Book Now

Agenda

Registration and welcome refreshments
Smithers welcome
Sabine Prack, Head of Production, Smithers
SESSION 1 - MARKET TRENDS AND BUSINESS UPDATES
Carbon black & rCB global outlook
Overview of current conditions and future prospects for both carbon black and recovered carbon black. Includes a discussion of how the coming ban on imports of Russian carbon black into the EU is likely to affect trade flows and demand.
Paul Ita | President, Notch Consulting
Cabot's evolving path to sustainable reinforcing materials
As a company committed to creating materials that improve daily life and enable a more sustainable future, last year Cabot announced its goal of achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050. In this presentation, Cabot presents the roadmap to achieving net zero carbon emissons for the carbon black industry. The presentation will also highlight some of the product and technology innovations that Cabot is exploring on its journey to sustainable, carbon black-based reinforcement solutions for rubber and plastic applications.
Aatif Misbah | Vice President and General Manager, Sustainable Solutions, Cabot Corporation
Circularity in sustainable material development: thinking in big cycles @ Continental ContiTech
High tech materials today also mean sustainable materials which lets ContiTech strive to become a leader in sustainable material science with ambitious sustainability goals. One of the biggest challenges on this journey is the conflict of ensuring the best performance using raw materials which fulfill these high tech requirements versus the use of more sustainable or re-use of recycled materials.

One key route for bringing back recycled raw materials with highest performances will be chemical recycling. Here, new value chains where the used rubber or thermoplastic product can become a valuable raw material for the chemistry industry and the need to establish more research in these areas are on the horizon. Having a more complex material portfolio (compared to tires) with high specialties, e.g. halogenated polymers, heavy metals for flame retardants, circularity is even more challenging and new research and development partnerships are necessary.

Illustrated with examples from the rubber and thermoplastics product portfolio of Continental we will discuss potential solutions as well as addressing challenges on the way to a fully circular economy with the specific focus on rCB as part of ContiTech’s sustainable materials strategy.
Dr. Daniel Biensfeld | Head of Innovation Field Sustainable Materials, ContiTech
Networking break
E-mobility: tire perspective
Hankook Tire's sustainable tire strategy and roadmap, focusing on current and future material developments in relation to the fast development of EV market and sustainability scenario. The usage of recycled material such as rCB is one of the relevant factors for achieving the goal of carbon neutrality in the mid-long term and at the same time complying with the EV challenging requirements.
Massimo Cialone | Chief Specialist, Hankook Tires Limited
Bridgestone and Michelin conclude joint call to action on rCB
Continuing the work that generated the technical guidance on rCB that was shared at the conference in 2022, Bridgestone and Michelin have completed the authoring of a white paper, which will be published in 2023. This white paper provides additional information regarding regulations, environmental, health, and safety considerations, and other guidance for rCB producers. This white paper marks the beginning of a journey, and future developments of the initiative will be conducted through broader partnership across the industry to continue to provide industry input toward standards for rCB.

Marco Musaio, Head of Circular Economy and End of Life Tire, Bridgestone
Fabien Gaboriaud, Senior Vice President - Sustainable Materials & Circularity, Michelin
Pierre Laurent, Materials Research Leader, Michelin
CEO panel: Leading rCB producers discuss their flagship projects, scale-up advice and professionalisation of the sector
Moderator:
Katie Tuttle, Global Sustainable Solutions Manager, Cabot Corporation
Panellists:
Michael Murray, VP Global Sales and Product Development, Bolder Industries
Robert Harper, Co-founder and Deputy CEO, Circtec
Pascal Klein, CEO, Pyrum Innovations AG
Thomas Sörensson, CEO, Scandinavian Enviro Systems AB
Networking lunch
SESSION 2 – REGULATORY COMPLIANCE
EU's EcoRevamp for tyre recycling: legislation & innovation
EuRIC presentation will provide a comprehensive overview of the regulatory and policy issues within the European Green Deal related to tyre recycling. This includes the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), EU-wide End-of-Waste (EoW) criteria, Mass balance Accounting (MBA) for chemical recycling, and other policies integrated into the EU's legislative framework to support recycled materials and innovation for tyre recycling. The circularity of materials like carbon black contained in tyres greatly depends on these crucial initiatives.
Alejandro Navazas | Scientific Officer, European Recycling Industries' Confederation (EuRIC)
Air emissions compliance for recovered carbon black production - a hitchhiker's guide through the hot air
The complexity of regulations controlling air emissions compliance is one of the most significant challenges faced when permitting and operating plants for the production of recovered carbon black in Europe.  The regulatory landscape is complex and this factor accounts for a significant and often underestimated aspect of project risk. Where Europe leads in environmental compliance regulation, other parts of the world will probably in time follow.  

