BLACK AND WHITE | PIGMENTS


Sustainable pigments in black and white


Whether for emission reduction, ease of processing, or to simplify recycling, pigment developers are seeking more sustainable products. Jennifer Markarian reports


A great number of plastics applications depend upon black or white pigments as their primary colorant or as a component of their colour formula- tion, with critical characteristics including tint strength and regulatory clearances. Increasingly, however, users are also exploring sustainability characteristics, which can include the energy required to make the pigment or to use it in a compound as well as whether it can be sorted in expected recycling streams. One of the recent challenges for conventional carbon black pigments, for example, has been around concerns that they absorb near infrared (NIR) wavelengths, interfering


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with one of the key detection technologies used in some automated recycling sorting equipment. “The overall issue of sustainability is a major con- cern up and down the supply chain,” says Mark Ryan, Market and Product Manager at Shepherd Color. He says the company is addressing sustain- ability in pigment production, as well as how each pigment affects the sustainability of the material that it is incorporated into. “We are looking at how our products can improve sustainability through favourable life cycle analysis due to long service lives, inherent problem-solving properties like infra- red (IR) reflectivity, and other properties,” he says.


Main image: Sustainability is emerging as a top priority in the develop- ment of black and white pigments for plastics


� November 2023 | COMPOUNDING WORLD 19


IMAGE: SHUTTERSTOCK


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