon Black Anyuan, Pingxiang, Jiangxi 60
Sanqiang Carbon Black Taiyuan, Shanxi 280
Shandong Link Advanced Materials Linqu, Shandong 80
Shanxi Coking Hongtong, Shanxi 80
Shanxi Zhixin Group Jiangxian, Shanxi 70
Shuangxin Carbon Black Huixian, Henan 60
Shuangyashan Huadong Rubber Shuangyashan, Heilongjiang 60
Taiyuan Hongxing Carbon Black Taiyuan, Shanxi 30
Tianhong Coking & Chemical Pingdingshan, Henan 40
Tokai Carbon Tianjin 70
Wuxi Shuangcheng Carbon Black Yixing, Jiangsu 53
Xinjiang Swan Carbon Black Kucha, Xinjiang 30
Xinxing Chemical Carbon Shijiazhuang, Hebei 140
Yinbao Carbon Black Shouguang, Shandong 40
Yongdong Chemical Industry Xishe, Shanxi 360
Yuanzheng Chemical Jiangxian, Shanxi 35
Yunnan Coal Chemical (Yunwei) Qujing, Yunnan 100
Zhongyi Coal Chemical Industry Qujing, Yunnan 130
Total 11 365

100101.200.2020.017
8.4.2 Asia Pacific Supply, Demand and Trade

China is currently the world’s largest market for passenger vehicles and tires, growing steadily for the past
decade. However, the outbreak of Covid-19 in 2020 has resulted in a negative outlook as China
implemented a lockdown in several regions to curb the spread of the virus for about two months. Automotive
sales have fallen by more than 80% in the first quarter, and tire sales are expected to see a sharp decline
due to fewer cars on the road. However, this major decline is seen to be temporary, and carbon black
market is estimated to recover slowly towards the end of the year when the spread of Covid-19 slows down
significantly.
Asian operating rates are usually depressed by China’s operating rate. Asia tends to have a trade surplus
with significant amounts of interregional trade. Prior to 2017, Asian demand has been increasing but in
2018, China’s economic growth began to slow down, with tire and vehicle sales decreasing. The demand
recovered in 2019, but worsened as the Covid-19 disease broke out in China towards the end of 2019.
China was one of the worst hit countries, with vehicle sales decreasing more than 80 percent in the first
few months of 2020.
The tire industry in India is expected to grow in the coming years driven by growing middle income segment
as well as expected increases in the manufacturing sector, boosting the demand for carbon black. Japan
and South Korea are expected to show little growth, though the consumption base is relatively large and
well developed.
Table 45 Asia Pacific Carbon Black Supply/Demand Balance
Average Annual
2017 2018 2019 2020 2025 2020-2025
Firm Capacity 10 048 10 783 11 295 11 365 12 727
Total Capacity 10 048 10 783 11 295 11 365 12 727 2.29
Operating Rate 85% 81% 80% 70% 76%
Production 8 567 8 734 9 036 7 956 9 673
Net Export 174 409 502 275 302
Consumption 8 393 8 326 8 534 7 680 9 370 4.06

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8.5 Rest of the World

8.5.1 Supply
Table 46 shows the carbon black capacity in the rest of the world for 2020. Capacity has remained flat in
South America except for a debottlenecking project by Cabot in Brazil. The majority of capacity is found in
Brazil followed by Argentina. The largest regional producer is Birla Carbon following its 2011 acquisition of
Columbian Chemicals. Similarly, the capacity in Central Europe has remained flat other than
debottlenecking project by Cabot in Czech Republic. Russia has shown increased demand in recent years,
with Omsk Carbon Group expanding its capacities in Russia and starting up a new plant in Belarus in 2018.
Ukraine’s Kremenchug Carbon Black also started up a new production line in 2019.
In the Middle East, the majority of the plants are found in Iran, with a total capacity of 162 000 tons per year.
UAE’s ADNOC completed the construction of its 41 000 ton per year production plant in 2018. In Africa, Egypt
has the largest carbon black production capacity, followed by the South African plant owned by Orion.
Table 46 Carbon Black Capacity in Rest of the World
Region Country Company Location 2020
South America Argentina Cabot Campana 100
Brazil Birla Carbon Cubatao 150
Birla Carbon Bahia 75
Cabot Maua 170
Orion Engineered Carbons Paulinia, Sao Paulo 95
Columbia Cabot Cartegena 60
Venezuela Negroven Valencia 75
Central Europe Czech Republic Cabot Valasske Mezirici 125
Hungary Birla Carbon Tiszaujvaros 130
Poland Orion Engineered Carbons Jaslo 40
Eastern Europe Belarus Omsk Carbon Group Mogliev 200
Russia Omsk Carbon Group Omsk 265
Omsk Carbon Group Volgograd 240
Yaroslavl Carbon Black (YZTU) Yaroslavl 370
Nizhnekamsk Carbon Black Nizhnekamsk 125
Gazprom Pererabotka Sosnogorsk 25
Tuimasy Ivanovsky Techuglerod Tuimasy 25
JSC Stakhanov Ivanovo 30
Ukraine Kremenchug Carbon Black Kremenchug 115
Middle East Iran Doodeh Sanati Pars Saveh 30
Iran Carbon Ahwez 50
SADAF Dezful 40
Simorgh Carbon Mahallat 42
Saudi Arabia Kemya Jubail 50
UAE ADNOC Abu Dhabi 41
Africa Egypt Birla Carbon Amerya 290

