The Impact of Sustainability on Carbon Black to 2044

• The total sustainable carbon black market in 2023 is estimated at 117ktpa and projected to be more than 1 million tonnes in 2033
• Less than 1% of all carbon black used today in new tire production globally is sustainable carbon black, by 2033 up to 7% usage is anticipated

One billion end-of-life tires (ELTs) are generated each year, and 68% of the 210+ raw materials in tires are fossil-based, including carbon black, the main reinforcing material in tires. The carbon black and tire industries face daunting challenges in coming years to develop products that truly fit the circular economy’s development, meet sustainability requirements, and reduce CO2 emissions on the way to net zero by 2050.

Definition

This report provides a comprehensive update on sustainable carbon black technology, and benchmarks the four leading developments in sustainable carbon blacks (methane, recovered, renewable and circular carbon blacks), as well as competing alternative sustainable tire fillers. With 74% of the global carbon black market used in tires (PCR, LTR, TBR and OTR), the report is primarily focused on the tire industry’s use of sustainable carbon blacks from end-of-life tires (ELTs), and how that affects both the tire and carbon black industries' efforts to be net zero by 2050.

Key Questions

• How has the industry for sustainable carbon black progressed in recent years?
• What factors are disrupting raw material supply chains for natural rubber and carbon black?
• What are the future market dynamics and regulatory outlook for sustainable carbon black to 2044?
• Who are the market leaders in traditional and sustainable carbon black production?
• What are the key challenges and opportunities for carbon black producers over the next two decades?

About the author

Christine Domer is an independent materials science consultant with 39 years in the tire and rubber industry. With experience spanning product development, engineering and material

science, and managerial roles at Cooper Tire, Bridgestone, and Smithers, Christine has extensive expertise in tire raw materials chemistry, compounding, textile and steel reinforcements engineering, rubber/textile adhesive chemistry, and processing in both tire and non-tire applications.

This report benefits:

• Tire makers and producers of tire materials
• Non-tire rubber goods makers
• Equipment suppliers to the tire industry

Executive summary 

Introduction and methodology 

• Report scope 
• Report objective 
• Methodology 
• List of definitions 
• Acknowledgements 

Industry drivers and trends 

• Introduction 
• Industry drivers and trends 
  • Tire industry sustainability targets 
• Summary of latest sustainability technology 
  • Carbon black technology 
  • Silica technology 
  • The carbon footprint of car types 
• User requirements 
• Regional differences 
• State of the furnace carbon black industry and status of sustainability 
• Global furnace black shortages 
• Regulations and likely developments 

Methane pyrolysis carbon black developments 

• Introduction 
• Methane pyrolysis carbon black companies 
  • Monolith 
• Sustainability of methane pyrolysis carbon black 
  • CO2e emissions 
• Biogenic and recycled content 
• Purity 
• Market, Supply and demand 
• Pricing 

Recovered carbon black developments 

• Introduction to recovered carbon black 
• Recovered rCB Specifications 
  • Consistency 
  • Particle Size, D97 
  • Toluene Transmittance, D1618 
  • Ash content 
  • In-rubber Surface Activity, D8491 
  • Silica 
  • Char content 
  • Volatiles and PAH’s 
  • Contaminants 
  • Milling and granulation specs 
• Sustainability of recovered carbon black 
  • CO2e emissions 
  • Biogenic or recycled content 
  • Purity 
  • Market for recovered carbon black 
  • Supply and demand 
  • Pricing 
• Recovered carbon black companies 
  • BB&G AWES 
  • Black Bear Carbon 
  • Bolder Industries 
  • Circtec Group 
  • Contec 
  • Delta Energy (New name TBD) 
  • Ecolomondo 
  • Ecotr 
  • Elysium Nordic 
  • Enrestec 
  • G3C Technologies 
  • Kal Tire 
  • New Energy 
  • Klean Technologies Inc. 
  • LD Carbon 
  • Polimix Ambiental 
  • PRTI 
  • Pyrum Innovations AG 
  • Reoil 
  • Scandinavian Enviro 
  • Stadtwerke Osnabruck 
  • Wastefront 
  • Waverly Carbon 

