Wastefront AS has partnered with Newcastle University to study the characterisation and enhancement of Wastefront’s recovered carbon black (rCB).

As one of the UK’s top universities and a world leader in sustainability, Newcastle University’s partnership with Wastefront will see cutting-edge industry innovation emerge from research conceived in the North of England – ensuring the region is at the forefront of progressing circularity across Europe.

The work is timely as Wastefront gears up to play a crucial role in eliminating the UK’s waste tyres export by creating a local, circular solution to a global problem. To prevent waste tyres from burning in cement kilns, Wastefront will use commercial operating technologies to convert end-of-life-tyres (ELTs) into useful commodities, including rCB.

The study will focus on rCB interaction with rubbers and its correlation with prospective industrial applications, directly supporting Wastefront’s efforts to enable the rCB it produces to be used in new products. The scope of work undertaken by Newcastle University over the next 18 months will:

1. Quantify the interaction of the rCB with a set of different solvents with varying degrees of dispersion interaction.

2. Develop methods to better understand the nature of the surface within the rCB material.

3. Investigate applications for the rCB in other materials.

Of significance, within this scope of work, the study will develop methods to reduce inorganic components in rCB, improving its chemical and material properties to ensure Wastefront produces a superior product compared with its rCB competitors. This will include identifying rCB reinforcement in rubber goods.

The team from Newcastle University undertaking the rCB study will be:

• Professor Katarina Novakovic – Principal Investigator, Reader in Polymer Engineering

• Professor Steve Bull – Co-Investigator, Cookson Group Chair of Engineering Materials

• Dr Deepashree Thumbarathy – Post-Doctoral Research Associate, Chemical Engineer

• Dr Tim Blackburn, Business Development Manager

Wastefront CTO, Henrik Selstam, comments:

“Circularity is central to the work Wastefront is undertaking to tackle the scourge of ELTs – and expanding our understanding of recovered carbon black is key to realising this goal. As we continue to grow, so too will the uses and capabilities of the products we produce – none more so than recovered carbon black.

“We are delighted to partner with Newcastle University to further advance the commercial capabilities of recovered carbon black through our joint studies. “Ensuring we can continue to implement our at-scale solution in the UK, Europe and Globally will require the input of leading experts in their fields, so we look forward to working closely with Professor Novakovic, Professor Bull, Dr Thumbarathy and Dr Blackburn in the months ahead.”

Newcastle University Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research Strategy and Resources, Professor Brian Walker, adds:

“At Newcastle University we are delighted to add this exciting partnership with Wastefront to our portfolio of research that advances sustainable innovation and the circular economy and enables progress towards a net-zero economy. We are especially pleased that Wastefront will promote inclusive economic growth here in the North East, with its roots in the local area and the construction of its new plant at the Port of Sunderland.“

 Wastefront uses pyrolytic reactors that utilise thermal depolymerisation known as ‘pyrolysis’ to break down a tyre’s materials at elevated temperatures. By sending tyres through these reactors, recovered carbon black (a substitute for virgin carbon black) is produced, in addition to combustible gas, liquid hydrocarbon, and heat. The carbon black is then washed and milled to upgrade the chemical properties and can be used as a complement to natural rubber in tyre production, mechanical rubber goods or as a filler for plastics.

Once fully operational in 2025, Wastefront’s £100 million tyre recycling plant in Sunderland will produce rCB from a supply of 20 percent of the UK’s yearly total of ELTs. By integrating Wastefront’s rCB into new tyres, the emissions for each tyre subsequently produced will be reduced by 80 percent.

Ecolomondo Corporation, a leading Canadian innovator in sustainable scrap tyre recycling technology, has announced that its new milling line at Hawkesbury facility has achieved a major milestone during recent testing by reaching a throughput of approximately 2,700 lbs per hour of recovered carbon black (rCB). This result surpasses the company’s projected target of 2,200 lbs per hour.

When the new milling line is completely operational, it should be able to process 2,200 pounds of rCB per hour and provide a particle size distribution of 96 percent between 10 and 15 microns. It is anticipated that the plant would process more than 1.5 million scrap tyres annually, recovering 1,350 MT of process gas while producing 4,500 MT of recovered carbon black, 5,400 MT of oil and 2,250 MT of steel.

