Carbon black: Overview
Why tyres, hoses and printer toner are all black
What this tab covers What the chemical is, how big its market is, what it is used for (with shares, volumes, why it wins and what could replace it), and its chain from raw material to end user. Ends with three things to remember.Carbon black is fine carbon powder made mostly by the furnace process, in which heavy aromatic oil (from refinery residues or coal tar) is partly burned. About 93% goes into rubber, and 73% into tyres, where it gives treads strength and wear resistance. World capacity was about 17.5 Mt in 2021, and output is roughly 13-14 Mt a year. It emits about 2-2.5 t CO2 per t when made, and its carbon is released again when tyres are burned. India is a rising exporter: PCBL plans to reach 1 Mt of capacity by FY2027-28.
Volume about 13-14 Mt a year (2024, indicative: 17.5 Mt capacity at about 75-80% utilisation) Market value about $17-20 billion (2024, indicative: 13.5 Mt x $1.3-1.5/kg) Growth about 3-4% a year, following tyre output plus faster growth in specialty and battery grades (indicative) Notch Consulting via PCBL investor presentation, July 2021 (capacity); PL Capital Sep 2026 (import prices); value indicativeKey uses
| Use | Share | Annual volume | Why this commodity | Alternatives |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tyres | 73% | about 9.9 Mtbasis | Carbon black particles bond with rubber chains, multiplying tensile strength and abrasion resistance. A passenger tyre is roughly a quarter carbon black by weight (indicative). Hard (tread) grades with fine particles and soft (carcass) grades serve different parts. Notch via PCBL presentation 2021 | Precipitated silica in 'green tyre' treads (lower rolling resistance) Recovered carbon black from end-of-life tyres |
| Mechanical rubber goods (belts, hoses, seals, footwear) | 20% | about 2.7 Mtbasis | Same reinforcing role in industrial and automotive rubber parts. Notch via PCBL presentation 2021 | Silica and clays Recovered carbon black |
| Plastics, masterbatch, wire and cable | n/a | part of about 0.95 Mt specialtybasis | Gives black colour, UV protection for pipes and films, and electrical conductivity for cable shielding. Notch via PCBL presentation 2021 | Graphite, carbon nanotubes for conductivity Organic pigments |
| Inks, coatings, toners and battery conductive additives | n/a | part of about 0.95 Mt specialtybasis | Jet-black pigment in printing inks and paints; conductive grades and acetylene black in lithium-ion electrodes, a fast-growing high-margin niche. Notch via PCBL presentation 2021 | Carbon nanotubes and graphene in batteries Iron oxide black pigments |
From raw material to user
- Feedstock oil Carbon black feedstock (CBFO) is heavy aromatic oil: FCC decant or clarified slurry oil from refineries, ethylene cracker tar, or coal-tar distillates; about 1.6-2.0 t per t carbon black (indicative).
- Furnace reactor Oil is sprayed into a gas-fired flame at about 1,400-1,800 C with limited air; it cracks to carbon particles of 10-100 nm (indicative).
- Quench and filtering Water quench stops the reaction; bag filters collect the fluffy black; tail gas (CO, H2) is burned for steam and power.
- Pelletising and drying Black is wet-pelletised to beads for handling and shipped in bulk bags or hopper cars.
- Compounding Tyre and rubber makers mix it into compounds, typically 30-60 parts per 100 parts rubber (indicative).
Made from (commodity table)
Oil Crude oilKc Coking coalThree things to know
- About 73% of carbon black goes into tyres, so it tracks vehicle numbers and kilometres driven (Notch 2021).
- The top three producers (Cabot 2.33 Mt, Birla Carbon 2.06 Mt, Orion 1.26 Mt) held about 32% of 17.5 Mt world capacity in 2021.
- Replacing a kg of virgin carbon black with recovered carbon black from tyres saves about 1.4-2.0 kg CO2 (IVL/Enviro LCA, 2019).