The Tamil Nadu-based company’s greenfield expansion will propel its rCB capacity from 5,000-20,000 metric tonnes. Director Ravi Rathi explained that there has been a change in attitude towards rCB within tyre companies, leading to heightened demand.

Tamil Nadu-based Capital Carbon is expanding its recovered carbon black (rCB) capacity by 15,000 metric tonnes with a new greenfield project at Gummidipoondi. The plant is slated to become operational by January 2025 and boost the capacity from 5,000 metric tonnes to 20,000 metric tonnes, annually.

Speaking to Tyre Trends, Director Ravi Rathi explained, “The decision to pursue a greenfield expansion in the rCB sector stemmed from the rapid development of this innovative product over the past four to five years. Given our background in the pyrolysis business, expanding into rCB felt like a natural progression. rCB is still a relatively new product and both manufacturers and users are in the process of learning about its applications. When we first began exploring this market, around four years ago, it was challenging. Many tyre manufacturers would dismiss our proposals even before we could present our case as they were hesitant to incorporate recycled materials into their mainstream formulations.”

“However, in recent years, attitudes have shifted significantly due to increasing emphasis on sustainability and circular economy principles. The industry is now more open to integrating green products. We started with a modest capacity of 5,000 metric tonnes per annum, which allowed us to gain insights into customer needs. Gradually, we scaled our operations from small quantities to commercial sales. The key driver for our recent expansion is customer demand. We have obtained product approval, and customers are eager to purchase rCB,” he added.

He also noted that companies wanted assurance that the demands could be met consistently, which was also a factor behind the expansion. Furthermore, having multiple units also allows the company to manage any potential supply chain issues, effectively. “If a minor problem arises in one unit, we can still supply material from another, minimising disruptions for our customers,” said Rathi.

The entire CAPEX for the greenfield plant is set at INR 20 crore.

Pyrolysis to rCB

Capital Carbon commenced operations in 2012 with a modest pyrolysis capacity of 10 tonnes per day. Over the years, it has consistently expanded its capacity, increasing to 150 metric tonnes per day. The company has also bolstered its backend operations, enhancing sourcing capabilities and adding substantial shredding and crumbing capacity.

Additionally, Capital Carbon has focused on value-added products including pyrolysis oil distillation and rCB. As of now, it operates a shredding capacity of 120,000 metric tonnes per annum for captive consumption. This capacity is supplemented by sourcing contaminated tyre bales, which typically have 20-30 percent rubber contamination. This material is cleaned to yield 98 percent pure steel, with the remaining rubber used for pyrolysis, creating a separate business vertical.

Currently, the company processes approximately 50,000 to 52,000 metric tonnes of tyres per annum through its pyrolysis operations. In terms of value addition, Capital Carbon produces between 20,000 to 24,000 tonnes of pyrolysis oil, annually.

When asked about the motivation behind establishing a pyrolysis plant, Rathi noted, “My father worked at Birla Carbon and retired in 2019. Although we lacked prior business experience, we were inspired by the industrial upbringing and the promising potential of the pyrolysis sector. Following the completion of my chartered accountancy studies, I decided to pursue this opportunity.”

He acknowledged that pyrolysis often has a negative reputation in India, where it is sometimes viewed as a ‘dirty business’. To combat this perception, Capital Carbon prioritises quality management and environmental responsibility in its operations. IT employs fuel-based heating methods in its pyrolysis process as electric heating is generally not feasible due to the high volumes involved in tyre pyrolysis. The initial heating requires some fuel, which can include biomass or pyrolysis oil, but the system becomes self-sufficient once it reaches a certain temperature.

The primary outputs from the pyrolysis process include fuel oil, carbon char (used as raw material for rCB or as an alternative energy source for cement plants), steel wires and pyrolysis gases, which are utilised for heating purposes.

He highlighted that the pyrolysis oil produced is of high quality with low sulfur and carbon content, making it cleaner than many conventional heating fuels used in India.

Quality control

The company’s sourcing strategy primarily focuses on domestic suppliers. It procures rejected tyres and dealer returns from various companies, which constitute a substantial portion of the feedstock. This local sourcing approach ensures that it maintains a steady supply of raw materials

Following sourcing, the production of recovered carbon black involves several critical steps. Initially, tyres are shredded to extract carbon black, steel and other components. The distinction in product application necessitates tailored processing methods.

For instance, producing carbon char for energy requires less stringent technical specifications compared to producing carbon black intended for high-performance applications, such as tyre manufacturing or footwear.

