Before the conference, we caught up with Dr. Kemal Cellat, Group R&D Materials Senior Specialist at Standard Profil, to discuss the key themes of his upcoming presentation.
Q: Your talk at the Recovered Carbon Black Asia 2026 will dive into Source-Dependent Performance of Recovered Carbon Black in EPDM Compounds for Automotive Sealing Applications. Why do you think it’s important for others in the industry to hear this message? In automotive sealing applications, small differences in rCB source can significantly change the compound behavior. The challenge is that all materials marketed under the “rCB” label. My key message here: rCB should not be treated as a single, universal replacement. Especially, in performance critical areas like automotive sealing that we produced in Standard Profil; source-dependent performance must be reflected in material selection, formulation strategy as well as testing methods. That’s why source‑specific characterization data are essential to ensure a reliable and scalable transition to sustainable fillers. This issue also important for the rubber industry as a whole, driven by circular‑economy goals, OEM sustainability commitments, and regulatory pressure. Q: Can you give us an update on what's happening in your local market? What are the latest trends over there? In Türkiye, the automotive and technical rubber sectors remain highly important for carbon black demand. Türkiye has a strong automotive manufacturing base and a well-developed supplier ecosystem serving both domestic and export markets. The local trend is moving from general sustainability interest toward more practical industrial implementation. In response to EU circular economy and carbon footprint regulations, companies are accelerating R&D investment into recovered and alternative fillers (eg. biochar derivatives). Also, domestic pyrolysis facilities are enabling localization of rCB supply chain and cost advantages. Another key trend is the growing influence of European regulation and OEM expectations on Turkish suppliers. The EU has adopted end‑of‑life vehicle circularity rules, including recycled‑plastic content targets for new vehicles, and these changes are shaping requirements across the wider automotive supply chain — including non‑EU suppliers that serve European OEMs. Q: Which challenges and opportunities do you see for the recovered carbon black industry in your local market? The biggest challenge is batch-to-batch quality consistency across suppliers using different pyrolysis processes and feedstocks, which generally slows down the compound approval time. From our side, for EPDM sealing applications, we need stable performance from batch-to-batch. This includes controlled ash content, good dispersion, predictable reinforcement behavior, and compatibility with existing processing routines. On the opportunity side, Türkiye’s strong automotive supply base combined with rising sustainability pressure is encouraging local pyrolizer-compound partnerships. This also forces variation on rCB, like application-specific grades, could help accelerate adoption in technical rubber markets. Q: Looking ahead, what do you think will be some exciting developments in recovered carbon black or tire pyrolysis soon? I believe the most exciting developments will come from the combination of improved pyrolysis technology, advanced post-treatment, and stronger collaboration between material producers and end users. By this way, improved surface activation and particle size distribution of rCB, enable performance closer to that of conventional N-series carbon blacks can help narrow the performance gap between rCB and virgin carbon black. Another exciting development is the move from waste management to high-value circular raw materials. Tire pyrolysis produces multiple outputs—rCB, pyrolysis oil, steel, and gas—so the future of the industry will depend on optimizing the full value chain, not only the carbon black fraction. Q: What hurdles does the RCB/tire pyrolysis value chain need to tackle in the next few years? The biggest hurdle is trust in consistency. End users need confidence that the material supplied today will behave the same way tomorrow. Scale is another issue, industry needs reliable volumes, stable quality, and long-term supplier capability. Many companies are interested in rCB, but wider adoption depend on producers’ ability on industrial-scale supply. Finally, cost and carbon footprint claims: rCB has strong sustainability potential, but rCB must be cost‑competitive. Also, customers increasingly expect credible life-cycle data, independent verification, and clear evidence of how the material reduces emissions or supports circularity targets. Q: Are there any specific collaborations within or with the value chain that you're looking for? Yes, we are particularly interested in collaborations with rCB suppliers who are willing to share detailed technical data, maintain batch-to-batch consistency, and work together on compound optimization.We also interested in pre-competitive projects where the industry can develop common test protocols and specification frameworks for rCB in technical rubber applications. In addition, we're in contact with universities and research institutes and to support open innovation, contributing to the literature by scientific papers on leading journals in the field.
