CARBON BLACK, A WORLD OF APPLICATIONS
Carbon Blacks are used in a wide range of applications:
Construction
In the field of building materials Carbon Black is used for the black coloration of various products, e.g. Plates. Carbon Black also provides the necessary properties for thermal insulation. Due to the larger primary particles, Lamp Blacks and Thermal Carbon Blacks have been proven particularly advantageous..
Paints and Coatings
In paints and coatings Carbon Black is essentially used as a black pigment to produce colours in a spectrum from grey to deep black. The 3 main properties of Carbon Black – primary particle size, surface area and structure – are responsible for the opacity, the colour and the gloss.
In addition to Pigment and Gas Blacks, Lamp Blacks are also used, which provide a bluish undertone.
Adhesive and sealants
In addition to pigmentation, Carbon Black is also responsible for rheology, conductivity, UV-resistance and aging protection in adhesives and sealants. In this case a Pigment Black with a higher structure and surface area is used.
Inks
For inks mainly Furnace Carbon Blacks are used. This production process permits the influence and variation of the main carbon black properties like primary size, surface and structure. Thus for almost every application a suitable Furnace Carbon Black type is available. These Pigment Blacks are often characterized by low structural values, resulting in a desired gloss of the formulation. Similarly as in the field of plastics, Carbon Blacks with low PAH values and elementary impurities are used.
Paper
In order to dye paper especially in deep black, particularly finely divided Pigment and Gas Blacks are used. Further use of Carbon Black in paper is in the range of thermal and electrical conductivity. Carbon Black is used for dyeing the pulp according to the sulphate- or sulphite-process.
Refractories
In the field of refractory Thermal and Lamp Blacks are used to regulate the pore density and wettability. This results in lower water absorption, which leads to better performance. The oxygen-reducing effects, as well as the improvement of the lubrication by the use of Carbon Black also prove to be advantageous.
Fibers
For the coloration of technical textiles special Carbon Blacks with low PAH values and OEKOTEX standard are suitable, since they also have a special micro dispersing behaviour which gives positive effect to the processing.
Depending on the requirements, improved UV- or IR- absorption, conductivity and colour depth can be regulated.
Dispersion
Dispersion is a carbon black in liquid form for a wide range of applications where a dust free dosing is needed.
Friction
For friction linings, carbon black is used as filler to ensure mechanical properties that must be met for this type of products.
Rubber
Rubber is the largest field of application for carbon black. 80% of the total carbon black volume is processed in this area. Carbon black serves as a reinforcing filler for various rubber products. Essentially, the standard N-types are used here. However, there are also sensitive applications that we can supply with special blacks such as UP carbon blacks with very low sieve residues.
Electronics
In the field of electronics antistatic, conductive or insulating properties of Carbon Black are required, therefore Thermal and Conductive Carbon Blacks are used.
Metallurgy
In metallurgy, it is particularly important to use very clean Carbon Blacks. Elemental impurities and sulphur contents are undesirable. For this reason, the use of Thermal and Lamp Blacks are particularly important.
Batteries
In batteries Carbon Black is responsible for the shelf life and performance, especially Acetylene, Gas and Lamp Blacks have proved to be particularly efficient in this application.
Cosmetics
The beautiful eyes of a woman can be particularly highlighted by the use of mascara and eyeliner. In this respect, special requirements on the purity of Pigment Blacks are imposed in cosmetics. See also EC 1223/2009.
Compounds
Compounds can be coloured by the use of Pigment Blacks. Depending on the colour location and depth of colour, types with specific surfaces and structural values are used.
Very finely divided Carbon Black grades increase the UV-resistance.
If antistatic properties and conductivity are desired, selected conductive Carbon Blacks are used. Depending on the dosing, resistance ranges of> 10 Ω to <1011 can be achieved.
Plastics with food contact
For plastics and packaging material with food contact according to EU Regulation 10/2011, selected Pigment Blacks, so-called P-Types with particularly low contents of PAH and heavy metals are used.
MRG
Depending on the requirements, standard Rubber Carbon Blacks as well as high-purity grades with low sieve residues are processed in mechanical rubber goods (MRG).
Tires
Depending on the tire type and requirement profile, different Rubber Carbon Black grades are used in tires. With increasing the surface area of Carbon Black, the bonding forces between Carbon Black particles and the rubber molecules are increasing. In this respect the Carbon Black acts as reinforcing filler and is responsible for the mechanical properties of tires.
Toners
No photocopy or print without Pigment Carbon Black. In addition to fillers and iron oxide particles, toners essentially consist of Pigment Blacks, which are bound in synthetic resin.
Insulation
Furnace, Thermal and Lamp Blacks are used in the field of insulation where their properties make a significant contribution to UV-stability, conductivity, and IR-reflection.
Film
In the applications of films, fine-grained Pigment Carbon Blacks contribute to aging protection and UV-resistance and thus leads to significantly longer life cycle.
Automotive
Various automotive applications are characterized by particularly high demands on the surface finish. For this reason Rubber Carbon Black grades with particularly low sieve residues are used. In addition to the aesthetics of seals, the service life of hoses is improved.
Special applications
Due to their high purity, selected Gas and Thermal Blacks are used in special applications, because they have virtually no inorganic impurities.