Smithers examines 'more sustainable' carbon black production in latest report

AKRON—Interest has piqued in more sustainable methods for carbon black production, and companies up and down the rubber industry supply chain are closely watching for process innovations and regulatory hurdles.

In fact, one industry testing and consulting firm is looking all the way to 2041.

From its Surrey, England, facilities and its Akon headquarters, Smithers released "The Impact of Sustainability on Carbon Black to 2041," a comprehensive look at four more-sustainable production methods, their pros and cons, and the coming regulatory landscape for carbon black.

Martin von Wolfersdorff of Wolfersdorff Consulting, who authored the $6,750 report available at smithers.com, takes an objective look at the industry drivers for more sustainable CB—namely, that the tire majors around the world asking for greener tire ingredients.

The methods of carbon black production are changing from typical furnace black methods, Smithers said in a Dec. 7 release, which require intense heat and heavy use of petroleum-based raw materials.

And while two of the four methods identified by Smithers and von Wolfersdorff still will rely on natural gas as an original-energy feedstock, all have the potential to greatly reduce the energy required to produce CB—and its related carbon footprint.

"Tire OEMs and other users of carbon black are increasingly looking for alternative, more environmentally friendly material choices," a Smithers spokesperson said. "As an industry that currently relies almost exclusively on petroleum feedstocks, and energy-intensive furnace black processing, this poses a major challenge for carbon black suppliers over the next 20 years."

According to Smithers, the report is valuable for tire makers, non-tire rubber goods makers, producers of tire materials, equipment suppliers to the tire industry and participants in the tire markets value chain.

It seems the value is extra-high for tire manufacturers, as they are the leading end-use for the performance-enhancing filler.

In fact, Smithers reports that the global demand for tire fillers will reach nearly 14 million metric tons this year alone.

In the report, Smithers and von Wolfersdorff dig down into the four processing methods identified as more sustainable—but not necessarily more practical, in some cases—for commercial production.

They include methane pyrolysis, recovered carbon black, renewable carbon black and circular carbon black.

The consulting firm and author von Wolfersdorff say that about 65 percent of tire OEMs choose rCB as "the preferred sustainability option for the future," one that depends on end-of-life tires and subsequent tire pyrolysis.

"All four solutions will continue to evolve over the next two decades, meeting the competing demands of lowering costs and improve the quality of blacks produced," Smithers said.

The Akron-based firm estimates that by 2041 these combined methods will contribute 1.98 million tons to the global supply of carbon blacks, or the capacity of about 20 conventional carbon black furnace lines.

Smithers and von Wolfersdorff recently discussed these topics and more at "rCB Conference 2022" in Berlin, where Bridgestone and Michelin also presented a joint position paper on recovered carbon black and achieving a circular economy for tires.