South Africa Orion Engineered Carbons Port Elizabeth 65
Total 3 023

100101.200.2020.017
8.5.2 Rest of the World Supply, Demand and Trade

The increase in carbon black capacity has been relatively small in the rest of the world due to lack of
expansion of downstream derivative production facilities such as tires, as well as lower consumer demand
in general. This is reflected in the low consumption growth rate compared to other regions in the world. The
operating rate and consumption is estimated to decline in 2020 following the global outbreak of Covid-19
that has impacted vehicle and tire production and sales. However, in the longer term, the demand is
expected to recover to previous levels by 2025, with support from growing economies in regions such as
Africa and South America.
Table 47 Rest of the World Carbon Black Supply/Demand Balance
Average Annual
2017 2018 2019 2020 2025 2020-2025
Firm Capacity 2 642 2 723 2 783 2 823 2 903
Total Capacity 2 642 2 723 2 783 2 823 2 903 0.56
Operating Rate 81% 78% 73% 65% 75%
Production 2 135 2 124 2 032 1 835 2 177
Net Export (16) (48) (162) (140) (83)
Consumption 2 151 2 172 2 194 1 974 2 260 2.74

100101.200.2020.017
9 Glossary
BFW Boiler feedwater
C/H carbon to hydrogen ratio
CW Cooling water
GJ Gigajoule where 1 GJ = 0.948 MMBtu or 0.239 Gcal
EBO Ethylene Bottom Oils
FCC Fluid Catalytic Cracking
HTF Heat transfer fluid
ISBL Inside Battery Limits
Kta kilotons per annum
kWh Kilowatt hour (i.e., 3.6 x 106 Joules)
MWh Megawatt hour where 1 MWh = 3.6 x 109 Joules
Nm3 Normal cubic meters of a gas (measured at 273.15 K and 101 325 Pa)
where 1 Nm3 = 0.0373 MSCF (thousands of standard cubic feet)
OPC Other Project Costs
OSBL Outside Battery Limits
ROCE Return on capital employed. See also “operating cost elements” in appendix.
Sm3 Standard cubic meters of a gas (measured at 60 °F and 14.7 psi)
where 1 Sm3 = 0.95 Nm3
Stm Steam
Tons Metric tons (i.e., 1 000 kilograms)
WC Working capital

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Appendices

100101.200.2020.017
A Definitions of Capital Cost Terms Used in Process Economics
Capital cost elements typically included in the cost of production tables given in the Economics Section are
defined as follows:
A.1 Inside Battery Limits Investment

The inside battery limits (ISBL) portion of a plant can be thought of as a boundary over which are imported
raw materials, catalysts and chemicals, and utility supply streams. In a similar manner, main products,
byproducts, and spent utility return streams are exported over this boundary.
ISBL investment includes the cost of the main processing blocks of the chemical plant necessary to
manufacture products. It represents an "instantaneous" investment (i.e., no escalation) for a plant ordered
from a contractor and built on a prepared site with normal load-bearing and drainage characteristics of a
developed country.
Battery limits investment includes the installed cost of the following major items:
 Process equipment: vessels and internals, heat exchangers, pumps and compressors, drivers,
solids handling
 Major spare equipment/parts (e.g., spare rotor for turbine or compressor)
 Building housing process units
 Process and utility pipes and supports within the major process areas
 Instruments, including computer control systems
 Electrical wires and hardware
 Foundations and pads
 Structures and platforms
 Insulation
 Paint/corrosion protection
 Process sewers
 Fire water pipes and monitors
 Utility stations
The installed cost also includes construction overhead: fringe benefits, payroll burdens, field supervision,
equipment rentals, small tools (expendables), field office expenses, site support services, temporary
facilities, etc.
Contractor charges and contingency allowance are also partially included in the ISBL cost – see A.2.1 and
A.2.2 for further details.

100101.200.2020.017
A.2 Outside Battery Limits Investment

Outside battery limits (OSBL) investment includes the plant investment items that are required in addition
to the main processing units within the battery limits. These auxiliary items are necessary to the functioning
of the production unit, but perform in a supporting role rather than being directly involved in production. A
distinguishing characteristic is the potential for sharing offsite facilities among several production units in a
large plant, in which case investment cost would be allocated or prorated.
OSBL investment includes the installed cost of the following major items:
 Storage for feeds, products, byproducts, including tanks/silos, dikes, inerting, process warehouse,
and bagging/palletizing equipment
 Steam generation units
 Cooling water systems, including cooling towers and circulation pumps
 Process water treatment systems and supply pumps
 Boiler feed water treatment systems and supply pumps
 Refrigeration systems, including chilled water/brine circulating pumps
 Heat transfer medium systems, including organic vapor, hot oil, molten salts
 Electrical supply, transformers, and switchgear
 Loading and unloading arms, pumps, conveyors, lift trucks, including those to handle barge,
tank/hopper car, and tank/hopper/other truck traffic; weigh scales
 Auxiliary buildings, including all services, furnishings, and equipment:
Central control room
Maintenance
Stores warehouse
Laboratory
Garages/fire station
Change house/cafeteria
Medical/safety
Administration
 General utilities, including plant air, instrument air, inert gas, stand-by electrical generator, fire water
pumps
 Site development, including roads and walkways, parking, railroad sidings, electrical main
substation, lighting, water supply, fuel supply, clearing and grading, drainage, fencing, sanitary and
storm sewers, and communications
 Yard pipes, including lines for cooling water, process water, boiler feed water, fire water; fuel; plant
air, instrument air, inert gas; collection of organic wastes, aqueous wastes, and flare/incinerator
feeds; and process tie-ins to storage

