In this presentation at the Tire Technology Expo and Conference 2023, 5 mega topics for recovered carbon black are discussed, the history of carbon black and recovered carbon black, the recovered carbon black industry scale up, specifications and norms for recovered carbon black, recovered carbon black composition, green credentials for recovered carbon black and last but not least the changing business paradigm in the recovered carbon black industry.

1. A global progress update on
recovered carbon black
Martin von Wolfersdorff
March 22nd 2023, TireTechnology Conference2023

2. A global progress update on recovered Carbon Black 2
Agenda
1. Agenda
2. Introductions
3. rCB industry mega topics
Industry scale up
Specifications & norms
Green credentials
Paradigm change
4. Outlook
5. Questions & Answers

3. Who are you?

4. Who am I?

5. A global progress update on recovered Carbon Black 5
Wolfersdorff Consulting Berlin
• Global top voice for recovered carbon black
• Specialising in tire-to-tire recycling and alternative carbon blacks
• Founder of Smithers recovered Carbon Black Conference (2019)
• Working with most top rCB producers
• Reference clients include brand owners like Decathlon, Mitsubishi,
BASF, Michelin, Bridgestone, Trelleborg, Hutchinson & more
• Sustainability & climate conscious coaching (EASC certified)
• Video production (Linkedin, YouTube, rCB documentary film)
• Background: Chemical engineering, titanium dioxide, custom
colour masterbatch, carbon black,
Martin von Wolfersdorff

6. rCB industry mega topics

7. A global progress update on recovered Carbon Black 7
5 rCB industry mega topics
❶ Scale-up Collaboration People
Specifications
❸ Compliance Norms
❷ Consistency Deviation Analysis
Application focus
Value
❺ Paradigm
Thermal efficiency
Emissions
❹ Credentials

8. rCB industry scale up

9. A global progress update on recovered Carbon Black 9
1864 Channel process (NG, 20% particulate emissions)
1910 First carbon black in tires (Goodrich)
1830 Flame / lamp black process (oil)
1956 Hard blacks (Philips Petroleum)
1934 Degussa CK-3 gas black process (oil)
1970 Furnace process, specialty hard blacks (N234)
1965 Bulk deliveries
1980 Energy centres for tail gas
2000 Clean extrusion grades, specialty hard blacks (N100)
2015 Low PAH grades (Cabot)
2022 Sustainable carbon blacks (circular, renewable, methane)
1923 US Channel process plant capacity 400 tpa CB
1931 US Channel process plant capacity 32 ktpa CB
2021 Average global furnace plant capacity 113 ktpa
1967 Average EU furnace process plant capacity 40 ktpa
1980 First tire pyrolysis technologies (oil crisis)
2000 First focus on CBp / rCB
2014 Bridgestone investment in Delta Energy
2019 ASTM D8178 “Standard Terminology”
2017 ASTM D36
2020 Michelin investment in Enviro
2021 Average NA/EU rCB capacity 3.5 ktpa
2% CAGR
54 years
2025 Average NA/EU rCB capacity 13 ktpa1
1920 Gas furnace process (Columbian)
1 Wolfersdorff Consulting Berlin / Notch Consulting “Prospects for recovered Carbon Black 2023”
2021 Birla Carbon partners with Circtec for SCM
2020 BASF investment in Pyrum
1940 Furnace process, soft blacks (oil, Philips Petroleum)
2021 Michelin/Bridgestone rCB Rubber CTA
2022 Circtec/Alpha Carbone rCB REACH registration
CB and rCB history compared

10. A global progress update on recovered Carbon Black 10
rCB industry scale-up forecast
Source: “Prospects for recovered Carbon Black 2023”, Notch Consulting & Wolfersdorff Consulting Berlin
Most rCB projects are 6 – 12 months late.
Europe will outgrow Asia in rCB
production capacity by 2025.
The main growth driver in Europe is
ecology vs. economy in Asia.
New capacity in EU will be mainly in
Antwerp, Belgium, and Rotterdam,
the Netherlands, where
big chemical parks are located.
Conservative estimate only considering
main reliable players.
11 ktpa
14 ktpa
16 ktpa
32 ktpa
73 ktpa
331 ktpa

11. rCB specifications & norms

12. A global progress update on recovered Carbon Black 12
The journey to rCB specifications
2021 Wolfersdorff Consulting rCB1 specification
(consistency, composition, PAH, rubber performance)
rCB1 (state of art), ecology markets
rCB2, economy markets
rCB3 (raw), only thermal recovery
2022 rCB Rubber (Michelin/Bridgestone) grades definition
(Feedstock, dispersion, post-treatment, COA specification)
2023/24 ASTM D36?

13. A global progress update on recovered Carbon Black 13
Furnace Carbon Black classification
Photo source: Wolfersdorff Consulting

14. A global progress update on recovered Carbon Black 14
Comparison of carbon black variants
Carbon black definition
Fossil
Furnace
Carbon Black
Circular
Furnace
Carbon Black
Renewable
Furnace
Carbon Black
Methane
Pyrolysis
Carbon Black
recovered
Carbon Black
Engineered material ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅
Primarily elemental carbon ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅
Thermal decomposition of
hydrocarbons ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ❌
Aggregates of aciniform
morphology ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ 🟡
Spheroidal primary particles ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅
Uniformity of primary particles ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ❌
Turbostratic layering ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅

15. A global progress update on recovered Carbon Black 15
recovered Carbon Black classification
ASTM WK84831 (ballot target Dec 2024)
“Recovered Carbon Black Classification”
Recovered Carbon Black needs to be classified in types according to tests methods available
in D36 or D24 in order to facilitate specifications between producers and customers.