As recovered carbon black gains increasing adoption as a sustainable chemical in rubber and plastic manufacturing, there is likely to be increasing focus on the sustainability of the process for manufacturing recovered carbon black; air emissions is historically one of the first aspects that stakeholders look at. Drawing on 14 years of applied experience in permitting plants for the production of recovered carbon black in Europe, this presentation will outline the regulatory landscape and best available techniques specifically applicable to the sector. Robert Harper, Co-founder and
Robert Harper | Co-founder and Deputy CEO, Circtec
The challenges of bringing circularity at scale to market, a case study
Pyrolysis of end of life tyres or other post-industrial and/or consumer rubber products has been used as a means recycling these products for a number of years. Although traditionally seen as suitable only for low value applications, recent advances allow the use of these valuable secondary raw materials in a wider range of higher value prospects, helping customers meet their sustainability targets. In this presentation, the challenges of bringing circularity at scale will be discussed in terms of production, regulatory standards and customer documentation requirements using as a case study the launch of Birla Carbon’s Continua™ SCM product range. 
Dr Joe Hallett | Technical Lead for Continua™, Birla Carbon
Networking break
Panel discussion: International updates – market trends, regulatory environment, rCB specifications and applications
  • Market snapshot - supply and demand, raw materials
  • Govt. policy and regulatory environment
  • What is your / your company’s current approach to this environment & opportunities?
  • Where do you see your region in the next 5 - 10 years with regards to rCB?
Moderator
Martin Von Wolfersdorff, Principal Advisor, Wolfersdorff Consulting
Panellists
Andy Yuan, Business Development Director, Enrestec
Vishesh Agarwal, CEO, Royal Carbon Black 
Jorge Delaveau, CEO, Ecotr
Chair’s closing remarks and end of day one
Networking drinks recpetion
Registration and welcome refreshments
Chair’s opening remarks
SESSION 3 – TECHNICAL APPLICATIONS
Technological innovation and high value application practice of recycling carbon black
In response to the current situation of high energy consumption, heavy pollution, and low added value of waste tire cracking and recycling, Ecostar has developed a 10,000 ton continuous, clean, and efficient waste tire cracking equipment and has built three demonstration projects, greatly improving the performance indicators of recycled carbon black. It can replace industrial carbon black or be used in combination with industrial carbon black, and has been used in truck and passenger tires, engineering tires, power car tires, passenger car tires, conveyor belts, transmission belts, rubber hoses, seals, plastics More than ten industries such as coatings and shipboards have achieved industrial applications, and a green, low-carbon, closed cycle industrial chain of "resources products waste renewable resources" has been constructed. At present, the annual processing scale of waste tires exceeds 200,000 tons, making it the only full process enterprise in the 4 https://www.carbonblackworld.com/recovered-carbon-black industry that integrates equipment research and development and manufacturing, factory construction, production operation, research and development of environmentally friendly new materials, sales of environmentally friendly new materials, and application of environmentally friendly new materials.
Xiaoyan Chen | General Manager, Qingdao Ecostar Intelligent Equipment Co.,Ltd
Developing a more sustainable EPDM extrusion compound using sustainable carbonaceous material
The aim of this study is to develop a more sustainable EPDM extrusion compound including Continua™ (SCM). The study consists of two steps:
Step 1 - adapting the EPDM formulation containing Continua™ (SCM) to optimize compound properties.
Step 2 - the EPDM extrusion compound containing Continua™ (SCM) was extruded as a secondary door seal in a hot air tunnel.  
Rheological and mechanical properties were compared to the traditional carbon black used in EPDM based sealing profiles. As a result, a more electrically insulating, a more environmentally friendly sealing system compound was developed without compromising rheological and mechanical performance. In addition, Continua™ (SCM) was used instead of carbon black in the EPDM extrusion compound, reducing the CO2 footprint.   
Yusuf Güner | R&D Materials Expert, Standard Profil Group
Upgrading Reclaimed Carbon: performance characteristics of Sterling® SO RC110 in sidewall and weather strip applications
As the demand for sustainable solutions continues to grow, the use of recovered carbon (rC) from the pyrolysis of End-of-Life Tire (ELTs) encounters performance challenges even at modest loadings. One of the first products powered by Cabot’s EVOLVE™ sustainable solutions platform, is a copellet product with 10% rC that performs similarly to ASTM N550. In this presentation, we will highlight Sterling® SO RC110 reinforcing carbon as the first in an anticipated series of rC-based products that offer consistent quality at industrial scale. This talk will highlight the advantage of co-pelletization technology and how it enables performance of Sterling SO RC110 in a passenger car sidewall compound and more recent data in a weather strip compound. 
Dr. Xin Tan | Senior Scientist, Cabot Corporation
Recovered carbon black in the compounding of general rubber goods: we stand ready
HEXPOL is strongly committed to reducing emissions related to its activities and products. New sustainable raw materials are constantly coming to our developers who adjust formulations to include a certain sustainable fraction in recipes. No matter if they are coming from bio feedstocks or recycling: compromises in functionality, quality, and throughput of compounds are not allowed. Recovered carbon black (rCB) from end-of-life tires (ELT) pyrolysis is the most promising recycled raw material. The supply chain and stability of the feedstock is well established. Yet, the rCB marketplace remains very fragmented, with limited players proven at industrial scale. HEXPOL needs reliable partners able to supply rCB in large quantities, on global scale, and with consistent quality and form up to industry standards. 