The company expects the commercial production of rCB to start by the end of May 2025. After being contacted, offtake clients told the company that they were eagerly expecting a larger supply of steel, oil and rCB, said the company. Depending on end-product market pricing, the company's yearly income from the sale of these sustainable goods plus tipping fees of USD 145 per metric tonne is expected to reach USD 12.1 million, with an estimated EBITDA of 45 to 50 percent, added the company statement.

Jean-François Labbé, Interim CEO, Ecolomondo Corporation, said, “This is a major achievement that brings the Hawkesbury facility closer to full production and commercialisation.”

Global speciality chemicals company Orion S.A. has launched a new bio-circular carbon black called ECOLAR 50 POWDER to provide coatings manufacturers with a new solution for more sustainable coatings.

ECOLAR 50 POWDER, which is entirely based on bio-circular feedstock, has coloristic qualities that are on par with those of ordinary speciality carbon blacks and includes 100 percent biogenic raw material according to 14C analysis. The coloristic qualities of ECOLAR 50 POWDER, a low to medium colour furnace black, offer moderate tinting strength and medium jetness in mass tone applications. ECOLAR 50 POWDER offers equivalent coloristic performance for full-tone and tinting applications, as well as comparable wetting and dispersion characteristics to conventionally manufactured low-colour furnace blacks.

ECOLAR 50 POWDER outperformed other common specialist carbon blacks in achieving medium jetness in a solvent-borne alkyd/melamine stoving enamel system. It created a similar neutral undertone as well. When tested in a water-borne 1K PU coating system, ECOLAR 50 POWDER created a more neutral undertone and jetness that was on par with other regular speciality carbon blacks.

Tilo Lindner, Vice President Global Marketing – Speciality Carbon Black, Orion, said, “We’re leading the way in advancing carbon black to meet increasing industry demands for sustainable products. ECOLAR 50 POWDER enables coatings formulators to develop truly sustainable products in all kinds of coatings applications.”

LD Carbon has inaugurated Korea’s first and largest waste tyre pyrolysis plant in Dangjin, South Korea.

Located in the Dangjin Hapdeok General Industrial Complex, the plant is expected to begin full-scale operation next month. The plant is spread over 29,800 square metres and features two factory buildings and five silos. The plant has an annual capacity to process 50 kilotonnes per annum (ktpa) of tyre chips derived from end-of-life tyres (ELTs).

At the location, LD Carbon uses a two-step pyrolysis process, first turning ELTs into solid char and pyrolysis oil. After that, the business uses a secondary pyrolysis process to further compress the char and create recovered carbon black (rCB). It is anticipated that the Dangjin facility would generate 20 ktpa of rCB and 24 ktpa of pyrolysis oil, which is a substantial increase above the combined output of 7 ktpa at its current pilot plant in Gimcheon. When compared to traditional carbon black, the rCB generated by the technique is said to lower carbon emissions by up to 32 ktpa.

The company is planning to build plants overseas and intends to join the Asian market soon. It has also struck a 10-year offtake deal with SK Incheon Petrochem for its pyrolysis oil.

Speciality chemicals company LANXESS India organised its first exclusive Solutions Day event in Mumbai today to showcase its diversified and sustainable product portfolio to customers and other key stakeholders.

The event was organised to promote the idea of ‘One LANXESS’, where its business units – namely Advanced Industrial Intermediates, Flavors & Fragrances, Inorganic Pigments, Liquid Purification Technologies, Lubricant Additives Business, Material Protection Products, Polymer Additives, Rhein Chemie and Saltigo – displayed their distinctive products and solutions at the event. It provided an opportunity to highlight the cross-business synergies that characterise LANXESS' integrated approach and to present the company's cutting-edge solutions designed for a variety of industrial applications.

Three main business sectors, namely Advanced Industrial Intermediates, Speciality Additives and Consumer Protection Products, are currently the emphasis of LANXESS's strategy shift from a polymers to speciality chemicals company. In order to improve the value provided to clients, the event sought to promote cooperation and creativity across these various business divisions. In order to promote knowledge exchange, discover possible areas for collaboration and capitalise on the capabilities of each business unit to propel overall development and success, the day included interactive workshops, technical presentations and networking opportunities.

Namitesh Roy Choudhury, Vice Chairman & Managing Director, LANXESS India, said “Our goal with Solutions Day is to strengthen our existing partnerships and explore future collaborations that support sustainable industry growth. Through this event, we want to highlight LANXESS’ integrated offerings to all our stakeholders and address the global industrial challenges through the combined power of sustainable chemistry, innovation and responsible business.”