Carbon Black Market

Market Overview

The global carbon black industry size was valued at USD 12.80 billion in 2022. It is projected to reach USD 19.10 billion by 2031, growing at a CAGR of 4.55% during the forecast period (2023-2031). 

Carbon black is used as a coloring agent to produce synthetic textiles. For instance, since these materials need robust color performance, carbon black is used to color clothing and fabrics made from denier polyester and nylon fibers. Manufacturing of athletic and military apparel makes extensive use of carbon black. Additionally, carbon black is employed in producing coarse staple fibers, mainly used to make woven blankets, floor coverings, and other textiles. The expanding applications in the fiber and textile sectors and the growing market penetration of specialty black are the main drivers of the market's growth. On the other hand, the deteriorating automobile sector and the presence of alternatives impede the expansion of the market under study.

Market Dynamics

Market Drivers

Increasing Use in the Textile and Fiber Industries

Specialty carbon black, also known as pigment black, is the purest type of carbon black, with the least amount of ash, sulfur, and other impurities. Specialty carbon black is expanding quickly in industrialized nations like the United States, making up for the standard carbon black market's slower expansion. Specialty carbon black offers a vivid color, improved conductivity, viscosity, and U.V. defense. Specialty carbon black is used in every non-rubber use of carbon black, which is anticipated to grow dramatically in the coming years. Specialty black is projected to be in high demand for plastics and printing inks.

Leading carbon black producers have increased their production capabilities and switched over their normal carbon black production line to produce specialized carbon black in response to the rising demand for this product. The businesses are also investing in RandD facilities, which can provide them a competitive advantage in the niche carbon black market.

Market Restraint

Availability of Replacements

In several applications, substitutes for carbon black have arisen. In the tire business, for instance, it is becoming common to replace carbon black with precipitated, shapeless silica as a reinforcing component, particularly when creating the compound for the tread of passenger and truck tires. When silica reacts with elastomers, its unique surface produces different dynamic qualities from carbon blacks. The addition of silica markedly raises the compound's viscosity. As a result, silica has traditionally been used as a filler, combined with fluidity elements to enhance processing capability and reinforce characteristics. In lithium-ion battery composite cathodes, single-wall carbon nanotubes have replaced mainly carbon black as an additional conductive material.

Market Opportunities

Cost-Effective Manufacturing Process and Competitive Market Players

The existence of market competitors concentrating on growing carbon black production due to the increased demand from various sectors is assisting in the expansion of the carbon black market. Market participants are concentrating on keeping a competitive edge. Market expansion is fueled by increased R&D efforts to investigate cutting-edge and economical techniques to produce carbon black. Technology development is expanding the black market for carbon. In Asian nations like China and India, the black market for carbon is growing quickly.

Increasing Specialty Black Products Market Penetration

The purest type of carbon black, also known as pigment black, has trace amounts of ash, sulfur, and other contaminants. The market for specialty carbon black is expanding quickly in industrialized nations like the United States, making up for the slower rise of the demand for conventional carbon black. Specialty carbon black is more conductive, viscous, and UV-protective and has a distinctive color. Specialty carbon black is used in every application of carbon black aside from rubber, which is anticipated to grow dramatically over the next few years. Specialty black is anticipated to be in high demand for printing and plastic inks. Top carbon black producers have increased their production capabilities and changed their normal carbon black manufacturing line to make specialized carbon black in response to the rising demand for this product. The businesses are also investing in R&D facilities, which might offer them an advantage over specialized carbon black market rivals.

Regional Analysis

The global carbon black market is bifurcated into four regions: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and LAMEA. 

Asia-Pacific Dominates the Global Market

Asia-Pacific carbon black market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.45% during the forecast period. With a volume of about 5.7 million metric tonnes in 2019, China contributed to almost 33% of the world's carbon black production capacity. Additionally, China is the biggest exporter of carbon black worldwide. The primary source of carbon black is coal tar, and alternative sources include slurry oil and ethylene tar. In 2018, the nation's overall annual capacity of the principal carbon black feedstock was 7.5 million metric tonnes. Due to an increase in plant closures brought on by the Chinese government's escalating environmental protection drive, there was a shortage of carbon black in China in 2018 and 2019, which led to an increase in black carbon prices.

North America market for black carbon is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.60% during the forecast period. Carbon black is produced mainly in North America using feedstocks generated from oil and chosen expressly for this purpose. In most cases, 1.5 to 2 kilograms of crude oil are needed to make 1 kg of carbon black. As a result, the cost of carbon black is tied to the price of crude oil on the world market, and it changes over time. Specific fuel oil indices have historically been used as a stand-in for the price of carbon black feedstocks (CBFS). However, the actual costs of carbon black feedstocks have been increasing compared to fuel oil indices.

In Germany, carbon black is only produced by Orion Engineered Carbons in Cologne (Kalscheuren). To meet the demand from international participants in the waterborne and solvent-borne coatings industries, Orion Engineered Carbons announced intentions to increase its Gas Blacks production capacity in Germany in June 2019. Europe's top tire and general rubber goods (GRG) producer is Germany. Some of the largest producers of tires and non-tire products in the nation are Continental AG, Dunlop GmbH, Michelin Reifenwerke AG and Co KGaA, Pirelli Deutschland GmbH, Freudenberg Group, etc. Meanwhile, the German tire markethas been experiencing stagnation for some time.

