additives feature | Carbon black
meet particular application needs. Weatherability, including UV-light resistance, is a
crucial property for plastics exposed to the elements, and colour performance is important for many applica- tions. High-jet pigments in a range of bluish undertones help deliver a luxurious look, for example, says Brooks at Orion. Dispersion and tone are both important for engineering resin applications, agrees Prakash Patel, senior technical director at Ampacet, which is active in providing carbon-black concentrates for engineering resins, such as PET, polyamides and polycarbonates. Dispersion of carbon black pigments can be a
Cabot opened its new plastics application development laboratory in Shanghai earlier this year
lines to specialty carbon black production in 2013. The new grades can be used as pigments, conductive additives and UV stabilizers in plastics, coatings, inks, electrical parts or batteries. Orion Engineered Carbons introduced three pigment
grades to the South American market in May 2013 to meet rapid demand growth in this region. The grades (PPR G, PBR 60 and PBR 300) are produced locally at the company’s plant in Paulinia, Brazil for injection- moulded parts, sheets and films made from PE, PVC, and other thermoplastics. “Many customers have started to differentiate
themselves by producing not only commodities but also specialties. The demand for high-value products is increasing in South America,” says Henry Brooks, vice-president of pigments for the Americas at Orion. Applications for specialty carbon black pigments in
the region include automotive and OEM parts, consum- er goods such as machine tools and appliances, and infrastructure projects. For example, UV-resistant black plastic pipe is in increasing demand in the oil and gas industry and for pipe and film in drip irrigation systems, adds Brooks.
Orion’s new
Printex Zeta A offers low
compound moisture absorption,
particularly for pressure pipes
Perfecting pigments Carbon black users are continuously seeking the most cost-effective solutions to balance price and perfor- mance of both properties and processability. “Carbon black is more than just structure and particle size - sur- face chemistry, purity levels, and other attributes all need to be balanced to find that right level of perfor- mance, whether its colour, UV, or conductivity. But there is also ease-of-dispersion, moisture absorption, and other parameters that improve processability,” says George Haines, global segment leader for plastics at Cabot. Critical carbon black parameters such as morphology and surface chemistry can be adjusted to
28 COMPOUNDING WORLD | November 2013
www.compoundingworld.com
challenge because of the small particle size of carbon black compared to other pigments, but suppliers are working on improved processability. New surface-modi- fied carbon black pigments are easier to disperse, says Brooks. Better dispersion can improve both processing times and final product properties. FDA-compliant carbon black grades for food-contact
applications are in high demand. Food packaging is a growing market due to the continuing trend towards convenience packaging, such as pre-packaged foods in black trays and restaurant take-out food clamshells, says Patel. In order to met FDA requirements, carbon black
grades must have low levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), not exceeding 0.5 ppm, and benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) not exceeding 5.0 ppb; the maximum concentration of carbon black allowed in food-contact articles is 2.5%. PAHs can be removed from the carbon black surface by an extraction process, explains Orion, which offers several grades that meet FDA requirements. At K 2013, Birla Carbon introduced Raven P7 Ultra, a
“next-generation” carbon black for pipes, jacketing and geomembranes that has very low moisture pick-up (MPU). The latter is affected by relative humidity as well as carbon black properties including surface area and sulphur and ash levels. The new carbon black has a
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