BRUSSELS—A task group within ASTM Committee D36, Recovered Carbon Black, has made recommendations that will help set the agenda for the full committee meeting in San Diego June 28, according to an ASTM staff member.
The task force is part of Subcommittee D36.40, on environmental safety and sustainability. It met March 14 in Brussels, as part of the meeting of the European Tyre Recycling Association.
The main focus of the task force meeting was whether to standardize polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in tires, according to Joe Koury, manager, standards development at ASTM International.
"The whole idea was to set the path forward," Koury said. "We discussed some good ideas, especially as related to practices in Europe."
Committee D36 first met in Brussels in March 2017, with the stated purpose of creating industry standards for recovered carbon black (rCB) produced by pyrolysis.
Pyrolysis, for the purpose of the rubber recycling industry, is the thermochemical decomposition of rubber at high temperatures in the absence of oxygen.
Another D36 subcommittee already has approved a list of 22 existing standards for the carbon black industry as applicable to rCB production.
These include standards for ash and sulfur content, heating loss, sieve residue, pellet size distribution, pour density, mass strength and dispersion in rubber, as well as specific test methods for carbon black in natural rubber and SBR.
The full D36 meeting in San Diego will include subcommittees and consider all topics relevant to rCB, including silica, carbon dioxide measurements, zinc, sulfur and biofuels, according to Koury.
Since its founding, ASTM Committee D36 has been widely considered the biggest step forward pyrolysis has taken toward commercial success and mass acceptance. Some of the most prominent pyrolysis companies are Titan Tire Reclamation Corp., Pyrolyx U.S.A. and Delta-Energy Group L.L.C.