Andrea Ravasio, PhD., R&D Director Europe & Asia, HEXPOL COMPOUNDING
Klas Lindberg, Purchasing Director Europe & Asia, HEXPOL COMPOUNDING
Networking break
SESSION 4- STANDARDS AND CHARACTERISATION
Update on ASTM Committee D36 on rCB
The ASTM committee D36 on Recovered Carbon Black has been working on more standards and classification of rCB. During this presentation an update will be provided on the most recent developments of the committee including updates on various new standards that are currently being proposed and developed.
Pieter ter Haar | Director Research and Development, Circtec
Do small and large rCB particles have the same composition and structure?
The particle size distribution is a key characteristic of rCB. However, different sizing methods give results that do not compare well, and only a few size and structure-related properties can be resolved by a single 15 https://www.carbonblackworld.com/recovered-carbon-black dimensional unit. The femtoG approach measures the particle mass and the mobility diameter of isolated vCB/rCB aggregates. This allows for resolving the fractal structure of vCB/rCB by recording a characteristic decline in the aggregate density with increasing particle size. Recent measurements have shown that only rCB particles lighter than 100 femtograms (=800-1000nm) are fractal-structured. At larger sizes, there is a characteristic increase in aggregate density, most likely caused by a distinct particle population rich in ash. Small particles have a different composition or structure than large particles. In addition, we present a theoretical framework to correlate diameters from different sizing methods. We approximate laser diffraction PSDs from d-stokes/Photo-sedimentation data and show how the aerodynamic diameter separates the fraction of “fractal rCB” from the “ash-rich rCB”. The ability to record a multi-parameter sizedistribution within 10 min and to identify 2 distinct particle populations can be the fundament to reduce the ash content and particle size by optimising milling and air-classifying operations.  
Franz Friebel | Founder & CEO, FemtoG
Pyrolysis of EPDM mixes
A specific mix on a basis EPDM was pyrolyzed at 4 different temperatures in a TRL5 auger pyrolysis plant. The conditions of pyrolysis are presented and the characterization of CB are also reported. The composition of pyrolysis oil and gas are presented in terms of temperature. The pyrolyzed carbon black (rCB) was reintroduced in a mix replacing 100% of initial N550 by the rCB. The rheologic and mechanical properties are presented together with the conclusions and future work.  
Jade Chalancon | Researcher, Elanova (Center for the promotion and excellence of rubber, France)
Networking lunch
Analysing the modifications of carbon black and other fillers after pyrolysis of model tyres
The characteristics of the rCBs produced from the hybrid pyrolysis of model laboratory-reinforced rubbers, with or without silica added, were analysed and compared to the pristine N330 CB. X-Ray Diffraction showed no discernible changes in the basic structural units and nanotexture of the primary particles. Nevertheless, qualitative background analysis of the diffractograms revealed that the quantity of unorganised carbon in the rCB increased by about 25% after pyrolysis. The carbonaceous deposits affected the filler texture, and part of the ultra-microporosity (i.e., pores within the diameter range 0.34–0.76 nm), which had a three-fold decrease in the rCB sample. The recovered fillers, with and without silica, had more oxygenated functional groups than the CB. Total CO and CO2 evolved during the decomposition of these functional groups was 2.8, 5.3 and 3.5 mmol/g for CB, rCB and rCB-SiO2, respectively. The dispersibility and stability of the colloidal suspensions was affected by the increased surface oxygenated functionalities. Reductive hydrogenation was utilised to remove the excess oxygen allowing an improved understanding regarding the origin of the differences between the pristine and recovered materials. Reducing the surface chemistry rCB was not sufficient to fully recover the pristine N330 CB properties, post-treatment via surface reduction reduced oxygen content by 80% in the rCbs. This post-treatment method therefore shows potential in improving the recyclability of rubber via pyrolysis. The work was done under the supervision of Elsa Weiss-Hortala and Pascal Puech. Ludovic Moulin is the representative of our industrial collaborator, Alpha Carbone. 
