CARBON BLACK | MATERIALS
Sustaining carbon black developments
Sustainability and H&S issues are near the top of the list in terms of carbon black development. Peter Mapleston finds out more about the latest innovations
Sustainability issues continue to dominate develop- ment trends in carbon black for plastics compounds. Whether it is concern about volatiles, PHA levels, or the circular economy, carbon black producers are working hard to create products that offer improved health and general well-being for plastics com- pounders, processors, end-users, and the public at large. Prime among these developments is produc- tion of carbon black from alternative sources or routes, with Netherlands-based Black Bear Carbon claiming considerable forward momentum. “Black Bear has made great progress towards establishing an environmentally friendly and high quality alternative for regular furnace carbon blacks,” says Rick Leunissen, Head of Commercial and Business Development at the company, which produces carbon black from used tyres. In June this year, Black Bear became the first
organisation worldwide to obtain “cradle-to-cradle” certification for its carbon black products. “In addition, Black Bear obtained technical product approvals and first commercial orders at multiple plastic compounders including several leaders in the masterbatch industry, as well as for automotive end applications,” Leunissen says. The Cradle-to-Cradle Bronze Certificate came
from the Environmental Protection Encouragement Agency (EPEA) in Hamburg, Germany. “The certification activities led to a reconfirmation that Black Bear’s carbon black has extremely low levels of harmful polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH),” the company said in a statement when it announced the certification. Achieving low
levels of PAH is becoming increasingly important given health concerns and increased scrutiny over hazardous substances through the EU Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) regulation. Michael Braungart, Founder and CEO of certifier
EPEA, says: “The Black Bear Carbon upcycled product is a game-changer in the field of carbon black. ” Leunissen claims that Black Bear can match the performance of numerous regular furnace carbon blacks. “Most notably, improvements in dispersibil- ity of our pellets now allow successful use of our carbon blacks across more and more compound- ing methods,” he says.
Seeking sustainability Leunissen says his company is seeing many plastic compounders that use recycled plastics broaden- ing their sight to also use other sustainable raw materials in their processes, particularly pigments. “Therefore, a significant interest towards our sustainable carbon blacks can be observed,” he says. “Secondly, there’s been an increased focus in the market on PAHs, not only for applications that are related to food or human skin contact but many compounders also value a ‘cleaner’ product when regulation is not as stringent. That said, with our
Image below: Technologies to produce carbon black from used tyres promise
sustainability gains and are developing quickly
PHOTO: BLACK BEAR CARBON
www.compoundingworld.com
November 2017 | COMPOUNDING WORLD 27
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