UNDERSTANDING RECOVERED CARBON BLACK

As the rubber industry turns its focus to sustainability, recovered carbon black (rCB) has emerged as a commercial candidate to replace conventional fossil-based fillers. Since rCB is a new class of rubber filler, much is still to be understood regarding which of its properties influence final applications performance. The research presented in this paper demonstrates the importance of controlling the aggregate size distribution, silica content, carbonaceous residue content, and organic residue content in producing a consistent rCB product. These parameters are also demonstrated to be the fundamental reasons behind the disparity in performance of rCB and carbon black of similar colloidal properties. The findings of this study also reveal that the properties of an rCB can be tailored for a given application with precise control of the process conditions.