Sustainable Development Goals
PROJECT INFORMATION AT A GLANCE:
Project Status:
OPERATIONAL | Completed 2018
Organizations Involved:
Klean Industries, Green Bio-Eenergy, multiple tyre-pyrolysis processing firms
Services / Equipment:
Design & Engineering, Due Diligence, Supply Chain Management, Packaged Solutions, Component Supply
We helped establish an early commercial blueprint for upgrading India’s discarded tire-pyrolysis char into pelletized recovered carbon black for real manufacturing customers. In an industry that had concentrated on extracting cheap fuel oil, the critical breakthrough was recognizing that the carbon fraction could become a saleable industrial filler, provided feedstock quality, equipment configuration and operating know-how were engineered as one system.
The Green Bio-Eenergy (GBE) facility was the second recovered carbon black plant we built in India, but the first installation of this particular carbon-upgrading design. This distinction reflects both our existing deployment experience and the original engineering contribution of the GBE configuration. We identify that design as an influential reference for later Indian installations.
Rapid expansion of inexpensive tire-pyrolysis systems created an industrial problem: plants could sell fuel oil, but their crude carbon char often failed to meet manufacturers’ requirements. Without consistent particle characteristics, cleanliness, handling properties and dependable quality, recovered carbon could not simply be sold as carbon black.
Our original case also documented regulatory pressure on low-performing pyrolysis plants. It cited a 2019 Central Pollution Control Board review of 637 tire-pyrolysis units across 19 Indian states, including a substantial non-compliant population. Those historical figures help explain the market context; they are not presented as today’s national plant count.
We entered India’s developing pyrolysis sector in 2015 and brought together three interdependent elements: the quality of incoming tire-derived char; the selection and integration of upgrading equipment appropriate for that material; and the operating know-how to maintain stable production. Operator training, process integration and downstream customer requirements were part of the proposition, not optional afterthoughts.
Working with Green Bio-Eenergy and multiple tire-pyrolysis companies, we supplied engineering, due-diligence, supply-chain and equipment capabilities to produce pelletized recovered carbon black as a practical commercial filler. The aim was to shift value creation beyond the pyrolysis reactor and into industrial markets where specification, repeatability and material handling determine whether a buyer can use the product.
The applications identified in the original project record included off-road tires, automotive rubber components and plastic masterbatch. These are specific market pathways, not a claim that every char feedstock can attain every virgin carbon black grade without suitable processing and qualification.
Our project account provides these approximate case outcomes:
The broader market response matters as much as the initial installation. In an October 2019 announcement, we reported three rCB upgrading facilities installed in India, with a non-binding letter of intent for five additional facilities, eight in total. The five were proposed, not constructed under that announcement, and the portfolio should not be assigned solely to GBE. Read Klean’s India deployment announcement »
For owners and investors, the historical lesson is commercial: this original configuration influenced subsequent Indian plant designs, but copying the visible equipment does not automatically replicate the original process integration, reliable product quality, customer qualification or offtake relationships.
The real competitive advantage is what Klean learned about producing carbon that someone will buy.
1. The overlooked revenue stream can change project economics.
Upgrading char into useful pelletized rCB creates a second product-market opportunity beyond pyrolysis fuel oil.
2. Three elements must work together.
Feedstock properties, integrated equipment and operating expertise determine whether a carbon-upgrading line can sustain marketable output.
3. An original design creates lasting competitive advantage.
GBE was our second Indian rCB plant, but the first built to this particular design. Its influence on later installations illustrates why established process know-how and customer relationships matter beyond replicating hardware.
These are selected achievements and lessons; additional technical and commercial insights are available through an engagement with Klean.
If your pyrolysis plant produces char without a qualified end market, we can assess the starting material, desired industrial applications and integrated upgrading route. Our project-development pathway starts with a paid Detailed Equipment Quotation (DEQ), then a Detailed Feasibility Study (DFS) and Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) as appropriate. Existing-plant upgrading and advisory mandates may be scoped to their specific needs.
Discuss Your Recovered Carbon Black Project with Klean >> GO.
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ABOUT THE INFORMATION PRESENTED
This historical case reflects our stated project basis, reported deployment experience and commercial applications. Estimated throughput and emissions figures are not independently verified production records or universal guarantees. Specific customer grades, economics and confidential operating information are evaluated through an agreed engagement.
This project addresses the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by considering the goals and associated targets illustrated by the WBCSD’s Tire Industry Project (TIP). TIP provides a framework for action that outlines impactful pathways for the tire sector to contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). To learn more about how our approach, solutions, and technologies contribute to advancing the SDGs, please review the report “Sustainability Driven: Accelerating Impact with the Tire Sector SDG Roadmap”.
