Orion Engineered Carbons, a leading global supplier of specialty and high-performance carbon black, has partnered with RISE Research Institutes of Sweden to develop and produce renewable carbon black.

This collaboration represents an important step towards more climate-neutral carbon black production by replacing traditional carbon black feedstock with pyrolysis oil from biomass oil.

Orion plans to convert the biomass oil into carbon black using its small-scale furnace reactor in Kalscheuren, Germany and will explore ways to upscale the process to match market demands. Additionally, using a pilot-scale reactor at its site in Pitea, Sweden, RISE will evaluate the use of electrofuels, such as plasma or hydrogen from electrolysis, as sustainable heat sources for the carbon black process.

“We are committed to meeting the rising interest in renewable carbon black as the tire industry works to address its long-term goal of reducing fossil-derived feedstocks across the supply chain,” said David Deters, Senior Vice President, Orion Engineered Carbons.

“This partnership is yet another step in our sustainability strategy and we look forward to partnering with RISE on this exciting and critically important project,” added Deters.

RISE has already shown that it could be economically feasible to produce carbon black using pyrolysis oil from wood-derived feedstock. Orion’s project goal is to validate commercial production based on this research.

Orion Engineered Carbons is a global supplier of carbon black products including high-performance specialty gas blacks, acetylene blacks, furnace blacks, lamp blacks, thermal blacks, and other carbon blacks that tint, colorize and enhance the performance of polymers, plastics, paints and coatings, inks and toners, textile fibers, adhesives and sealants, batteries, tires, and mechanical rubber goods, such as automotive belts and hoses.