PIGMENTS | BLACK AND WHITE
Above: Carbon black recovered from end-of-life tyres using Bolder
Industries’ proprietary pyrolysis process
Reclaiming black Sustainability is a key area of development for Cabot. The company’s masterbatch portfolio includes several products that contain recycled polymer and reclaimed carbon, including Techblak PE8505 black masterbatch (containing reclaimed carbon and recycled polymer) and Techblak PT6468 black and PT5001 black masterbatch (containing recycled PET). Cabot also recently announced that the ISCC
Plus accreditiation that supports certification of its recently launched Evolve Sustainable Solutions platform has been extended to cover two European masterbatch and compounding plants. While the company currently only offers Evolve reinforcing grades for rubber applications, it says it is assessing the feasibility of potential portfolio expansion into specialty applications, including plastics.
Other companies targeting more sustainable carbon black products include US-based Origin Materials, which has a 100% bio-content carbon black produced by treament of hydrothermal carbon (HTC), which is itself made from the interac- tion of lignin and chloromethyl furfural during the conversion of biomass. The company says that its HTC-derived carbon black has a structure similar to fossil-based alternatives but adds that the surface chemistry and morphology can be manipulated. It is targeted for tyre and rubber applications but can also be used in plastics as a pigment or filler and Texas-based concentrate-maker ATC Plastic has partnered with Origin to create a black concentrate for a range of applications. Finland’s UPM Biochemicals has been produc- ing UPM BioMotion Renewable Functional Fillers (RFF) made from lignin in UPM’s biorefinery. In addition to use as a filler, the company says samples have been tested for use as an NIR-detect- able black pigment. US-based Monolith manufactures carbon black
using renewable electricity to power a methane pyrolysis technology that converts natural gas to clean hydrogen and carbon black. The company says this results in a lower environmental impact with “virtually zero emissions from operations”. The company announced in May 2023 that this carbon black material is being used in Goodyear tyres. BolderBlack is a carbon black alternative
produced by US-based Bolder Industries from end-of-life tyres using a proprietary pyrolysis
Filler-free PE alternative to pearlised BOPP
US-based Void Technologies has developed its VO+
PE 1300 Series
voiding agents for production of opaque mineral filler-free machine direction oriented (MDO) HDPE films that are claimed to offer a combina- tion of low density and high opacity not achievable with mineral pigments such as TiO2
.
The company’s patented VO+ technology is said to create nano- and micro-voided structures in MDO films that reduce density below 1g/cm3 while creating opacity via light diffraction. The company says the latest VO+
1300 additive enables production of PE-based alternatives to the pearlised BOPP films used for white label and
24
Left: Void Technologies’
IMAGE: VOID TECHNOLOGIES PE
packaging films that are compatible with PE film recycling processes (it says BOPP is difficult to sort from PE and, due to the incompatibility of the two resins, acts as a contaminant). The polymeric cavitation agents used in the VO+ PE 1300 additives are said to offer a broad processing window, good bubble stability and high throughput in MDO production. The company says they are also
COMPOUNDING WORLD | November 2023
VO+ additive can produce opaque PE films without the use of mineral fillers
non-abrasive and comply with the requirements of US and European food contact regulations. VOID Technologies’ CEO James Gibson says the additive is available now in commercial quantities and that some customers are currently con- ducting end-to-end supply chain trials to support new packaging designs for launch in 2024. �
www.voidtechnologies.com
www.compoundingworld.com
IMAGE: BOLDER INDUSTRIES
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