© 2023 Wolfersdorff Consulting Berlin
Dear colleagues & friends of recovered Carbon Black,
Here is your monthly dose of recovered Carbon Black news. We now have 5.872 subscribers to the rCB News. How about sharing this newsletter with your network?
ASTM June Committee week
On June 7h/8th, the ASTM International Committee D36 on Recovered Carbon Black (rCB) will meet in Denver, Colorado. The D36 committee's scope is "The promotion of knowledge of the properties of recovered carbon black (rCB), including stimulation of research and the development of test methods, specifications, classifications, and nomenclature."
Current D36 officers are Anthony Wayne Thornton (Chair), Pieter ter Haar (Vice-Chair), Chris Norris (Recording Secretary), Elizabeth Lees (Administrative Assistant), Melissa Marcinowski (Staff Manager), Nate Murphy (Membership Secretary) and Joe Ermigiotti (Editor).
All furnace carbon black ASTM standards that can also be used for recovered carbon black are summarised in D8466-22 "Standard Guide for Recovered Carbon Black—Carbon Black Test Methods for Testing rCB".
Some very useful and new methods for recovered carbon black include D8474-22 Standard Test Method for Recovered Carbon Black (rCB)—Compositional Analysis by Thermogravimetry (TGA) and D8491-22 Standard Test Method for Recovered Carbon Black—Rheological Non-Linearity of a Rubber Compound by Fourier Transform Rheology.
This June Committee week, major topics will include:
Work item WK71958 for particle size measurement by laser diffraction
Work item WK84831 classification for recovered Carbon Black
Ash content and composition measurements
New task group to further improve the TGA method D8474-22
Election of new officers for D36
(Thanks to Pieter ter Haar for the update on major June Committee week topics)
For me, the WK84831 recovered Carbon Black classification work item is of the highest interest to the industry and I believe that we now have sufficient analysis methods for a classification.
Interested readers can surf to compare and read the ASTM standard for the classifcation of furnace carbon blacks at D1765-23a—Standard Classification System for Carbon Blacks Used in Rubber Products.
Furnace carbon blacks are defined by target values of
Carbon black primary particle size, measured indirectly by surface area through iodine adsorption (D1510)
Carbon black aggregate structure, measured indirectly by oil absorption (D2414)
Further to those target values, which define the ASTM classification (for example an ASTM N660 carbon black), the norm gives typical descriptive values for compressed oil absorption (D3493), void volume (D7854), total surface area by nitrogen adsorption ("NSA", D6556), external surface area by nitrogen adsorption ("STSA", D6556), aggregate size distribution by tint strength (D3265) as well as pour density (D1513).
Of course, the case for recovered Carbon Black is more complex than for furnace carbon black. recovered Carbon Black has a heterogeneous composition of a mix of different carbon blacks (coming from different tires and different tire parts), inorganic content as well as organic volatiles and new elemental carbon (from rubber carbonisation).
Composition might be the first item going into the classification system. Here we primarily have the TGA method D8474 as well as the ash content analysis D1506.
The degree of milling really determines the dispersibility of the recovered carbon black and therefore is quite important for its rubber performance. Here we have the work item WK71958 for particle size measurement as well as the D8491 Fourier transformation rheology.
Hopefully, the work by "rCB Rubber" ( Michelin and Bridgestone EMEA), where I was consulting support, will also be implemented in the ASTM classification. Here, the major elements for the proposed classification were
Stable ELT feedstock (could be by TGA D8474)
In-rubber dispersion (standard / highly dispersible, could be through WK71958 particle size data)
Special post-treatment (activiation, leaching etc., not yet industrial)
Inorganic content (could be by TGA D8474 or ash content D1506)
How do YOU think will the furure ASTM classifcation system for recovered Carbon Black look like?
June 16th update:
The ASTM D36 committee has proposed a classification system for recovered Carbon Black, with four analyses which define the category of recovered Carbon Black and including a nomenclature system. We discuss details about this and other specifications in our industry report "Prospects for recovered Carbon Black".
Prospects for recovered Carbon Black 2023
With my colleague and co-author Paul Ita at Notch Consulting, LLC, we have now published the 2023 update of our "Prospects for recovered Carbon Black" report.
We think it is the best recovered Carbon Black and tire pyrolysyis industry report out there!
We do a lot of primary research interviews with the whole industry to be at the pulse of developments, while many industry reports from the Indian report writing Mafia just mention outdated and even closed companies such as Pyrolyx.
There have been a lot of news in the industry which make our report an important staple contribution for any project in the recovered carbon black and tire pyrolysis industry. The 2022 edition was purchased by leading carbon black and tire producers.
Buy your copy today!
"Sustainable Carbon Black" Workshop
Next Tuesday June 13th at 14h00 CEST, I will discuss sustainable carbon blacks in a Smithers OnlineWorkshop with Robert Hanson from Monolith and with Paul Ita from Notch Consulting, LLC.
We will start with innovative methane pyrolysis carbon blacks from Monolith and then deepen on circular and renewable carbon blacks produced on the standard furnace process. Of course, recovered Carbon Blacks will complete this indepth conversation about sustainable carbon blacks!
Book this unique online workshop for only 399€ here!
Update on recovered Carbon Black Documentary Film
I am currently writing the script for the documentary film and I already have found a global rubber brand who will be one of the sponsors of this industry documentary. Very soon you will see some brand collaborations and interviews with this sponsor company!
Contact me if you are interested in social media brand collaborations with me (either here on Linkedin or on my Youtube channel @vonwolfersdorff) or if you also want to sponsor the recovered Carbon Black Documentary Film!
Well, that is all for today. Thank you very much for reading!
Take care, best wishes from Berlin,
Martin
Prospects for recovered Carbon Black 2023
Wolfersdorff Consulting Berlin
#circulareconomy #recoveredcarbonblack #carbonblack #pyrolysis #sustainability
