From the request of Peatec Oy located in Valkeakoski, I examined the possibilities an industrial use of pyrolysis carbon. Peatec Oy produces carbon black out of vehicle tires using pyrolysis, and the company is now searching for applications of an industrial use of it. In my research project, I used wide literature on this issue and I contacted several companies in the rubber and plastics industry to find out their needs for carbon black.

Many different purposes have been developed for using secondhand vehicle tires, but they can very well be used as raw material for pyrolysis because of their chemical struc-ture. With pyrolysis, the high carbon concentration and other ingredients in the raw ma-terial can be utilized for producing energy, carbon black, oil and steel.

Carbon black is one of the most common industrial chemicals in the world, and its fea-tures are widely used in rubber, plastic and colourant applications as well as in several other applications, such as activated carbon. Carbon black produced with pyrolysis dif-fers to some extent from commercial carbon black which is produced out of oil or gas. Smaller carbon concentration and contaminants in carbon black produced with pyrolysis affect its use and utilization as raw material. Its applicability as raw material for differ-ent kinds of products has been studied extensively all over the world, and the most promising purposes for its use are found in the production of plastic products and acti-vated carbon. It can also be used as pigment in inks and paints as well as an additive in asphalt. The 91% carbon concentration in carbon black produced with pyrolysis sets limits to its use in more demanding products of rubber industry, but it could be utilized for some applications. The quality of carbon black produced with pyrolysis, however, depends considerably on the equipment used, the process conditions and the composi-tion of rubber used as raw material. The final quality of carbon black in applications can be improved significantly by further processing.

The companies I contacted were interested in carbon black produced out of recycled raw material and in its use in industrial applications. However, this would demand co-operation with companies to get the different qualities of carbon black processed to cor-respond to the application in question.