100101.200.2020.017
A.2.1 Contractor Charges

These charges are typically 15 to 25 percent of installed ISBL and OSBL costs and are included
proportionately in the ISBL and the OSBL investments. Contractor charges include the following major items:
 Detailed design and engineering, including process and offsites design and general engineering,
equipment specifications, plant layout, drafting, cost engineering, scale models
 Administrative charges, including project management, engineering supervision, procurement,
expediting, inspection, travel and living, home office construction expenses, general home office
overhead
 Contractor profit
A.2.2 Contingency Allowance

Contingencies are of two types: process and project. In process contingencies, there are uncertainties in
equipment and performance; integration of old and new process steps; scaling up to a large-scale plant
size; and accurate definition of certain process parameters, such as severity of process conditions, number
of recycles, process blocks and equipment, multiphase streams, and unusual separations. In developing
the economics for the conceptual designs (i.e., speculative processes developed from patent and literature
data alone), a contingency of 15 to 25 percent has been added to the (ISBL and OSBL) capital cost estimate
to account for these process uncertainties. (In extreme cases, a capital estimate for a speculative process
might warrant a contingency of as much as 50 percent and where this is the case, it will have been explicitly
stated in the text accompanying the relevant cost of production table). For well-defined processes where
primary input has come from engineering contractors, a contingency of 10 to 20 percent would be more
typical.
In addition, no matter how much time and effort are spent preparing estimates, there is a chance of errors
occurring due to engineering errors and omissions, cost and labor rate changes, construction problems,
estimating inaccuracies, miscellaneous “unforeseens”, weather-related problems, and strikes by fabricators,
transportation, and construction personnel. This is considered the project contingency and is included in the
owner’s costs (see miscellaneous owner’s cost below).

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A.3 Other Project Costs

These costs are very site/project specific; however, they typically range from 20 to 40 percent of installed
ISBL + OSBL costs. A normal value of 25 percent will be used in the absence of more specific information.
For the purpose of Nexant’s study, other project costs normally include startup/commissioning costs,
miscellaneous owner’s costs, etc. They are described below:
Start-up/Commissioning Costs
 Extra operating manpower
 Owner's technical manpower
 Start-up services
Licensor representatives
Contractor personnel
Equipment supplier/other vendor representatives
 Operating manuals and training programs
 Modifications and maintenance during startup
 Operating expenses to the extent that they do not result in saleable product
Miscellaneous Owner's Costs
 Licensing/royalty/expertise fees: basic process and engineering design package
 Jetties, marine terminals, docks, etc.
 Long distance pipelines for raw material/products
 Land, rights of way, permits, surveys, and fees
 Piling, soil compaction/dewatering, unusual foundation requirements
 Sales, use, and other taxes
 Freight, insurance in transit, and import duties (equipment, pipe, steel, instruments, etc.)
 Escalation/inflation of costs over time, assuming instantaneous construction
 Interest on construction loan, assuming instantaneous construction
 Overtime pay during construction
 Construction workers' housing, canteen, other infrastructure for remote site
 Field insurance
 Project team, including preliminary planning studies, HAZOP studies, environmental reviews,
design, engineering, estimating, inspection, accounting, auditing, legal, construction management,
travel, and living
 Initial charges of raw materials, catalysts, chemicals, and packaging materials
 Initial stock of maintenance, laboratory, operating, and office supplies
 Transport equipment, including barges, railcars, tank trucks, bulk shipping containers, plant
vehicles
 Provisions for temporary shutdown expenses
 Owner's scope contingency allowance

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A.4 Working Capital

Working capital typically includes the following items:
 Accounts receivable (products and byproducts shipped but not paid by customer), typically one
month's gross cost of production (COP)
 Cash on hand (short-term operating funds), typically one week's gross COP minus depreciation
 Minor spare equipment and parts inventory, percentage of replacement BL capital
 Credit for accounts payable (feedstocks, catalysts, chemicals, and packaging materials received
but not paid to supplier), typically one month's delivered cost
 Value of product and byproduct inventories, typically two weeks' gross COP
 Value of raw material inventory, typically two weeks' delivered cost

100101.200.2020.017
B Definitions of Operating Cost Terms Used in Process Economics

Operating cost elements typically included in the cost of production tables given in the Economics Section
are defined as follows:
B.1 Variable Cost

Variable cost is directly related to the production volume and dependent on the plant’s operating rate.
Variable cost consists of raw materials/feedstocks, utility costs, plus credits for any relevant byproduct/
co-product.
Raw materials/feedstocks include the cost of catalysts and auxiliary chemicals. Raw materials are valued
into the plant at their purchase price or estimated value in the case of intermediate product streams.
Products are credited at their plant or market price.
Utilities typically include such as items as boiler feedwater (BFW), cooling water (CW), fuel (i.e., natural
gas, fuel oil etc.), inert gas, power, process water, and steam.
 BFW is water that has been pretreated to remove/reduce dissolved matter so that it is suitable for
supply to a boiler for generating hot water or steam. BFW differs from raw (untreated) water mainly
in that dissolved matter is either removed or reduced to levels that allow the boiler to function at a
reasonable efficiency from maintenance to maintenance period. Dissolved matter that has to be
controlled includes iron, copper, manganese, magnesium, calcium carbonate, silica, chlorides,
phosphates, sulfates, acids, alkalis, oils/grease, organics capable of breaking down into organic
acids, oxygen, carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide.
 Cooling water is raw water that is circulated through the industrial plant’s heat exchangers before
returning to the facility’s cooling towers. As the water passes through the cooling towers, a portion
of it evaporates, thereby releasing the heat it has absorbed in the heat exchanges. Additional raw
water is added to the cooled water before it is recycled back to the heat exchangers. Periodically,
a portion of the water from this cooling water recycle stream is removed to limit the build-up of
concentrated amounts of solid materials (such as salts) that inevitably results. Nexant estimates
the cost of this raw water assuming it is supplied from local sources such as rivers, wells, coastal
waters etc. or local municipality via these sources. The cooling water cost assumes no further
treatment to the raw water (beyond periodical removal of a portion of the recycle stream).
 Fuel is either natural gas or fuel oil depending on the region for which the economic analysis is
being carried out. The United States typically employs natural gas for fuel and Western Europe
typically employs fuel oil. Outside of these two regions the fuel being consumed is annotated in the
cost table or accompanying text.
 Inert gas is nitrogen unless specified otherwise in the cost table.
 Power is purchased electricity (electrical energy).
 Process water is water that has been treated so it is suitable for direct use in the production process.
Nexant estimates a price for this water assuming it has been pretreated so that is suitable for a
general chemical production process. The precise water treatment and requirements for chemical
processes vary widely but in real terms the difference in cost is marginal when compared to the
overall full production cost of the process. Therefore, only in rare cases, where particularly special
treatment is required having a notable influence on the production cost is a price for process water
used that is different to the generic process water cost estimated by Nexant.

