rCB Upgrading

Recovered carbon black could move closer to virgin grade when its chemistry is upgraded inside the pyrolysis reactor itself, according to research shared at the Recovered Carbon Black Conference in Barcelona.

Why Conventional Pyrolysis Falls Short

Recovered carbon black has long promised to close the loop on end-of-life tyres, yet the material that leaves a conventional pyrolysis reactor still trails the higher-grade virgin carbon black that passenger and industrial tyre makers depend on. In Episode 88 of The Tyre Recycling Podcast, Dr Geoffrey Fowler, a Senior Research Fellow at Imperial College London, argued that much of the sector still runs on what he calls “Victorian” principles — a thermal process tuned for throughput rather than for the quality of the recovered carbon black it produces.

In-Reactor Chemistry Instead of Downstream Polish

Fowler’s team targets the formation of graphite directly inside the reactor. Because graphite growth is a leading reason recovered material underperforms its virgin counterpart, discouraging it yields a product that more closely matches commercial carbon black grades — without the extra downstream steps that lift both cost and complexity.

Solid Additives as Abrasive and Catalyst

The research also centres on solid additives that pull double duty, including a highly successful natural mineral that works as both an abrasive and a catalyst. It enables in-situ milling and thermal decomposition in a single operation, rather than treating milling and chemistry as separate stages. Comparing mineral, ceramic and glass additives shows how the choice — its hardness, its catalytic surface, and how it wears down in the reactor — directly shapes the resulting rCB quality, with some additives merely grinding while the natural catalyst redirects the reaction toward the desired carbon form.

Beyond Carbon Black: A Circular Rubber Economy

The discussion reaches further, into the future of tire pyrolysis and circularity as a whole — the difficulty of substituting rCB into high-safety tyre-tread applications, and the potential for pyrolysis to recover the essential building blocks of rubber chemistry, including isoprene units and, further out, methane cracking to complete the material loop.

Why This Matters for Plant Design

For operators and equipment buyers, in-reactor rCB upgrading could lower the post-processing and capital needed to reach a saleable grade, tightening the schedule and spec behind pyrolysis rCB plant costs.

Learn More:

• Recovered Carbon Black
• Tire Pyrolysis Projects
• Pyrolysis Oil
• Feasibility Studies
• Pyrolysis rCB Plant Cost

Start With In-Reactor rCB Upgrading

A reactor tuned to discourage graphite yields a recovered carbon black that sits closer to the commercial grades your customers already buy. Whether the goal is a greener rCB or a leaner pyrolysis line, the chemistry starts inside the reactor.

Questioning whether in-reactor rCB upgrading fits your project?

Contact Klean Industries about recovered carbon black and pyrolysis » GO.