Birla Carbon will increase prices on all products produced in the Americas by US$170 per metric tonne effective 1 July 2021. All shipments made on or after this date are subject to the price increase. Birla Carbon’s announcement follows a 97 euros per metric tonne EMEA price increase published on 24 May and effective 1 June 2021.
Global carbon black supplier Birla Carbon has introduced a new Sustainable Carbonaceous Material with the launch of Continua. Birla says the new product represents a “ground-breaking step forward in the availability and know-how of sustainable solutions in the carbon black industry.”
Upstream suppliers to the tyre manufacturing industry Nynas, Cabot and Evonik have received some of the top ratings in the 2021 EcoVadis auditing process. Specifically, these three firms all ranked in the top 1 per cent of their peers, earning platinum status. Meanwhile, carbon black supplier Birla Carbon received the EcoVadis’ gold accreditation.
Birla Carbon has appointed Dr Ann Schoeb as chief research and development officer. Dr Schoeb will have full responsibility for research and development work at Birla Carbon and will join the company’s senior management team. She reports to John Loudermilk, chief operating officer.
“Wastes to energy: Improving the poor properties of waste tire pyrolysis oil with waste cooking oil methyl ester and waste fusel alcohol – A detailed assessment on the combustion, emission, and performance characteristics of a CI engine”, published in the journal Energy on 22 January 2021; and “Thermodynamic comparison of pyrolysis and gasification of waste tyres”, which was published in the Journal of Environment Chemical Engineering on 30 January 2021 complete our recent review of the latest peer-reviewed pyrolysis research.
Balkrishna Industries set up its BKT Carbon subsidiary at the same time as establishing a carbon black plant at its main tyre production site in Bhuj, India. This facility can now produce 140,000 tonnes of carbon black each year. BKT Carbon is responsible for this production as well as global carbon black sales, and now has its own dedicated website: www.bkt-carbon.com.
Greenergy is investing in creating low carbon fuels from waste tyre feedstock. According to the company, the project will utilise pyrolysis and hydrotreating technologies to convert waste tyres into renewable drop-in advanced biofuels that can be used in diesel and petrol and qualify as development fuels under the UK’s Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation. The plant will also have the capability to produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).
Vancouver, British Columbia-based Klean Industries Inc has been engaged to complete a “Detailed Feasibility Study” to design and build a tyre pyrolysis plant in Greece with Pyrolysis Hellas SA. For the past few years, the two companies have been working together to explore the possibilities of cooperation for the rollout of several facilities through the European Union. With the initial round of funding now completed, both parties are ready to engage upon the next stages of development, feedstock procurement and site design, as a suitable site has been secured and planning permission is underway.
Recycled carbon black compnay Pyrolyx AG has cancelled the extraordinary general meeting it had scheduled for 15 January 2021, and has done so as the company has filed to open insolvency proceedings. The case (number 1507 IN 2125/20) was filed with the Munich District Court on 4 December 2020.
Reclaimed Carbon Black (rCB) firm Pyrolyx, which signed a five-year supply deal with continental in November 2019, has withdrawn from both the Australian and German stock markets.
Orion Engineered Carbons S.A. has completed a significant upgrade of its emissions controls at its plant in Orange, Texas. As a result of these actions, the site complies with strengthened environmental standards which reduce the site’s emission permits for NOx and SO2 by 2,300 metric tons of air pollutant emissions per year.
Cabot Corporation is planning to invest US $90 million in upgrading its Ville Platte, Louisiana carbon black factory. According to various US news sources, the project will capture waste energy to create steam from an incineration process, remove impurities and generate electricity to power site operations. Cabot is expected to create 15 new jobs in addition to the existing workforce of 90 at the site as a result of the investment.
Birla Carbon, one of the world’s largest carbon black producers, has announced that all 16 of manufacturing facilities across the globe have received the International Automotive Task Force (IATF) certification. This makes Birla Carbon the first and only global carbon black manufacturer to achieve this certification.
EcoVadis
Greenenergy
BASF
Cabot