Jiangxi Black Cat reports commercial-scale recovered carbon black production and improved material performance for tyre applications.
Chinese carbon black producer Jiangxi Black Cat has reported commercial-scale production of recovered carbon black (rCB) at its Jining facility, alongside improvements in material quality and expanded sustainability certification.
The developments strengthen the company's ability to supply tyre and rubber manufacturers with recovered materials, although its technical testing highlights the need for adjustments when replacing conventional carbon black in rubber compounds.
Jiangxi Black Cat Carbon Black has confirmed that the first phase of its Jining waste-tyre recycling project is operating, with several grades of recovered carbon black now produced at industrial scale and available for bulk supply.
The facility's initial phase has an annual processing capacity of 25,000 tonnes of waste-tyre granules, forming part of a planned operation capable of processing 100,000 tonnes annually.
The figures refer to waste-tyre input capacity rather than the volume of recovered carbon black produced.
Black Cat has introduced several processing techniques intended to address longstanding challenges associated with recovered carbon black, particularly contamination, inconsistent material properties and compatibility with existing rubber manufacturing processes.
These include multi-stage magnetic separation to remove metallic contaminants, ultrafine grinding to improve particle-size distribution and granulation to support material handling and dosing.
According to the company, these improvements have reduced ash content to between 15% and 18%, compared with approximately 18% to 22% for conventional industrial-grade recovered carbon black.
Lower ash content can improve the suitability of recovered material for applications where non-carbon residues affect compound properties.
Black Cat also reports a specific surface area of 60 to 70 m²/g, placing its tested material between the conventional N326 and N660 reference grades used in its comparative assessment.
The company evaluated its recovered carbon black against conventional N326 and N660 grades using rubber compounds based on styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) and butadiene rubber (BR).
Its reported findings included abrasion resistance at least comparable with N660, lower heat build-up under compression fatigue testing than both reference grades and higher resilience than N326.
These characteristics could support applications where heat generation and flexibility are important, including certain tyre components, conveyor belts and vibration-damping products.
However, the testing also identified differences in processing behaviour.
Black Cat reported that the time required to reach 90% vulcanisation, commonly referred to as T90, was approximately 29% longer than with N326.
This indicates that manufacturers adopting the recovered material may need to adjust curing temperatures, accelerator systems or other formulation parameters to achieve the required production characteristics.
The results are based on Black Cat's own comparative testing and do not establish equivalent performance across all tyre compounds or applications.
Black Cat is pursuing two distinct approaches to incorporating recovered tyre materials into carbon black production.
The first involves refining the solid carbon-rich residue produced through waste-tyre pyrolysis. This material is processed into recovered carbon black for use in rubber compounds.
The second involves using tyre-derived pyrolysis oil as a partial substitute for conventional fossil-derived feedstocks, including coal tar, in furnace carbon black manufacturing.
This produces what Black Cat describes as sustainable carbon black, retaining the conventional furnace production process while introducing a circular feedstock.
The distinction is important because the resulting materials are produced through different processes and can have different characteristics, qualification requirements and sustainability claims.
Both approaches form part of the company's wider efforts to recover value from end-of-life tyres.
Alongside its production developments, Black Cat has extended its sustainability certification coverage.
The Jining facility obtained ISCC PLUS certification in September 2026, becoming the company's third certified production base after its Jiangxi headquarters and Tangshan operation.
On 26 October, Black Cat also announced an expansion of its certification scope to include circular silica produced using sodium silicate as a feedstock.
According to the China Rubber Industry Association, the expanded certification brings both carbon black and silica products within an ISCC PLUS mass-balance framework.
Mass-balance certification supports the accounting and traceability of eligible circular materials through a supply chain. It does not necessarily establish the physical proportion of recycled material contained in an individual finished tyre.
The expanded coverage could support procurement and sustainability reporting requirements among tyre and rubber manufacturers seeking alternative raw-material supplies.
The commercial-scale production milestone demonstrates progress in developing recovered carbon black as an industrial material rather than solely a recycling output.
For tyre manufacturers, however, wider adoption depends on more than production capacity.
Consistent quality, repeatable compound performance, suitable processing characteristics and reliable supply remain important requirements, particularly for applications with demanding performance specifications.
Black Cat's comparative testing indicates that recovered carbon black can deliver useful properties in selected rubber formulations while also requiring adjustments to established manufacturing processes.
The company's latest developments therefore represent progress towards wider industrial use, rather than evidence that recovered carbon black can directly replace conventional grades across all tyre applications.
Tags: Jiangxi Black Cat, Black Cat Carbon Black, recovered carbon black, rCB, tyre recycling, waste tyre pyrolysis, circular carbon black, ISCC PLUS, sustainable tyre materials, Jining, rubber compounds
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