“The quality of the final product begins with meticulous sorting of tyres to determine suitability for pyrolysis. This initial step is vital for ensuring consistent output quality. Following sorting, the tyres are shredded into steel-free rubber chips of 15-20 millimetres. During pyrolysis, we focus on maintaining specific quality parameters for the pyrochar produced. This includes stringent controls to limit ash content, which must remain below 20-22 percent to ensure product consistency. The handling of impurities such as wires and stones in the pyrochar is essential. Post-processing, the pyrochar is milled to fine particle sizes (10-15 microns), enhancing its surface area for better compatibility with rubber compounds,” explained Rathi.

Once the recovered carbon black is processed, palletisation becomes the next step. This method streamlines handling and ensures that the product meets industry standards. While the equipment resembles that used for traditional carbon black, adaptations are necessary to accommodate the unique characteristics of recovered carbon black.

“To facilitate customer adoption, we offer tailored packaging solutions including 25kg paper bags, EVA / LDPE bags and FIBC bags, allowing clients to integrate our products seamlessly into their existing production processes,” he added. 

As the industry evolves, the need for standardised quality benchmarks for recovered carbon black has become increasingly clear. Major corporations have driven this change, leading ASTM to establish a dedicated committee (D36) focused on developing specific standards for recovered carbon black. Unlike conventional carbon black, which adheres to existing standards, recovered carbon black requires new metrics to account for its varied origins and compositions.

The committee is currently validating a series of standards including moisture content, pallet hardness and particle size analysis, specifically for rCB. This ongoing development is slated to enhance product credibility and facilitate broader market acceptance.

Commenting on the same lines, Rathi mentioned, “We maintain a dedicated quality lab to refine our production processes continually. Our focus on evolving our offerings has resulted in the introduction of two new grades of recovered carbon black, aimed at meeting diverse market needs. Our commitment to leveraging advanced machinery and improved grinding techniques reflects our proactive approach to quality enhancement and capacity expansion.”

Optimistic market outlook

The demand for recovered carbon black in India is poised for significant growth, driven by a strong shift toward sustainability. Customers are increasingly seeking high-quality suppliers, indicating a burgeoning market for rCB.

“Globally, rCB production currently accounts for less than one percent of total carbon black production, underscoring a substantial opportunity for expansion. As customer awareness and demand for sustainable products increase, we anticipate a corresponding rise in rCB consumption,” informed Rathi.

He added, “Many major corporations have committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, necessitating immediate action to integrate green and circular products into their supply chains. As these companies strive to meet their net-zero targets, they are turning to recovered materials such as rCB to fulfil sustainability mandates. Our role is crucial in assisting these customers to achieve their goals through the production of eco-friendly and circular products derived from end-of-life tyres.”

Speaking on market opportunities, he said, “India remains our largest market, but we are also making significant inroads into Sri Lanka. The European market is particularly promising, though it presents challenges related to certifications and distribution. We are currently working on obtaining the necessary certifications, including ISCC Plus, to unlock this market potential.”

“Our immediate focus is on completing our current expansion project, after which we will enhance our pyrolysis capacity to align with the growing demand from our customers. As the volumes of recovered carbon black usage increase, we aim to be ready with sufficient supply,” he added.

He expects to penetrate the European market by the first half of FY26, following the completion of the current plant expansion.

Challenges in scaling production

“One of the primary challenges in scaling rCB production is the scarcity of raw materials. The supply of suitable feedstock is diverse and scattered, making it difficult to source consistently. In the past, customers struggled to understand the differences between recovered carbon black and virgin carbon black grades, often asking if we could produce specific grades like L550 or L660. However, as knowledge in the market has matured, customers are increasingly recognising that rCB is a distinct material requiring tailored processing approaches,” informed Rathi.

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Cabot Corporation has announced a comprehensive global price adjustment for its portfolio of carbon black products. These changes, which are set to take effect immediately or as soon as individual contract terms permit, will see prices rise by up to 20 percent, with the exact percentage varying according to the specific product type and the regional market. This adjustment is not limited to the speciality carbons division; it will also be applied to the offerings from the company’s speciality compounds business.

In a strategic move to address persistent market volatility, Cabot is also implementing an ongoing surcharge on top of the base price increase. The company has indicated that this additional fee will be subject to regular and ongoing evaluation, allowing for adjustments that reflect the dynamic nature of current market conditions. The driving forces behind these significant pricing actions are multifaceted, rooted in substantial disruptions to global supply chains. These disruptions are largely attributed to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, which has had a cascading effect on logistics. Compounding this issue are the sharply rising costs associated with transportation, energy and essential raw materials.