100101.200.2020.017
 Steam supply is classified as follows:

– Low pressure (LP) steam is steam that is not greatly above that of atmospheric pressure.
In the cost tables (unless specifically notated otherwise) is equal to 3.45 kilopascals (50
psig).
– Medium pressure (MP) steam is steam that is moderately above that of atmospheric
pressure. In the cost tables (unless specifically notated otherwise), it is equal to 13.79
kilopascals (200 psig).
– High pressure (HP) steam is steam which is much higher than that of atmospheric
pressure. In the cost tables (unless specifically notated otherwise), it is equal to 41.37
kilopascals (600 psig).
B.2 Direct Fixed Costs

Labor costs include the cost of only those people employed to operate the process unit, including operators
and supervisors. The estimated number of operators for a process unit is the total number of personnel
employed as operators for the plant in question. The number is equal to the number per shift times the
number of shift teams. The number of operators per shift is based on Nexant’s in-house information for
process units of the size and type in question. The cost per man is the gross salary/wage before deduction
of tax and also includes bonuses given as additional months of salary. A representative average wage for
a particular country is used.
Maintenance costs include all costs for materials and labor (both company employees and contractors)
associated with maintenance. The maintenance cost is the average cost per year and includes costs for
major shutdowns that only occur every two to four years. Maintenance costs are estimated as a percentage
of the inside battery limits (ISBL) capital cost. This should not give the impression that the maintenance
costs are only for ISBL equipment. The percentage of ISBL is simply a relationship. The maintenance cost
reflects the total cost for the facility.
Direct overhead costs are sometimes referred to as the Payroll Burden or Payroll Added Charges and is the
difference between the total cost of employing a person and his or her gross basic salary. It includes social
costs such as pension, health insurance, employer taxes on salaries etc., directly related to direct labor and
covers company contributions for social security, medical and other benefits not directly given as salary.
B.3 Allocated Fixed Costs

Allocated costs include tax, insurance and general plant overheads. General Plant Overhead includes costs
for site administration (not corporate or head office), technical support and royalties where applicable,
laboratory facilities, environmental affairs, medical facilities, canteen, fire and safety, security and employee
transportation services. Other site costs not specifically associated with the process units in question are
also included.
Insurance covers the replacement of the facilities in the event of an accident. The cost of business
interruption insurance is not included. Property tax is sometimes known as rates or land charges. This tax
is estimated based on the process unit's capital cost.
B.4 Cash Cost

The cash cost is the sum of variable and fixed costs. Cash costs do not include sales, corporate
administration, allocated research and development costs, depreciation, interest charges, or working
capital. The cash cost represents the total out-of-pocket expenses required for plant operations and may be
considered the minimum production cost.

100101.200.2020.017
B.5 Depreciation
Depreciation is the loss in value of an asset with time. The first step in determining depreciation is a
reasonable estimate of what its useful lifetime is likely to be and then second, determine the rate of loss in
value. In the simplest case, an asset can be assumed to lose a fixed value each year until the end of its
estimated lifetime, at which point a scrap value will be estimated for it. This is the basis of the “straight-line”
method. (Other options would include accelerated depreciation or reducing balance method, where the
asset loses value much more rapidly in the early years than the latter years.) On the one hand, this is
important in the balance sheet of accounts to assign a value to the asset at any given point in time (its net
asset value or book value). However, of more importance and relevance to Nexant’s discussion, is its
application in determining the depreciation cost (or depreciation expense), that can be assigned each year.
The yearly assigned depreciation cost impacts the amount of tax that will be due in a company’s income
(profit/loss) statement. (Gross income, as reflected by selling price less cost price, is decreased the higher
the asset value/cost assigned, and consequently the lower tax paid on the gross income.)
For tax accounting purposes, the cost of an asset cannot usually be written down instantaneously, in one go,
at the time of purchase. Rather, it is legally required that the cost (expense) has to spread over the estimated
lifetime of the asset. Government accounting bodies permit a variety of methods to depreciate an asset (e.g.,
straight-line, reducing balance); governments also define lifetimes for assets according to discrete asset
classes. Within this basic government framework, companies are free to choose which depreciation method
(and to a lesser extent, estimated asset lifetime) to use. Nexant has arbitrarily decided to use a simple straight-
line accounting estimation of depreciation and attribute a certain percentage of the ISBL, OSBL, and Other
Project Cost to depreciation.
Unless, specifically stated otherwise, depreciation is assumed to be 20 years for OSBL and 10 years for
ISBL including the capitalized other project costs (OPC). (Nexant thus assigns scrap value equal to zero,
which is unlikely to be true in a chemical plant where a large proportion of equipment is constructed from
steel which has a ready market. Nexant has made this estimation to achieve simplicity and broad
application. On the one hand, it is difficult to estimate a residual value for a complex facility like a chemical
plant, it depends on so many factors. Even estimating this based on historical values would introduce a
margin of error that Nexant estimates renders the exercise futile. The depreciation cost given in the tables
is a quick, simple indicator that roughly gives an idea of what the depreciation cost is likely to be.)
The sum of cash cost and depreciation yields what Nexant refers to as the cost of production.

