LD Carbon selects pelletiser technology for 'Asia's largest' rCB plant

Mars, Pennsylvania – South Korea's LD Carbon is to employ pin mixer technology from Mars Mineral at a new scrap tire pyrolysis plant, the US equipment supplier has announced

LD Carbon plans to open the plant with an end-of-life tire (ELT) capacity of 50 kilotons per annum in Dangjin, South Korea, by the first quarter of 2024.

The unit to produce recovered carbon black (rCB) and related by-products will be "the largest of its kind in Asia," Mars Mineral said in a 12 April announcement.

“In early 2024, it’s projected that LD Carbon’s rCB production capacity will reach 16 kilotons annually," said Bumseek Kim, CCO of LD Carbon.

Mars Mineral’s technology, he added, can help LD Carbon "bring quality rCB in pelletised form to key customers in tire and rubber industries."

“Pelletising is vital to moving the output from a pyrolysis plant to their customers,” commented Clayton Woodward, CEO of Mars Mineral.

Established in 2017, LD Carbon produces rCB and pyrolysis oil from waste tires and supplies it to tire and rubber product manufacturers.

The Korean company recently signed an MoU with Sumitomo Rubber Industries Ltd to jointly commercialise rCB and pyrolysis oil.

LD Carbon’s rCB is currently commercialised by Hankook Tire and is being tested by other global tire makers, continued Mars Mineral's statement.

Pennsylvania-based Mars Mineral's pin mixer micro-pelletises, agglomerates, or conditions powdered materials for further processing in a pelletiser.

Material enters at one end of a cylinder and is 'whipped' by the pins as it moves from the inlet, through the shell, and to the bottom outlet.

Fine mixing and micro-agglomeration will occur as a fine spray of liquid is added at the entry section and distributed throughout the powder.

The resulting product is a wetted, agglomerated, and densified micro-pellet, the US equipment supplier explained.  

The resulting dried rCB pellets, it said, are easier to package and transport to end-users in the rubber, plastics, and paint and coatings industries.