White carbon black: the "resource alchemy" in the circular economy

Against the backdrop of tightening global resource constraints, how to achieve high-value utilization of waste through material innovation has become a key issue in the circular economy. White carbon black, with its ability to be prepared from various waste materials, is becoming a bridge connecting "garbage" and "resources", performing a "alchemy" of green transformation.


Rice husk ash: from field waste to high-end white carbon black
Approximately 120 million tons of rice husks are produced globally each year, and traditional methods such as incineration and landfilling not only occupy land but also release large amounts of greenhouse gases. And 20% of the components in rice husk are silicon dioxide, which is an ideal raw material for preparing white carbon black. Through the "low-temperature carbonization acid leaching purification" process, rice husk ash can be converted into highly dispersed white carbon black with a purity of 98%. Its performance is comparable to traditional precipitation method white carbon black, but the cost is reduced by more than 30%. At present, major rice producing countries such as India and Thailand have built multiple rice husk based white carbon black production lines, exporting their products to European and American tire companies, generating an annual foreign exchange of over 200 million US dollars.


Fly ash: the 'counterattack' of coal-fired pollution
The fly ash produced by coal-fired power plants contains 15% -50% silicon dioxide, but impurities such as alumina and iron oxide are high, and traditional utilization methods such as brick making and cement additives have low added value. By using the "magnetic separation iron alkali melting" technology, the silicon element in fly ash can be extracted to prepare high-purity white carbon black. For example, a Chinese company uses this technology to process 500000 tons of fly ash annually, produce 100000 tons of white carbon black, and recover by-products such as alumina, achieving the goal of "turning ash into gold". This material has been successfully applied in fields such as silicone rubber and coatings, replacing 30% of imported products.


Waste tires: the 'white redemption' of black pollution
Approximately 1.7 billion waste tires are generated globally each year, and traditional processing methods such as pyrolysis and recycled rubber suffer from high energy consumption and secondary pollution. And through the "low-temperature cracking vapor deposition" technology, the silicon dioxide (from carbon black fillers) in waste tires can be converted into nano-sized white carbon black. This technology not only recovers silicon resources from tires, but also reduces the emissions of tar and sulfides during the cracking process. Experiments have shown that waste tire based white carbon black has similar rubber reinforcement performance to industrial grade products and reduces costs by 40%. At present, Europe has launched relevant pilot projects, aiming to increase the recycling rate of white carbon black from waste tires to 20% by 2030.


Policy driven: With the implementation of global carbon tariffs and the improvement of circular economy legislation, the market competitiveness of waste based white carbon black will be further enhanced. For example, the EU's "New Battery Law" requires that the proportion of recycled materials in power batteries reach 12% by 2030, which will directly drive the demand for white carbon black based on waste lithium batteries.


Conclusion: From rice husks to fly ash, and then to waste tires, the "resource alchemy" of white carbon black not only solves the problem of waste disposal, but also provides low-cost and sustainable raw material solutions for global industries. In this green transformation, white carbon black is moving from behind the scenes to the forefront, becoming a key driver of the circular economy.