Cabot emphasises that these necessary pricing measures are fundamental to its commitment to maintaining operational stability. By implementing these changes, the corporation aims to secure its position as a dependable partner over the long term, ensuring it can continue to supply high-integrity speciality carbons, black masterbatches and conductive compounds to its global customer base without interruption.

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Kordsa, a subsidiary of Sabancı Holding, presented its advanced material technologies to a global audience at the JEC World 2026 trade show in Paris. The company featured its latest breakthroughs in composite technologies tailored for the aviation, energy and automotive sectors. The event also served as a platform for Kordsa to communicate its sustainable growth strategy and technological transformation to an international network of stakeholders.

Held from 10 to 12 March 2026, JEC World is recognised as the premier global event for the composites industry. By convening the entire value chain, the exhibition enabled Kordsa to prominently display its expanding role and expertise in composite materials. The company’s presence was reinforced by its international subsidiaries, including US-based Fabric Development, Inc., Textile Products, Inc. and Axiom Materials, Inc., alongside Italy’s Microtex Composites Srl., demonstrating a unified approach shaped by evolving market demands.

Among the key innovations showcased were Ceramic Matrix Composite (CMC) technologies, carbon-reinforced prepregs, thermoplastic automotive interior components and structural body parts. These solutions are engineered to deliver high performance and reduced weight while simultaneously boosting production efficiency and minimising carbon footprint. For the aviation and energy industries, the company highlighted advanced composites designed to meet stringent demands for high-temperature resistance, durability and operational reliability.

Ergun Hepvar, CEO, Kordsa, said, “JEC World is one of the most important global meeting points in the field of composite technologies. On this platform, which brings together the entire value chain of the industry, we have the opportunity to closely observe both the current state of technologies and the trends that will shape the future. This year, we clearly saw that solutions focused on sustainability, lightweighting, high performance and production efficiency are becoming increasingly decisive. At the same time, we witnessed a transformation in customer expectations towards more integrated, agile and sustainable solutions. As Kordsa, we will continue to be an active part of this transformation and to develop value-creating solutions together with our customers.”

Emphasising that Kordsa differentiates itself in composite technologies by offering an end-to-end integrated structure, from R&D and serial production to supply chain and certification processes, Hepvar further added, “The increasing demand for advanced material solutions further strengthens our position in composites. We position composite technologies as one of our two strategic focus areas in Kordsa’s future. In this field, we adopt an approach that expands technological depth, product diversity and application areas simultaneously. Composite technologies stand out as a core area shaping both Kordsa’s present and future. Our goal is to deepen our capabilities here, build a structure that generates higher added value, differentiates itself and grows together with its customers.”

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The Recycling and Economic Development Initiative of South Africa (REDISA) called out the country’s waste tyre recycling system a ‘ticking time bomb’. The country with an estimated population of about 62 million has more than 13 million registered vehicles including roughly eight million passenger cars and generates an estimated 200,000–250,000 tonnes of waste tyres from road vehicles alone each year.

This has created a major environmental and waste-management challenge alongside rising vehicle ownership.

Commenting on the issue, Executive Director of Operations at REDISA Stacey Jansen told Tyre Trends, “Waste tyre management in South Africa has, in effect, collapsed since the Waste Management Bureau under the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DDFE) took over in 2017. The effect is overfull depots posing significant fire risks including the dumping and burning of tyres illegally causing harmful chemicals to seep into groundwater and causing severe air pollution.”

“Economically, a huge opportunity is being missed, in that a structured management programme geared towards recycling can not only create jobs but also contribute to the circular economy as a whole. This was precisely what REDISA did between 2013 and 2017,” she added.

She also stated that internal research has shown that a functional waste plan for just 13 waste streams could raise South Africa’s GDP growth by 1.5 percentage points. For a country struggling with unemployment and stagnation, this is an avenue that must be pursued.

REDISA alleges serious governance failures within the DFFE and the Waste Management Bureau. The first problem is that no dependable data exists.

“We all know that there is a problem, but we don’t know the extent of it. The department’s figures and reports are filled with inconsistencies and errors and this impacts any effective decision-making on how to fix the issue of waste tyre management,” said Jansen.

Secondly, she argues that there does not seem to be a realisation that the government cannot handle waste tyre management on its own as it does not have the expertise, technology or experience.

Thirdly, more headline-grabbing issues such as conservation and climate, which are important, of course, receive a lot of attention. But ground-level interventions such as waste management, while not as media-friendly, offer real and relatively immediate ways to address environmental and economic problems, she stated.

THE BOMBARDING

The Biesiesvlei depot fire in 2023 caused extensive environmental damage. Alluding to the lessons learned from the incident, Jansen said, “This is a question perhaps best posed to the DFFE. Since that disaster, we have not seen a country-wide response that puts the safety of citizens and the environment first. If something isn’t done on a national scale, more depots will burn, releasing extremely toxic pollutants into the air.”

