Carbon black: Emissions

The carbon cost of blackening a tyre

What this tab covers The greenhouse-gas footprint per tonne, split by lifecycle phase (feedstock, production, movement, use, end of life), the global total, other environmental impacts, levers and low-carbon routes, India's position, and where the investment opportunity lies. Emission intensity 2.40 t CO2e per t range 1.8-3.5 · derived from IVL/Enviro LCA (2019): rCB cuts 1.43-2.00 kg CO2 per kg, a 79-84% reduction, implying about 1.8-2.4 t for virgin black; higher where tail gas is flared Global emissions per year 32.0 Mt CO2e per year 2024 · 2.4 t x about 13.5 Mt

Per t of rubber-grade carbon black, cradle-to-gate. Intensity: Enviro/IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute LCA, Mar 2019 (derived, indicative). Global total: derived (indicative).

Share of footprint by lifecycle phase

Feedstock 17% Production / process 79% Movement 4%

Footprint by lifecycle phase

Phase	Intensity	Share	Main sources of emissions	Notes	Source
Feedstock	about 0.4 t CO2e per t	17%	refining or coke-oven emissions allocated to residues	allocation choices matter	indicative
Production / process	about 1.9 t CO2e per t	79%	partial combustion of feedstock in the reactor and burning tail gas	credits for exported electricity lower net figures	indicative
Movement	about 0.1 t CO2e per t	4%	bulk bags by truck and ship	small	indicative
Use	not applicable	–	carbon black sits in tyres	tyre wear releases particles (tyre wear dust) into air and water	indicative
End of life	about 3.5 t CO2 per t if burned	–	tyre-derived fuel in cement kilns and incinerators	carbon black is about 97% carbon, so combustion releases about 3.5 t CO2 per t (stoichiometric); pyrolysis to rCB avoids this	stoichiometry (indicative)

Other environmental impacts

SO2 and NOx from sulphur-rich feedstocks; particulate emissions; tyre wear particles; IARC 2B classification.

Levers to cut emissions

Recovered carbon black from tyre pyrolysis: 79-84% lower CO2 (IVL/Enviro 2019)
Methane pyrolysis with clean power, co-producing hydrogen (Monolith)
Tail-gas power export to displace grid power (PCBL 84 MW captive)
Bio-oil or circular pyrolysis-oil feedstock (indicative)
Silica substitution in treads where it lowers rolling resistance

India

India's producers run on tail-gas power and add renewables (PCBL Tamil Nadu 24 MW green power); India's end-of-life tyre pyrolysis industry is large but informal, so rCB quality is a constraint (indicative).

Emission figures are indicative global averages from the life-cycle studies named; actual footprints vary widely by site, energy mix and method.

Low-carbon routes

Route	Intensity	Cost premium	Status	Source
Recovered carbon black	about 0.4-0.5 t CO2e per t (derived from 79-84% reduction)	not published	Enviro 9 kt/yr plant (Sweden); tyre makers trialling blends	Enviro press release Mar 2019
Methane pyrolysis carbon black	near-zero direct CO2; depends on power and methane leakage (indicative)	not published	Monolith, Nebraska; Goodyear supply agreement (2021)	Monolith; Biofuels Digest

For a climate investor Two routes stand out. First, quality recovered carbon black from India's end-of-life tyres, where tyre makers face extended producer responsibility (EPR) targets for waste tyres. Second, methane pyrolysis that sells both carbon black and hydrogen. What has to be true: rCB that meets tyre specifications at scale, and buyers willing to pay for lower-carbon black.