Brazil is one of the top ten producing nations of rubber in the world. In the upcoming years, the country's domestic tire production is anticipated to develop due to the rubber production forecast to rise with the remodeled farming of rubber plantations. Additionally, an increase in the manufacture of synthetic rubber is anticipated in the nation. When it comes to the production of carbon black, Saudi Arabia is a developing market. A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between Saudi Basic Industries Corp. and the Saudi National Industrial Cluster Development Program in January 2019.

Segmental Analysis

The global carbon black industry is segmented by process and application.

Based on process type, the global carbon black market is bifurcated into furnace black, gas black, lamp black, and thermal black.

The black furnace segment is the major contributor to the market and is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 2.95% during the forecast period. The method used to produce carbon black most frequently is called the black furnace process. This process is used to create carbon black by more than 90% of the manufacturers on the market. The process of creating furnace black is ongoing. It uses hydrocarbons as a feedstock and a heat source that are both liquid and gaseous, respectively. Furnace black is produced with an excellent yield ratio and efficiency. It is widely used in industrial rubber production as a filler and pigment in plastics, inks, paints, and coatings. It is available in a variety of particle sizes and structures. It is a rubber-reinforcing compound in tires and other rubber products because it offers reinforcement, improved resilience, tear strength, and conductivity.

Instead of natural gas, the gas black process employs oil as a feedstock. Primary particle sizes for the carbon black produced by the method range from 10 nm to 30 nm. On the other hand, Gas black is not very adaptable in defining the structure. Due to its outstanding dispersibility and loose structure, the gas black process is not adversely affected. Tires make excellent use of gas black as a rubber reinforcing. During the forecast period, the market for gas black is anticipated to be driven by the expanding replacement tire industry. Gas black is used in the plastics industry for many different things, including conductive packaging, films, fibers, moldings, pipes, containers, mulch films for agriculture, stretch wraps, and thermoplastic molding for car structures, electrical/electronic products, home appliances, and blow-molded containers.

The black lamp method is the industry's oldest method of producing carbon black. However, there arenot many similarities between the modern lamp black production facilities and the prehistoric carbon black furnaces. An incomplete combustion of highly carbonaceous materials, such as burned fat, oil, tar, or resin, produces lamp black, a kind of carbon black. The black lamp apparatus comprises a cast-iron pan that holds the liquid feedstock and is topped with a refractory brick-lined, fire-resistant flue hood. The manufacturer can adjust the qualities of carbon black by adjusting the air supply with the vacuum in the system and the air gap between the pan and the hood. Although the raw material vaporizes and partially burns due to the hood's radiation heat, most of it is transformed into carbon black.

Based on application, the global carbon black industry is bifurcated into tires and industrial rubber products, plastics, toners, printing inks, paints and coatings, textile fibers, and others.

The segment is the highest contributor to the market and is estimated to go up at a CAGR of 4.75% during the forecast period. Due to its influence on tires' mechanical and dynamic characteristics, carbon black is one of the reinforcements widely utilized in the tire business. It is used in various rubber formulations to alter the performance characteristics of tires. Carbon black is primarily needed in the carcasses, sidewalls, and inner liners. It can help rubber compounds dissipate heat when applied.Additionally, it increases fuel efficiency, tread wear, and handling. It also offers resistance to abrasion. Carbon black is mainly utilized as a filler in the rubber sector to create reinforcing effects, such as changing the modulus or tensile strength. It is used to improve the intermolecular or cohesive force of the product and impart conductivity in rubber-based adhesives, sealants, and coatings. 

Applications for carbon black in the manufacture of plastics are numerous. It is a pigment, conductive filler, reinforcement for particulates, and a U.V. light (U.V.) absorber. Carbon black is necessary for several thermoplastic molding processes used in household appliances, electrical/electronic goods, and automobile parts. Stretch blow molded container production also uses it as an additive. It is also essential in molded plastics since it provides a variety of attributes, including durability, tear strength, conductivity, and other physical qualities. Other characteristics include dispersibility, blue tone, U.V. stability, color strength, and impact on masterbatch viscosity. Due to its color strength, the carbon black utilized in the molding industry is less than 60 nm. The blue undertone and U.V. stability of the molded pieces benefit from the smaller aggregate size of carbon black.

Toners and printing inks use carbon black to give the ink formulation qualities, including optical density, gloss, and color tone. It is used in many products, including paints, toners, colored papers, colored resins, and newspaper ink. To create printed images and text on paper, toner, a powder, is used in photocopiers and laser printers. Previously, carbon powder, iron oxide, and sugar were combined to create toner. These days, carbon is melt-mixed with a polymer to enhance the printed quality. Specialty carbon black types give lithographic and flexographic inks a blue tone and stability of viscosity for U.V. cure inks. 

Strong color performance is often needed for apparel and textile applications that use fine denier fibers based on polyesters and nylons. To obtain the required strong color performance, higher spinnability and high melt polymer filterability are made possible by carbon black's excellent cleanliness. Nylon 66 uses carbon black as a pigment to provide the black hue. Additionally, it aids in maintaining nylon's elasticity and suppleness. Creating a uniform mixture of polymer and carbon black is difficult before processing. The amount of carbon black in nylon 66 must therefore be measured. Nylon fibers are used in various applications, such as clothing (for example, sportswear, lingerie, and pantyhose), Home furnishing (for example, carpets), and Industrial products (for example, nets, ropes, and tire cords). Industrial applications include safety belts, yarns, industrial fabrics, and other uses where strength is paramount.

Recent Developments

• January 2023- Orion Engineered Carbons and Ion Specialties partnered for Mexico sales.
• January 2023- GOODYEAR unveileda 90% sustainable-material demonstration tire, approved for road use.