Moreover, the auctioning of nearly R100 million (USD 5–5.5 million) worth of unused pre-processing equipment has been called an ‘admission of failure’ by REDISA. Commenting on this, Jansen said, “We wish the government could tell us how they ended up idle. Either they bought the wrong equipment or they were unable to deploy it. The right decisions were clearly not made by the leadership in the department.”

Moreover, the exclusion of small businesses and micro-collectors from the current system has also impacted tyre collection, illegal dumping and rural employment.

According to Jansen, from 2013 to 2017, REDISA managed waste tyres in South Africa. In a short space of time, it built 22 tyre collection centres, employed more than 3 000 people and created 226 small waste enterprises.

This was all funded by a management fee levied on plan subscribers (producers and importers) as part of the approved Industry Waste Tyre Plan. In February 2017, following a legislative change, the state imposed an environmental levy, which replaced the fee REDISA was collecting. The levy is still being collected today, but the producers and the citizens are not seeing their money channelled into effective waste tyre management.

In fact, more than half of the money collected is going into the general tax fund. The result has been job losses, mostly in urban areas.

REDISA also claimed that the government underspent on tyre transport due to lack of storage space. Answering how does this contradiction affect the integrity of the waste tyre management system, she said, “The department admits this underspend and gives the reason in its latest annual report. They are silent on the consequences, but it can only lead to illegal dumping and burning of tyres. If you drive by almost any informal settlement or urban fringe in South Africa, you will see dumped tyres. And this could be transformed into an asset under the right system.”

CLEAR VIEW

During her interaction, Jansen encouraged citizens and journalists to visit waste tyre depots in their communities and see if they adhere to safety standards viz-a-viz 6-metre fire breaks between heaps, 8-metre gaps to buildings and fences, maximum heap size of 10 metre x 20 metre and more.

Collectors and transporters regularly complain to REDISA that the situation at the overfull depots and dumps have worsened so much since 2017 and that they are deeply concerned.

Questioning the sustainability of the current approach, Jansen said that generating nearly 70,000 waste tyres every day makes an over-reliance on storage depots deeply flawed. “This is not sustainable at all. The only outcome will be increased air pollution, contaminated groundwater and heightened fire risks. It is an attempt to apply a band-aid to the problem without addressing its root cause,” she said.

Jansen was equally critical of the DFFE’s decision to issue tenders for 32 new depots covering close to one million square metres. According to her, the move signals more than a stop-gap response. “I would describe it as an acknowledgement of defeat and clear evidence of an inability to effectively address tyre recycling in South Africa,” she added.

Reflecting on South Africa’s earlier leadership in circular tyre waste management, Jansen said restoring that position would not require sweeping policy or structural reforms. “The DFFE does not need new frameworks or radical changes. What is required is leadership that acknowledges the scale of the crisis and a willingness to return to a model that has already proven its worth, the internationally recognised REDISA model,” she said.

The warning signs are no longer theoretical. Idle equipment, expanding depots and rising illegal dumping point to a system drifting further from circularity. Without decisive leadership and a return to proven, accountable models, South Africa risks compounding environmental damage, economic loss and public health threats, allowing a ticking time bomb to keep counting down.

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Ecolomondo Corporation, a leading Canadian innovator in sustainable scrap tyre recycling technology, has engaged August Brown, LLC as an independent risk advisor. This appointment supports the planning stages for a new facility in Shamrock, Texas. The firm will conduct a validation of the project's business plan and risk management approach, a step taken in preparation for marketing the green bond that will finance the development.

The proposed Texas site will feature a six-reactor plant, replicating the company’s proprietary, modular Thermal Decomposition Process (TDP) technology currently operating at its Hawkesbury, Ontario, facility but with triple capacity. This expansion follows the successful commercialisation of Ecolomondo’s proprietary TDP technology. Local support has been secured through the Shamrock Economic Development Corporation, along with a 136-acre industrial site and long-term feedstock agreements intended to supply ongoing operations.

August Brown's role will begin with a comprehensive feasibility study examining business, market and financial risks. A subsequent phase will focus on engineering, technology validation and project execution risks. This independent review process aims to improve transparency and strengthen confidence among potential bondholders and project partners. The project represents the next phase in the company's growth strategy, replicating its proven modular technology on a larger scale.

Eliot Sorella, Executive Chairman, Ecolomondo, said, “Independent validation of our technology, projected operations and financial model for our planned Shamrock Facility is an essential step that resonates strongly with investors, lenders and potential joint-venture partners.”

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