100101.200.2020.017
C TECH Program Title Index (2010-2020)

This index is an alphabetical listing of TECH (formerly known as PERP) reports published in the last 10 years (2010-
2020). Topics not listed here may have been covered by Nexant in earlier program years. To search through a more
complete listing of Nexant’s TECH reports going back to 1991, please visit www.nexantsubscriptions.com. Alternatively,
you may contact Nexant via email at: Technology@nexant.com.
Title Report Published Title Report Published
ABS Resins 06/07S8 08/07 BPA-Free Baby Bottle Resins 08/09S6 12/09
ABS/SAN Resins 2020-8 * Bunker Fuel Specifications, Options 2013S10 12/13
ABS/SAN 2013S5 12/13 to Meet Evolving
Acetic Acid 2017-6 12/17 Butadiene/Butylenes 2016-8 12/16
Acetone/Phenol/Cumene 2020-4 * Butadiene, On-Purpose 2012S3 03/13
Acetone/Phenol/Cumene 2015-6 12/15 Butanediol, 1,4-/Tetrahydrofuran 2017-4 11/17
Acetyls, “Green” 08/09S7 07/10 Butylenes/Butadiene 2016-8 12/16
Acrylamide 2014S3 10/14 Caprolactam 2020-1 *
Acrylic Acid and Acrylates 2014-3 09/14 Caprolactam 2015-1 06/15
Acrylic Acid and Esters 2019-2 07/19 Carbon Black 2020S9 *
Acrylic Acid 08/09-3 07/10 Carbon Black 2014S2 09/14
Acrylic Fiber 09/10S7 12/11 Carbon Capture and Sequestration 2012S1 04/13
Acrylic Latex Resins for Coatings 2016S7 11/16 Carbon Dioxide (CO2), Non-Sequestration 09/10S10 02/12
Acrylonitrile 2020-3 * Utilization Options for
Acrylonitrile 2015-4 09/15 Carbon Fiber 2018S7 10/18
Adipic Acid 2018-7 08/18 Carbon Monoxide 09/10S11 12/10
Advances in Battery Technology for 2017S9 10/17 Catalytic Processing of Crude Residue 09/10S6 12/11
Advances in Linear Alkylbenzene and 2018S8 12/18 Chemical and Refining Industry, Safety in the 09/10S2 05/11
Sulfonation Technologies Chemical Energy Storage 2012S8 04/13
Advances in Monoethylene Glycol 2017S2 10/17 Chemical Industry, Sustainability in 2017S10 12/17
Advances in Plastics Recycling 2016S8 12/16 Chlor-Alkali 2016-5 07/16
Air Separation Technology 2019S11 09/19 Cobalt Extraction Technologies 2019S4 12/19
Algae Technology 2011S5 01/12 Coal Bed Methane 09/10S3 05/11
Alkylbenzene, Linear (LAB) 2013S2 12/13 Coal Liquefaction, Direct 08/09S5 03/10
Alkoxylation Technologies 2020S2 * Coal to Olefins Processes 2017S1 12/17
Alpha Olefins, Linear 2015-2 10/15 Coatings, Acrylic Latex Resins for 2016S7 11/16
Alpha Olefins 06/07-5 04/08 Commodity Feedstocks, Biobased 09/10S4 02/11
Alternative Routes to Propylene 08/09S8 12/09 Competing Feedstocks for VCM Production 07/08S12 01/09
Ammonia 2019-6 12/19 Copolymers, Styrene Block 08/09S12 01/10
Ammonium Nitrates 2013S6 12/13 Crude Residue, Catalytic Processing of 09/10S6 12/11
Aniline/Nitrobenzene/MDI 2016-3 09/16 Cumene/Phenol/Acetone 2020-4 *
Aromatic Polyamides (Polyaramids) 06/07S9 05/08 Cumene/Phenol/Acetone 2015-6 12/15
Baby Bottle Resins, BPA-Free 08/09S6 12/09 Cyclic Olefin Copolymers 09/10S9 08/11
Barrier Resins 2017S3 06/17 Dehydrogenation Technologies, Propane 2016S1 11/16
Batteries (Chemical Energy Storage) 2012S8 04/13 Detergent Alcohols 2019S2 12/19
Battery Technology for EVs, Advances in 2017S9 10/17 Developments in Biodiesel Production 07/08S2 09/08
BDO/THF 2017-4 11/17 Technologies
Benefits of Refinery/ 06/07S7 09/07 Developments in LAO Comonomer 2011S11 05/12
Petrochemical Integration Technologies for Polyethylene
Benzene/Toluene 2020-5 * Developments in Non-Phthalate Plasticizers 07/08S4 08/08
Benzene/Toluene 2015-7 12/15 Developments in para-Xylene Technology 08/09S11 12/09
Biobased Commodity Feedstocks 09/10S4 02/11 Developments in TDI Process Technology 07/08S9 09/08
Bio-Butadiene 2013S9 12/13 Dimethyl Carbonate 2019S8 07/19
Bioisoprene/Isoprene 2012S2 04/13 Dimethyl Ether Technology and Markets 07/08S3 11/08
Bio-Jet Fuel 2013S4 12/13 Direct Coal Liquefaction 08/09S5 03/10
Biomass Gasification 2013S11 11/13 DME/Small-scale Methanol 2018S4 12/18
Bio Routes to para-Xylene 2011S3 03/12 Electrochemical Energy Storage 2020S12 *
Biosuccinic Acid 2011S10 05/12 Energy Efficiency in the Process Industry 2013S12 12/13
Bisphenol A (BPA) 2017-5 09/17 Energy Storage, Chemical 2012S8 04/13
Bottle to Bottle Recycling, PET 08/09S9 03/10 Energy Storage, Electrochemical 2020S12 *
BPA (Bisphenol A) 2012-2 04/13 Epichlorohydrin 09/10S1 08/11
Bunker Fuel Specifications, 2017S7 06/17 EPDM Rubber 2015S6 06/15
Technologies to Meet New

