Jinan, April 18, 2026China’s white carbon black industry is currently in a triple transformation phase driven by policy guidance, demand upgrading and technological innovation. This report focuses on new perspectives including the release of policy dividends, segmented upgrading of downstream demand and the implementation of green technologies. Moving beyond the traditional narrative of costs, exports and capacity reshuffling, it reveals new opportunities and pathways behind industry transformation and showcases a distinctive development trend.

Since the beginning of the year, national and local authorities have intensively issued policies to support the green transformation of the white carbon black industry. In early April, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment jointly released the Action Plan for Green and Low-Carbon Development of the Chemical Industry (2026–2030), which explicitly includes the white carbon black sector in the “key green renovation fields”. Enterprises adopting low-carbon technologies such as carbon dioxide acidification and bio-based silicon sources will enjoy multiple policy incentives including tax reductions, capacity prioritization and green credit. Major production provinces such as Shandong and Jiangxi have rolled out supporting measures and set up special subsidies to encourage technological upgrading, promote the resource utilization of wastewater and waste residue, and accelerate the industry’s shift toward greener and more standardized development.
Alongside the continuous release of policy dividends, segmented upgrading of downstream demand has become a core engine for industry growth, with differentiated growth across application areas and an end to the previous “one-size-fits-all” demand pattern. In the consumer sector, demand for food-grade and pharmaceutical-grade white carbon black maintains steady growth. Amid consumption upgrading, consumers have significantly higher requirements for the safety and environmental performance of food anti-caking agents and toothpaste abrasives. High-purity, low-impurity food-grade white carbon black has become the market mainstream. Through technological upgrading, a number of domestic enterprises have achieved compliance with the Codex Alimentarius standards and successfully entered the supply chains of major food and daily chemical companies.
In the industrial sector, alongside the steady recovery of demand from traditional tires and rubber products, emerging fields including new energy, electronic information and high-end equipment have seen explosive growth. Specialty products such as nano white carbon black for lithium battery separators and high-purity white carbon black for electronic packaging have become new growth poles due to high technical barriers and large market gaps.
The large-scale application of green technologies has become a key pillar of industry transformation and a core highlight distinguishing the current phase from the past. Traditionally, white carbon black was mostly produced via the sulfuric acid method, which suffered from high energy consumption, heavy pollution and low resource utilization efficiency. Since 2026, however, low-carbon and eco-friendly technologies have accelerated in popularity with rapid progress across multiple fronts.
Quecheng Co., Ltd. in Anhui has achieved large-scale production of rice husk-based white carbon black, extracting silicon from agricultural waste rice husks and “turning waste into treasure”. Carbon emissions per ton of product are reduced by more than 30% compared with conventional processes.
Shandong Zhongke Fuqing’s carbon dioxide acidification white carbon black project has entered trial production, converting industrial waste carbon dioxide into raw material feedstock. This not only resolves environmental challenges but also lowers raw material costs, achieving a win-win situation for economic and environmental benefits.
In addition, supporting technologies such as waste heat recovery and wastewater recycling have been upgraded simultaneously, enabling full-process green production across the white carbon black industry.
Notably, the industry’s coordinated development mechanism has gradually improved, with deep integration of industry, academia, research and application, accelerating the commercialization of technological achievements. On April 16, China’s first industrial alliance for the green transformation of white carbon black was officially established, bringing together leading enterprises, research institutes and core downstream customers. Focusing on key topics including low-carbon technology research, high-end product development and improved standard systems, the alliance builds a platform for technical exchange, resource sharing and achievement transformation. Going forward, the alliance will prioritize R&D and industrialization of bio-based white carbon black and specialty grades, helping the industry break through core technical bottlenecks and enhance the core competitiveness of domestic white carbon black.
Industry insiders pointed out that driven by both policy guidance and demand upgrading, the transformation of China’s white carbon black industry will deepen further in 2026. Industry development will no longer be confined to scale expansion and price competition, but will focus on green, high-end and refined growth.
In the future, enterprises with policy adaptability, core technological advantages and layout in segmented markets will seize the initiative in industry transformation, driving China’s white carbon black sector to shift from “scale leadership” to “quality leadership” and achieve high-quality development.