16. A global progress update on recovered Carbon Black 16
ELT selection Pyrolysis Condenser
ELTs
ELT multi-step
granulation
Selected
ELTs
ELT
granulate
Gas (~60%) Non-condensable
gas (~10%)
Oil (~50%)
Tank or
distillation
Generator
or burner
Gas self sufficient for pyrolysis process energy
Exhaust
Scrubber
Raw rCB (~40%)
Metal
separation
Milling
Wet
granulation
Drying Sieving
rCB
(>39%)
Steel
(<1%)
Storage
Storage
Over- and undersized pellets
Engineered
material
via thermal decomposition
from rubber goods
uniformity of aggregates
free of wire
and fabric
Raw rCB
milled
rCB production process overview

17. A global progress update on recovered Carbon Black 17
recovered Carbon Black composition
rCB = + + +
Mixture of
carbon blacks
Inorganics
“Ash”
Volatile
hydrocarbons
Fresh carbon
“Carbonaceous
Residues”
e.g.
N234, N330, N339 (PCR tread)
N220, N115 (TBR tread)
N650, N660, N326 (carcass)
e.g.
SiO2 (PCR tread)
SiO2 (sand)
ZnO, ZnS
15 - 25%
Depolymerised
bound rubber
fragments
0 - 3%
Amorphous carbon
from depolymerised
bound rubber
fragments
3 - 22%
Payload (ter Haar, von Wolfersdorff, Carbon Black World Conference 2018
Process depending
Feedstock depending
Carbon black Elemental carbon
containing inorganic
compounding ingredients
D1618
Tol. Transmittance
(D8474 TGA)
D8491
FT Rheology
D1506
Ash content
(D8474 TGA)
WK71958
Particle size
(dispersion)
D8491
FT Rheology

18. rCB green credentials

19. A global progress update on recovered Carbon Black 19
Assessing rCB green credentials
Recovered carbon black
100% recycled
Potentially low PAH content
Potentially low CO2 emission
Recommended CO2e emission reporting
GRI: Scope 1 (~500 kg/t), scope 2 (~60 kg/t) and scope 3 (~100 kg/t)
NOT LCA based on emission avoidance
Calculated vs. measured
Electrical heating (plates or microwave) vs. gas heating
Thermal efficiency
An important technology selection criteria
Theoretical model for ELT granulate with 1% water and 1% steel: 356 kWh/t
Thermal efficiency 30% – 84%
Image: Midjourney A.I.

20. rCB paradigm change

21. A global progress update on recovered Carbon Black 21
From recycling to chemical production
Chemical production
• Product focus
• High level of control
• Value and ecology driven
• High value add
• High CAPEX, low OPEX
Recycling
• Feedstock focus
• Low level of control
• Cost and economy driven
• Low value add
• Low CAPEX, low OPEX, (low compliance?)
Images: Midjourney A.I.

22. Outlook

23. A global progress update on recovered Carbon Black 23
Outlook for rCB
How to accelerate rCB industry scale-up?
• Deeper equity investment of tire industry into rCB companies
• Carbon black industry investment and JDAs
• Extended eco-system collaborations (e.g. BlackCycle, rCB
Rubber, ChemCycle etc.)
• Wholistic off-take strategy (no product cherry picking)
Specifications and classification
• ASTM D36.70 Rubber testing (supported by tire, carbon black)
• ASTM WK84831 rCB classification
Paradigm change
• From economy to ecology

24. Thanks! – Questions & Answers
“Prospects for recovered Carbon Black 2023”
The only peer reviewed rCB industry report
Wolfersdorff
C O N S U L T I N G
recovered Carbon Black Documentary Film 2023
Contact me for a collaboration!
Wolfersdorff
C O N S U L T I N G

25. A global progress update on recovered Carbon Black 25
Tire recycling processes
Mechanical
Chemical selective
Chemical non-selective
Shreds / granulates / powder
Devulcanised materials
Gas, oil, steel, rCB
From tires and parts of tires
Mainly non-functional filler materials
Activation and coating possible
<140 mesh quality not widely available
00 ktpa market
Thermal / mechanical / chemical / biologic
Highest value from pure feedstocks (tire sections)
Devulc more active than reclaim
Reclaim is most used recycled material in tires
000 ktpa market
Highest value from pure feedstocks
rCB similar to N700/N600 group carbon black
High versatility across compounds and tire types
Mentioned by 7 of top 11 tire companies
Call-to-action by “rCB Rubber” (Michelin & Bridgestone)
0,000 ktpa market

26. A global progress update on recovered Carbon Black 26
Sustainability in tire supply chain
Tire raw materials:
Carbon black,
Silica
Tire industry sustainability objectives:
Tire CO2 emissions : Carbon black CO2 emissions:

27. A global progress update on recovered Carbon Black 27
Important tire pyrolysis mass flows
12.048 tpa
end-of-life-tires
1.000 tpa pyrolysis gas (10%)
4.000 tpa raw rCB (40%)
5.000 tpa pyrolysis oil (50%)
Pyrolysis
10.000 tpa
Condenser
Granulation
1.807 tpa steel (15%)
241 tpa textiles (2%)