Tokai targets 2027 start-up for ‘eco carbon black’ pilot plant

Tokyo – Tokai Carbon Co. is aiming to start up a pilot plant for secondary processing of recovered carbon black (rCB) by the end of 2027, as part of its broader joint programme with Bridgestone and Japanese academic institutions.

In its 1 Sept annual report, Tokai said it expected the pilot plant to be “up and running” by the end of 2027 for the production of ‘eco Carbon Black’ (eCB).

The product has been described as an upgraded rCB material offering reinforcement performance comparable with virgin carbon black.

The pilot forms an intermediate step towards a previously announced demonstration facility capable of producing 5 kilotonnes per annum of eCB by fiscal 2032. (ERJ report)

Tokai is developing the technology with Bridgestone Corp., Kyushu University and Okayama University under a programme supported by Japan’s New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organisation (NEDO).

The group said its initial aim is to establish technology applicable to general-purpose carbon black, before expanding eCB into high-reinforcement grades offering higher added value.

A central challenge remains the treatment of impurities in rCB recovered through the pyrolysis of end-of-life tires, according to Taishi Kiriyama, acting section chief at Tokai Carbon’s Chita laboratory.

“The main challenge in developing eCB lies in removing the impurities present in rCB while simultaneously imparting the various performance properties required of a raw material for tires,” saod Kiriyama who is leading the research.

The Tokai official described this as “an exceptionally demanding problem with very high technical hurdles”, adding that its “secondary processing technology” was central to the development effort.