100101.200.2020.017

Epoxy Resins 2015S4 06/15 LLDPE (Linear Low Density Polyethylene) 2020-6 *
ETBE/MTBE Update: Technical and 06/07S12 05/08 LLDPE (Linear Low Density Polyethylene) 2016-7 12/16
Commercial Effects of U.S. MTBE Phaseout LNG Production, Floating 07/08S10 12/08
Ethanol 08/09-6 03/10 LNG Receiving Terminals 2016S11 10/16
Ethanol, Synthetic and First Generation 2014-8 12/14 Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE) 2017-8 10/17
Ethoxylates 2015S1 09/15 Lube Oil 2011S8 05/12
Ethylbenzene/Styrene 2018-6 07/18 Maleic Anhydride 2020-7 *
Ethylene 2018-1 07/18 Maleic Anhydride 2013-5 12/13
Ethyleneamines 2013S8 10/13 Maximizing Petrochemical Production 2019S5 12/19
Ethylene Dichloride/Vinyl Chloride 2013-6 12/13 from Refineries
Monomer (EDC/VCM) MDI/Nitrobenzene/Aniline 2016-3 09/16
Ethylene Dichloride/Vinyl Chloride 08/09-4 11/09 MEG, Alternative Routes to 2012S10 04/13
Ethylene, Gas to 08/09S10 09/09 Melamine 2020S4 *
Ethylene Glycol (MEG), Alternative Routes to 2012S10 04/13 Methacrylate (PMMA), Polymethyl 2011S2 05/12
Ethylene Oxide and Derivatives 2014-1 12/14 Methane, Coal Bed 09/10S3 05/11
Ethylene Oxide/Ethylene Glycol (EO/EG) 08/09-8 12/09 Methanol 2017-7 07/17
Flow Batteries for Large-Scale Energy Storage 2019S12 12/19 Methanol to Gasoline 2011S7 05/12
Formaldehyde 2011-3 05/12 Methyl Methacrylate (MMA) 2018-5 11/18
Formaldehyde and Resins 2016-2 07/16 Monoethylene Glycol, Advances in 2017S2 10/17
Fuel Cells, Stationary 2014S7 12/14 Monoethylene Glycol (MEG), 2012S10 04/13
Gasoline, Methanol to 2011S7 05/12 Alternative Routes to
Gas to Ethylene 08/09S10 09/09 MTBE/ETBE Update: Technical and 06/07S12 05/08
Gas to Liquids (GTL) 2012S9 04/13 Commercial Effects of U.S. MTBE
Gas to Liquids Technologies, Small-Scale 2015S7 07/15 Phaseout
Glycerin Conversion to Propylene Glycol 06/07S4 03/08 m-Xylene and Isophthalic Acid 2019S10 12/19
“Green” Acetyls 08/09S7 07/10 Natural Gas, Unconventional 2016S10 06/16
“Green” Glycols and Polyols 09/10S8 12/10 Natural Gas, Use as Transport Fuel 2014S8 10/14
“Green” Polyethylene 06/07S11 03/08 NGL Extraction Technologies 2015S8 11/15
“Green” Propylene 07/08S11 01/09 Nitric Acid 2020S5 *
“Green” Tires 2011S12 05/12 Nitric Acid 2014S9 10/14
GTL (Gas to Liquids) 2012S9 04/13 Nitrobenzene/Aniline/MDI 2016-3 09/16
HDPE (High Density Polyethylene) 2018-2 06/18 Non-Phthalate Plasticizers 2014S5 12/14
Hydrocarbon Resins 2016S5 08/16 Non-Phthalate Plasticizers, Developments in 07/08S4 08/08
Hydrogen Peroxide 2019-8 9/19 Non-Sequestration Utilization 09/10S10 02/12
Hydrogen Peroxide-Based Propylene Oxide 06/07S2 12/07 Options for Carbon Dioxide (CO2)
Hydrogen Production in Refineries 2013S3 12/13 Non-woven Fibers 2017S5 09/17
International Shale Gas 2017S8 07/17 NPK Fertilizers, Phosphate and 2016S9 08/16
International Shale Gas: Assessing 2012S5 04/13 Nylon 6 and Nylon 6,6 2016S3 09/16
the Industry’s Future Olefin Copolymers, Cyclic 09/10S9 08/11
Isocyanates, Specialty 2019S3 12/19 Olefins Processes, Coal to 2017S1 12/17
Isophthalic Acid, m-Xylene and 2019S10 12/19 Olefins via Enhanced FCC Processes 2018S3 11/18
Isoprene/Bioisoprene 2012S2 04/13 Oleochemicals 2011S6 05/12
Isoprene Derivatives 2016S6 12/16 On-Purpose Butadiene 2012S3 03/13
Isopropanol 2017S12 09/17 Options to Meet Evolving Bunker 2013S10 12/13
Lab to Industrial Plant Implementation, 2012S4 04/13 Fuel Specifications
Project Scale Up: Oxo Alcohols 2016-1 07/16
LAB (Linear Alkylbenzene) 2013S2 12/13 para-Xylene, Bio Routes to 2011S3 03/12
Lactic Acid/Polylactic Acid 2013S7 12/13 para-Xylene Technology, Developments in 08/09S11 12/09
LAO Comonomer Technologies for 2011S11 05/12 PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate) 2012-6 04/13
Polyethylene, Developments in PET Bottle to Bottle Recycling 08/09S9 03/10
Large-Scale Energy Storage 2019S12 12/19 Petroleum Coke 2016S12 12/16
Flow Batteries for Phenol/Acetone/Cumene 2020-4 *
LDPE (Low Density Polyethylene) 2017-8 10/17 Phenol/Acetone/Cumene 2015-6 12/15
LDPE Copolymers, Specialty 2016S4 08/16 Phosphate and NPK Fertilizers 2016S9 08/16
Linear Alpha Olefins 2019-1 12/19 Phosphoric Acid 2015S10 10/15
Linear Alpha Olefin Comonomer 2011S11 05/12 Plasticizers, Non-Phthalate 2014S5 12/14
Linear Alkylbenzene (LAB) 2013S2 12/13 Plastics from Trees 2011S4 03/12
Linear Low Density Polyethylene (LLDPE) 2016-7 12/16 Plastics Recycling, Advances in 2016S8 12/16
Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), Small-Scale 2015S9 10/15 Plastics to Fuels and Chemicals 2017S6 12/17
Lithium-Ion Batteries, Recycling of 2020S11 * PMMA (Polymethyl Methacrylate) 2017S11 12/17
Lithium Extraction Technologies 2018S11 11/18 Polyacetal (Polyoxymethylene) 2011S1 11/11

