Carbon black: ATSM proposes rCB standard

ASTM International’s recovered carbon black (rCB) committee (D36) is developing a proposed standard for differentiating between various rCB products and providing quality control tool for producers and users. According to ATSM International member Pieter ter Haar, the voluntary consensus standards developer and implementer’s proposed WK81244 standard will aid the adoption of recovered carbon black produced from end-of-life tyres.

Ter Haar says the standard will explain how thermogravimetry (TGA), a type of thermal analysis, can be used to measure rCB bulk composition parameters. TGA can also measure organic residuals, ash content, and overall carbon content. “The proposed standard will be a useful tool for quality control purposes and can be used for off-take agreements, technical data sheets, and certificates of analysis,” says ter Haar, director, sustainable carbonaceous materials, Circtec Ltd. “This will be most useful for both manufacturers as well as users/consumers.

“The proposed standard will further improve the adoption of recovered carbon black, a recycled product made out of end-of-life tyres,” ter Harr continues. “rCB is able to complement or substitute conventional carbon black in many applications, most noticeable in the production of new, more sustainable tyres.”

ATSM International invites interested parties to join in the standards developing activities of the rCB committee. “We are constantly looking for technical input and testing capabilities for the development of new standards, as well as labs with TGA capability to help develop the precision and bias study for the proposed standard,” says ter Haar.