Petros Mubari | Ph.D. Candidate in Process Engineering, IMT mines Albi
Production of high quality rCB, TPO, and metals from waste tyre rubber by pyrolysis and demineralisation: a laboratory analysis
The pyrolysis of waste tyre rubber within a laboratory batch rotary kiln, and subsequent demineralisation of rCB via hydrothermal washing and by using hydrochloric acid is described. rCB and TPO composition were found to be highly dependent upon volatile kinetics within the system. Strategies for minimising rCB contaminants were suggested. Subsequent rCB demineralisation caused ash content reductions from 16.1% to between 5.8 and 13.1%, primarily due to reductions in zinc, sulphur, iron, and aluminium content. This improved the physiochemical properties of the rCB significantly, causing notable differences in carbon content, mesoporosity, and secondary structure. Calculated estimates regarding the value of quantified metals removed by rCB demineralisation (~$103-257/tonne of rCB) elucidated the potential opportunity for metal recovery from waste tyre rubber. Metal extraction and solvent regeneration strategies were proposed and the preliminary operating costs were evaluated. 
Alex Bowles | PhD Researcher, Imperial College London
SESSION 5 – PROCESSING AND OPERATIONS
Economic solutions for rCB back-end processing
Recycling of recovered Carbon (rCB) black includes the pyrolysis of tires or tire shreds. This process yields in coarse rCB, which must be ground down to 4-40 µm (d97) for further use. An efficient grinding process with high throughputs therefore increases the value of rCB. The presentation will show a proven process step using an impact classifier mill with an integrated classification process with superior grinding and classifying results, which can easily be adapted to changing requirements due to different feed stock. Results show the advantages of the investigated impact grinding process in comparison with other comminution processes. The grinding and classifying process step yields fine ground rCB with a very low bulk density, thus providing challenges in handling and logistics. Most users of fine ground rCB require the product to be pelletized. Pelletized rCB offers strong advantages in terms of handling and related logistics cost. However, various factors have an impact on the rCB back-end process and the quality of the pellets, such as size reduction efficiency, pyrolysis temperature, binder selection as well as the type of dryer. The presentation will show an analysis of this comprehensive approach of rCB grinding and pelletizing, with focus on both the quality of the final product as well as the economy of process steps between the discharge of pyrolysis char down to high quality, fine ground, pelletized and packed rCB.  
Dr. Daniel Karhoff | Research & Development Engineer, Neuman & Esser
Pyrolysis of specific parts of the end-of-life tires and in-rubber performance of produced rCB
Increasing interest in sustainable raw materials during last few years led to implementation of rCB in many rubber applications, also in tires manufacturing. Consistency in quality is one of the key pillars of success in rCB adoption in manufacturing and a challenge for chemical recyclers as the feedstock variability is high in both short and long term. Collaboration within tire manufacturing ecosystem brought possible solutions and a case study of pyrolysis of specific parts of the end-of-life tires will be presented. 
Krzysztof Wróblewski | CEO, Contec
Chair’s closing remarks
End of conference
Workshop - Introduction to Recovered Carbon Black
Registration
Session 1 - Product
Recovered Carbon Black definition, composition, quality control, analysis, classification, bonus: Overview on tire pyrolysis oil
Martin Von Wolfersdorff | Principal Advisor, Wolfersdorff Consulting
Networking break
Session 2 - Industry
Industry overview, mega trends, scale-up, ecosystems
Martin Von Wolfersdorff | Principal Advisor, Wolfersdorff Consulting
Wrap up and end of workshop


Download the full 2023 programme

RCB-2023-Agenda-3-11