Renewable carbon black 

• Introduction 
• Renewable carbon black companies 
• CO2e emissions 
• Biogenic or recycled content 
• Purity 
• Market for circular carbon black 
  • Demand and supply 
  • Pricing 

Circular carbon black developments 

• Introduction 
• Circular carbon black companies 
  • Cabot 
  • Orion Engineered Products 
  • BlackCycle Project 
  • Korean Blackcycle project 
• Sustainability of Circular carbon black 
  • CO2e emissions 
  • Biogenic or recycled content 
  • Purity 
• Market for circular carbon black 
  • Demand and supply 
  • Pricing 

Regulatory environment and future outlook 

• Overview of sustainable carbon blacks 
• Application coverage 
• Tire applications 
• MRG applications 
• Coloring applications 
• Plastic applications 
• Coating applications 
• Potential upsides 
• Growth pathways for sustainable carbon blacks 
• Other types of sustainable rubber fillers 
  • Wood carbon black (Wood pyrolysis) 
  • Lignin filler (SunCoal lignin) 
  • Rice-husk silica (TRL-6, potentially TRL 7 by 2025) 
  • CarbonX filaments 
  • Carbon nanotubes, Graphenes 
  • CO2 carbon black (Noyes process) 
• Contribution to reducing carbon black CO2e emissions 
• Outlook 
  • Market availability 
  • Pricing structure 
• Status of regulatory compliance 
  • REACH 
  • Other global regulations 
  • Waste status of materials 

Appendix 

• Compounding notes and discussion 
• Discussion of rCB modification and upgrade methodologies 
• Resources and links 

List of Figures

• Global carbon black demand by application, 2023, million tons
• Typical furnace black production process
• Sequence of carbon black structure development
• ETRMA’s graphic of the tire industry circular economy
• USTMA Climate Policy Positions
• EuRIC MTR’s Illustration of a typical
• ELT content of valuable materials for recovery and recycling
• The magic triangle of tire performance
• The use of silica reduces rolling resistance
• Orion Engineered Carbons sustainable carbon blacks
• Lifecycle analysis
• Methane pyrolysis development history
• Monolith plasma reactor process
• Goodyear’s ElectricDriveTM GT with Monolith carbon black, May 2023
• Conventional processes to manage ELTs
• Recovered carbon black rCB
• Typical tire pyrolysis mass balance system
• Pyrolysis temperature effect on rCB surface chemistry
• Description of typical non-value added materials in rCB
• Recovered carbon black markets by rCB grades
• Cabot’s “Evolve” platform circular carbon blacks
• Black Cycle Project
• Global carbon black consumption by application, 2023, million tons
• Carbon black price index USD/kg and global crude oil price index
• Carbon price versus market size 
• Passenger car tire components and typical carbon black ASTM grades
• Relevant dimensions in rubber-filler interactions
• Rubber-filler interaction
• Recovered carbon black rCB modification and upgrade methodologies

List of Tables

• An abbreviated history of carbon black
• Global furnace carbon black demand by type, 2023
• Global furnace carbon black demand by region, 2023–43
• Analysis of major sustainable carbon blacks and their viability
• EV performance requirements
• Δ 10 yr typical hybrid/EV pcr tire composition by weight
• Tread hybrid/EV pcr tread composition by weight
• Carbon black industry sustainable practices and goals
• Market forecast for methane pyrolysis carbon black, 2023–43
• Bridgestone and Michelin rCB Guidelines
• ASTM D36.70 rCB Classification Proposal
• Recovered carbon black demand by region, 2023–43
• Recovered carbon black companies (alphabetical)
• Renewable carbon black demand by region, 2023–43
• Circular carbon black demand by region, 2023–43
• Overview of sustainable carbon blacks, 2023–43
• Market forecast for all sustainable carbon black types, 2023–43
• Analysis of major sustainable carbon blacks and their viability
• Compounding rules of thumb: Important general filler characteristics for reinforcement 
• Reinforcing filler rules of thumb: particle size, aggregate structure, loading and surface activity impacts