Carbon blacks are typically elemental Carbon that is available in highly dispersed powdered forms. They are produced from hydrocarbons by controlled vapour-phase pyrolysis.

Carbon Black is one of the most important types of pigments that have major industrial applications. In Producing Carbon Black there are numerous processes available. Mostly all the production processes depends on thermal decomposition or incomplete burning of fuel oil or natural gas (hydro carbons). Majority of all carbon black is made by employing the furnace process. "Furnace black" and "channel black" are the two very popular variants of Carbon Black. Others include acetylene black, lamp black and thermal black. Mostly all types of Carbon blacks contain oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen and sulphur.

Characteristics of Carbon Black

• Average particle diameter: In most of the commercially-produced carbon blacks the range is from 0.01 to 0.4 micrometres (µm)
• Average aggregate diameters: Ranges from 0.1- 0.8µm
• Percentage of Elemental Carbon: Between 97 to 99
• Particle size: The following graph shows the particle size of some carbon black pigments.

 

• Channel Black
• Furnace Black
• Acetylene Black
• Lamp Black
• Blacking

 

Key Features of Carbon Black

• High color strength in mass tone and in toned down applications.
• Excellent UV protecting properties
• Shows good chemical inertness
• Good surface appearance
• Outstanding antistatic properties

The requirements of applicability of Carbon Black are critical, their importance also vary according to application. Few such requirements are discussed here:

 Color Strength- Colour strength of a few type of carbon Black pigment as appearing in Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) polymer is shown in the graph.

Masterbatch Dilutability- Masterbatch dilutability is approximated and compared by the process of measuring the melt viscosity of a given masterbatch formulation. In fact masterbatch dilutability is critical. In the selection of the right carbon black and can result in saving substantial formulation cost.
UV Stability- By addition of carbon black, the stability with regard to UV rays can be increased.
Carbon Black Dispersability
Blue Tone