MATERIALS | CARBON BLACK
Right: Monolith Materials is running a natural gas to carbon black demonstration facility at Seaport in the US
believes that the purity and morphology of the company’s materials will provide new opportunities for producers of conductive compounds, including wire and cable. “Monolith has demonstrated the ability to manufacture carbon blacks with a 40nm particle size and structures (COAN) of up to 180 mL/100g at extremely high purity levels,” he says.
Tackling impurities Turning to the more established producers of carbon black, AkzoNobel Technical Development Manager Polymer Additives for the EMEIA region Elisa Conte points to the continuing issue of PAH impurities in carbon blacks. “Most recently they have been brought under scrutiny of the European Chemical Agency (ECHA), which set a limit of maximum 1 ppm in the final conductive product (0.5 ppm for toys; Commission Regulation EC/2015/326),” she says. Ketjenblacks largely fulfil such requirements, she says, since the blacks themselves have values below the ECHA limit. Conte also highlights the low and controlled
levels of VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds) in Ketjenblacks. VOCs can represent a health hazard if they are released during compounding; they can also affect the odour of the compound and the final product. Ketjenblacks typically show VOC values “far below the specification of 1% by weight,” she says. Conte says the good performance of the company’s Ketjenblack superconductive carbon blacks has led to notable market success. In particular, she highlights their extremely low addition requirement in antistatic or conductive plastics applications, their extremely high purity – which makes them very attractive for electronic, battery and semiconductive applications – and their
quality consistency. Ketjenblack EC-300J and EC-600JD show the lowest level content of metal impurities (a total of around 20 ppm of cobalt, iron, nickel and vana- dium combined in Ketjenblack EC-300J, for example). According to Conte, other commercial conductive blacks show levels of up to 8,000 ppm (Figure 1). Low metal content is a requirement in many fields, for example in thermoset applications where the pot life can be compromised by second- ary reactions catalysed by metals. Extremely low iron levels also make these materials suitable for products in which corrosion is a concern, such as the energy field.
“Sulphur content in Ketjenblack super conductive carbon blacks rates between the lowest in the market, qualifying these blacks as the conductive black of choice in sulphur-sensitive applications, an example being platinum cured silicones,” Conte says. Unipetrol RPA, another important supplier of
superconductive carbon black with its Chezacarb AC products – focuses its R&D activity at the field of conductive and antistatic plastic materials, conduc- tive paints, coatings and 3D printing, says Sales Manager Lenka Semenyšínová. She says that the company, together with its Polymer Institute Brno subsidiary, is introducing a new range of electrically conductive compounds and masterbatches. The new products, which will be marketed under
Figure 1: Impurities in AkzoNobel’s Ketjenblacks EC-300J and EC- 600JD compared to other commercial alternatives (CB 1-13) and two carbon nanotubes (CNT 1-2)
30 COMPOUNDING WORLD | November 2017 Source, AkzoNobel
the Makroplus CC tradename, are intended for use in polyolefins, styrenics, polyamides, PVC, and other polymers. “They represent a solution to the segment of electro-conductive/antistatic products
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PHOTO: MONOLITH MATERIALS
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