Industrial Automation Magazine India

Sustainability without compromise in plastics industry

Published on : Saturday 21-08-2021

New black masterbatch from ROWA Masterbatch using a sustainable PA6 carrier material and recycled carbon black.

Pinneberg, August19, 2021 – It is imperative that the plastics industry also participate in minimising the use of fossil resources by closing material cycles in order to achieve the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement. ROWA Masterbatch intends to play an important role in this and is therefore successively expanding its portfolio to include increasingly more sustainable products. During the development of the ROWALID® Eco product range, emphasis was placed on the use of raw materials that significantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions (carbon footprint).

The ROWALID® EcoPA-B095A BLACK rCB masterbatch is a new product in this series. Its carrier material is based on high-quality post-industrial recycled polyamide. The colorant used is a recovered carbon black (rCB). A "green" substitute for industrial carbon black, this raw material gives plastics a black coloration, UV protection and opacity. Recovered carbon black is obtained through the pyrolysis process: this is a thermal process in which used tires are heated up to between 250 and 750° C without the presence of oxygen and subsequently broken down into smaller molecules. This process typically produces a highly aromatic pyrolysis oil (approx. 45%), crude pyrolysis carbon black (approx. 33%), recycled steel (approx. 12%), and a non-condensable hydrocarbon gas (approx. 10%). By grinding and granulation, the crude pyrolysis carbon black can then be processed to recovered carbon black and further treated as required.

The new black masterbatch is ideally suited for applications in automotive engineering, electronics and electrical engineering, construction, and sports and leisure products.ROWA Masterbatch, a specialist in the development and production of polymer-specific color, additive and multifunctional masterbatches as well as specialty compounds for thermoplastics, is once again supplying a product that combines its own uncompromising quality standards with a firm commitment to greater sustainability, environmental protection and the careful use of resources.