VOLUME 2

ISSUE 6
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT INFORMATION September 2012

Carbon Blacks in Plastics Applications,

Performance & Selection Criteria
Carbon black is an important and versatile ingredient for plastics compounders. It can contribute colour,
opacity, electrical conductivity and protection from ultra-violet degradation. The choice of carbon black is
dependent on the final product requirements. In this regard, Aditya Birla carbon is unique in its ability to
provide low viscosity concentrates and compounds with high volume resistivity.
Particle size and structure (degree of permanent particle aggregation) are the two most important
characteristics of a carbon black in determining its performance.
The different end user requirements of carbon black in plastics applications, the larger volume of carbon
black is used in rubber applications, the critical requirements of these products are much different than the
needs in plastics applications such as molding and fiber. It is recommended to evaluate the end use product
requirements and manufacturing process when choosing a carbon black. Aditya Birla Hi-Tech Carbon black
have developed specialty grades of carbon black to meet the needs of the plastics market.

Plastic Applications
Carbon black is typically used in thermoplastics to impart at least one the properties below
f Colour
f UV Protection
f Conductivity
Since most thermoplastics are rigid at the end use temperature, the reinforcing effects of the carbon black
have to be balanced with desired end use mechanical properties. In addition, the carbon black contaminants
such as grit, ash and sulfur have a more crucial impact on the thermoplastic’s mechanical properties and the
processing of these materials. For plastics applications involving color and UV protection, carbon black is
typically dispersed into a plastic master batch at a high dosage, 25 to 40% by weight. High shear equipment
such as an internal mixer, continuous mixer or twin screw extruder is commonly used to break the carbon
black down to the aggregate size. These concentrates are then diluted down in a compounding stage or at
the converter stage to the end use dosage which is typically 0.5% to 3.0% for mass tone and UV protective
applications. Below figure gives an example for the typical supply chain for carbon black used as a colorant
in plastics.

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 PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT INFORMATION VOLUME 2 • ISSUE 6 • September 2012

Typical Carbon Black Supply Chain

Carbon Black Suppliers

Masterbatch Producers

Compounders

Commodity Polymers Engineering Polymers

(Eg. PE, PS, PVC, etc) (Eg. ABS, PC, PA, etc)

Converters

Equipment Manufacturers

For plastics application involving conductivity, a higher end use dosage is required to form a conductive
network. Typically compounders will use the carbon black directly rather than diluting a master batch to
meet the application requirements.
Carbon Black is used in many key plastic segments which include:
f Molding
f Film
f Pipe
f Fiber
f Cable

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 PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT INFORMATION VOLUME 2 • ISSUE 6 • September 2012

Molding
Carbon black used in molding applications can be found in a number of market segments which include
automotive, electronics and household appliances. Each segment has specific requirements, however; color
strength and surface appearance are common to most molding segments. Other properties that could be
important in the molded product are mechanical properties or UV Stability.

The key performance criteria of carbon black products important to molded plastics applications are:

f Color Strength

f Blue Tone

f Effect on Master batch Viscosity

f UV Stability

f Dispersibility

Morphology and physical cleanliness are key attributes of the carbon black which affect the above five
performance criteria for molding applications. The carbon black jetness improves with decreasing carbon
black aggregate size. This is most likely due to a smaller aggregate having more surface area available to
absorb visible light.

Due to their color strength, carbon blacks typically used in the molding market have fairly small aggregate
sizes, generally less than 60 nm. This size is smaller than any of the carbon blacks regularly used in the rubber
market. An ASTM 100 series carbon black for rubber would have aggregate sizes greater than 60 nm. Due to
the need for high color black in molding applications, a family of smaller aggregate grades evolved for use
in the plastics industry. The smaller aggregate size of the carbon black also has a positive effect on the blue
undertone and UV stability of the molded parts.

Fiber
Carbon blacks are used in a number of synthetic extruded fibers. Some common resin systems are polyester,
nylon and polypropylene. The desired end use properties from the carbon black are color strength and blue
undertone. However, due to the fiber manufacturing process, carbon black physical cleanliness is critical in
product selection.

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 PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
PRODUCT INFORMATION
DEVELOPMENT INFORMATION VOLUME 2 •VOISSUE
L U M E 1 I6 •E 7September
SSU N OV E M B E R 20112012

MICRONIZED CARBON BLACK TYPICAL SPECIFICATION

N220 N330 N326

TEST ASTM MICRONIZED MICRONIZED MICRONIZED
UNIT
PARAMETERS METHOD CARBON CARBON CARBON
BLACK BLACK BLACK

Black Fine Black Fine Black Fine

Appearance
Powder Powder Powder

Iodine No mg/g D 1510-03 121 ± 5 82 ± 5 82 ± 5

DBP Absorption cc/100g D 2414-05 114 ± 5 102 ± 5 72 ± 5

Tint Strength % ITRB D 3265 116 ± 5 104 ± 5 111 ± 5

Heating Loss % D 1509 1 max 1.5 max 1.5 max

Ash Content % D 1506 1 max 1 max 1 max

Sieve Residue 350 D 1514

% 0.6max 0.6max 0.6max
BSS mesh

Available in 25 kg bags across all our warehouses.

Application based Carbon Black selection guide for plastic application.

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Ram Charan Company
Ram Charan | Samson
CompanyTower, 403, L – Pantheon
| "Century Road,
Towers", 46, 6th Floor,
Barnaby Road,Egmore, Chennai
Kilpauk, 600 -008.
Chennai 600 Tamil
010 Nadu, India.
Phone : +91 44 4353 9040 • Fax : +91 44 4330 7050 • Email : mktg@ramcharan.org • Website : www.ramcharan.org
Tel : +44 - 4353 9040 / 41 / 42 Fax : +44 - 4330 7050 Email : all@ramcharan.org

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