ACE, Abdallah Consulting launch recovered carbon black certification programme

Ravenna, Ohio – US-based ACE Laboratories and Abdallah Consulting have launched an independent certification programme for recovered carbon black (rCB), aiming to provide greater consistency and third-party verification for the growing market.

The Vericarb programme will verify whether materials produced and marketed as rCB meet defined criteria for recovered carbon black, the partners announced 18 Sept.

Certification includes "independent material characterisation and rubber performance data, giving all stakeholders a consistent, credible basis for evaluating rCB products."

“The rCB market has enormous potential, but growth has been held back by uncertainty about material quality and consistency,” said Erick Sharp, CEO of ACE Laboratories.

Vericarb, he added, gives producers a way to prove their product and gives buyers the independent data they need to say yes.

Recovered carbon black is produced from end-of-life tires through pyrolysis and is increasingly being developed as an alternative to virgin carbon black in rubber and polymer applications.

However, ACE and Abdallah said the newer market has lacked the “standardisation and independent verification” used in more established material supply chains.

For producers, the programme is intended to provide independent product-performance data and clarify the connection between material specifications and performance in rubber applications.

For rCB users, it aims to reduce the time compounders and manufacturers spend evaluating unknown materials and establish quality-assurance requirements before supply begins.

“One key reason for the delayed growth of recovered carbon black is lack of product performance information in the customer’s language,” said Dave Abdallah, founder of Abdallah Consulting.

ASTM standards remain “critical”, he said, noting that most testing within the process follows ASTM methods.

“But customers relate to a product better when its performance is shown in applications relevant to them,” Abdallah continued.

Vericarb, Abdallah said, "solves the language issue by showing verified rCB in terms of rubber performance while simultaneously adding credibility via third-party analysis and reporting.”

The programme is jointly administered by ACE Laboratories, an ISO/IEC 17025-accredited polymer testing laboratory, and tire-pyrolysis industry advisory firm Abdallah Consulting.