100101.200.2020.017

(Polyacetal), Polyoxymethylene 2019S1 06/19 Shale Gas (International): 2012S5 04/13
Polyaramids (Aromatic Polyamides) 06/07S9 05/08 Assessing the Industry’s Future
Polybutylene Terephthalate (PBT) 2020S3 06/20 Small-scale Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) 2015S9 10/15
Polybutylene Terephthalate (PBT) 07/08S1 09/08 Small-scale Methanol/DME 2018S4 12/18
Polycarbonate 2019-5 03/19 Solar Grade Polysilicon 2018S9 08/18
Polyester Polyols 2017S4 12/17 Specialty Isocyanates 2019S3 12/19
Polyesters, Specialty 2019S6 07/19 Specialty LDPE Copolymers 2016S4 07/16
Polyether Polyols 2020S7 * Specialty Polyamides 2018S1 06/18
Polyether Polyols 2015S11 12/15 Specialty Polyesters 2019S6 07/19
Polyethylene, Developments in LAO 2011S11 05/12 Specialty Styrenics 2018S5 12/18
Comonomer Technologies for Stationary Fuel Cells 2014S7 12/14
Polyethylene, “Green” 06/07S11 03/08 Steam Cracker Feedstocks, 09/10S12 10/10
Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) 2017-2 06/17 Renewable Liquids as
Polyethylene, Ultra High Molecular Weight 2019S7 11/19 Styrene Acrylonitrile/Acrylonitrile 2013S5 12/13
Polyisobutylene (PIB) 2020S8 * Butadiene Styrene (SAN/ABS)
Polylactic Acid/Lactic Acid 2013S7 12/13 Styrene Block Copolymers 08/09S12 01/10
Polymethyl Methacrylate (PMMA) 2017S11 12/17 Styrene Butadiene Rubber (SBR) 2012S7 04/13
Polyols, “Green” Glycols and 09/10S8 12/10 Styrene/Ethylbenzene 2018-6 07/18
Polyols, Polyester 2017S4 12/17 Styrenics, Specialty 2018S5 12/18
Polyoxymethylene (Polyacetal) 2019S1 06/19 Sulfide, Polyphenylene (PPS) 2015S12 12/15
Polyoxymethylene (POM) 2011S1 11/11 Sulfuric Acid 2014S11 12/14
Polyphenylene Sulfide (PPS) 2015S12 12/15 Sulfonation Technologies, Advances 2018S8 12/18
Polypropylene 2019-3 03/19 in Linear Alkylbenzene and
Polypropylene, “Green” 07/08S11 01/09 Super Absorbent Polymers (SAP) 2015S5 07/15
Polysilicon, Solar Grade 2012S6 04/13 Sustainability in the Chemical Industry 2017S10 12/17
Polystyrene 2016-6 12/16 Synthetic and First Generation Ethanol 2014-8 12/14
Polyurethanes 2020S6 * TDI Process Technology, Developments in 07/08S9 09/08
Polyurethanes 2014S1 10/14 Terephthalic Acid 2020-2 *
Polyurethanes (TPUs), Thermoplastic 2018S2 06/18 Terephthalic Acid 2015-3 09/15
Polyvinyl Alcohol 2018S6 12/18 Thermal Energy Storage (TES) 2018S12 12/18
Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) 2017-3 05/17 Thermoplastic Fabrication Processes 2015S2 12/15
POM (Polyoxymethylene) 2011S1 11/11 Thermoplastic Polyolefin Elastomers 2020S1 06/20
Propane Dehydrogenation Technologies 2016S1 11/16 Thermoplastic Polyolefin Elastomers 2014S12 12/14
Project Development and Financing – 2013S1 12/13 Thermoplastic Polyurethanes (TPUs) 2018S2 07/18
Keys to Success THF/1,4-Butanediol 2012-3 04/13
Process Industry, Energy Efficiency in the 2013S12 12/13 Tire Pyrolysis 2020S10 *
Project Scale Up: Lab to Industrial 2012S4 04/13 Titanium Dioxide 2014S4 10/14
Plant Implementation Toluene/Benzene 2015-7 12/15
Propylene 2018-4 12/18 Toluene Diisocyanate (TDI) 2018-8 11/18
Propylene, Alternative Routes to 08/09S8 12/09 Transport Fuel, Use of Natural Gas as 2014S8 10/14
Propylene Glycol, Glycerin Conversion to 06/07S4 03/08 Trees, Plastics from 2011S4 03/12
Propylene Oxide 2017-1 12/17 Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene 2019S7 11/19
Propylene Oxide, Hydrogen Peroxide-Based 06/07S2 12/07 Unconventional Natural Gas 2016S10 06/16
PTA (Purified Terephthalic Acid) 09/10-6 05/11 Urea 2019-7 12/19
Purified Terephthalic Acid (PTA) 09/10-6 05/11 Use of Natural Gas as Transport Fuel 2014S8 10/14
PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride) 2017-3 05/17 Utilization Options for Carbon Dioxide 09/10S10 02/12
Recycling of Mixed Plastics Waste 2019S9 09/19 (CO2), Non-Sequestration
Recycling of Lithium-Ion Batteries 2020S11 * VAM (Vinyl Acetate Monomer) 2011-6 05/12
Refineries, Maximizing Petrochemical 2019S5 12/19 Vinyl Chloride Monomer/Ethylene 2018-3 09/18
Production from Dichloride (VCM/EDC)
Refineries, Hydrogen Production in 2013S3 12/13 VCM Production, Competing Feedstocks for 07/08S12 01/09
Refinery-Petrochemical Integration 2015S3 12/15 Vinyl Acetate (VAM) 2016-4 08/16
Refinery/Petrochemical Integration, 06/07S7 09/07 Xylenes 2019-4 11/19
Benefits of
Renewable Liquids as Steam Cracker 09/10S12 10/10 * to be published
Feedstocks
Safety in the Chemical and Refining Industry 09/10S2 05/11
Silicones 2014S6 12/14
Small-scale Gas to Liquids Technologies 2015S7 07/15
SBR (Styrene Butadiene Rubber) 2012S7 04/13

100101.200.2020.017
D References
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1. Cancarb: physical and chemical properties

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processing-company/
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carbon-black/
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2013, prepared for Port of Redwood City, ESA.
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7. “Carbon Black”, Screening Assessment for the Challenge, Environment Canada Health Canada
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is.com/docs/specs/CB/cn/jns/specs.cross.table.pdf.
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Profiles, TSCA Chemical Assessment Series, Office of Pesticides and Toxic Substances,
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accessed January 2014).
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TECHNOLOGY AND COSTS

TECHNOECONOMICS - ENERGY AND CHEMICALS

TECHNOECONOMICS - ENERGY AND CHEMICALS

Copyright © by Nexant Inc. 2020. All rights reserved.

1 Executive Summary ........................................................................................................................... 1

TECHNOLOGY AND COSTS i

3.4 Ethylene Bottom OIl ............................................................................................................ 36

TECHNOLOGY AND COSTS ii

5.4.1 Advanced Pyrotech Sdn. Bhd. ............................................................................. 102

TECHNOLOGY AND COSTS iii

TECHNOLOGY AND COSTS iv

TECHNOLOGY AND COSTS v

Figure 42 Carbon Black Refractory System .......................................................................................... 95

TECHNOLOGY AND COSTS vi

TECHNOLOGY AND COSTS vii

Table 31 Cost of Production Estimate for: Carbon Black N660

TECHNOLOGY AND COSTS viii

Carbon Black Fuel

Naphtha Steam Ethylene and Ethylene

TECHNOLOGY AND COSTS 1

1.3 Supply Landscape

TECHNOLOGY AND COSTS 2

Others Birla Carbon

Black Cat Carbon

TECHNOLOGY AND COSTS 3

1.4 Technology Overview

TECHNOLOGY AND COSTS 4

1.5 Technology Holders and Licensing Status

Table 2 Major Carbon Black Licensors, Technology Holders, and Producers

TECHNOLOGY AND COSTS 5

1.6 Process Economics

TECHNOLOGY AND COSTS 6

1.6.2 Regional comparison

TECHNOLOGY AND COSTS 7

1.7 Market ANALYSIS

TECHNOLOGY AND COSTS 8

Figure 7 Global Carbon Black Demand by Application, 2020

1.7.2 Applications by Grade

TECHNOLOGY AND COSTS 9

TECHNOLOGY AND COSTS 10

Figure 8 Global Carbon Black Demand by Grades, 2020

TECHNOLOGY AND COSTS 11

Figure 9 Simplified Property Considerations for a Compounder using Carbon Black

*This is not always the case

Key properties that are evaluated include the following:

TECHNOLOGY AND COSTS 12

Figure 10 Simplified Product Application Mapping in Relation to Carbon Black Properties

Non-tire extruded products

140 E.g. weather strips, hoses etc.

40 Non-tire products e.g.

*This is not always the case

TECHNOLOGY AND COSTS 13

1.7.1 Global Demand

1.7.2 Global Supply, Demand, and Trade

TECHNOLOGY AND COSTS 14

Figure 11 Global Carbon Black Supply, Demand, and Trade

Production Consumption Total Capacity Operating Rate

TECHNOLOGY AND COSTS 15

Coal Tar Coal Tar

Carbon Black Fuel

Naphtha Steam Ethylene and Ethylene

TECHNOLOGY AND COSTS 16

2.2 Business Developments

TECHNOLOGY AND COSTS 17