Recovered Carbon Black (rCB) and pyrolysis chars are widely recycled materials derived from waste tires, plastics and biomass. Oversized particles in finished carbon black products will lead to uneven particle size distribution, decreased product purity and weakened reinforcement performance, which seriously affects the quality and application value of rCB. Based on the mature processing technology of JACAN Powder Equipment with nearly 20 years of engineering experience, this article introduces a complete set of systematic solutions to thoroughly eliminate oversized carbon black particles from raw material pretreatment, grinding, classification to intelligent operation optimization, so as to produce high-quality rCB with D90 < 10μm and narrow particle size distribution.
1. Strict raw material pretreatment and impurity removal to cut off coarse particle sources
The generation of oversized carbon black particles starts from raw materials. Pyrolysis chars usually contain residual steel wires, bulk agglomerates and other impurities, which are important sources of coarse particles. A standardized pretreatment process is the first line of defense against oversized particles.
JACAN’s customized raw material pretreatment and magnetic separation system is specially optimized for various pyrolysis chars. It adopts high-intensity magnetic separation technology to completely remove metal impurities such as residual steel wires mixed in raw materials. On the one hand, metal impurities will form hard oversized particles; on the other hand, they will wear subsequent grinding and classification equipment, resulting in abnormal particle size fluctuation. After magnetic separation, the raw materials are initially dispersed to break large bulk materials, ensuring that the feed entering the subsequent process is clean and uniform. This step fundamentally reduces the generation of abnormal oversized particles caused by raw material impurities and large agglomerates, and also protects downstream production equipment to maintain stable operation.
2. Ultra-fine grinding and de-agglomeration to fully crush coarse agglomerates
After pretreatment, pyrolysis carbon black granules still have a large number of secondary agglomerates, which are the main oversized particles in semi-finished products. Simple screening cannot solve the problem of internal agglomeration, so professional ultra-fine grinding and de-clumping processes are essential.
JACAN’s ultra-fine grinding system can realize micron-level pulverization of raw pyrolysis granules. The core advantage of this technology is that it can fully break carbon black agglomerates through precise mechanical force while retaining the structural integrity and reinforcement properties of carbon black itself. The system strictly controls the fineness of materials in the grinding stage, and stably realizes the technical index of D90 < 10μm. Different from ordinary grinding equipment that is prone to incomplete crushing or over-grinding, this process targets the structural characteristics of carbon black agglomerates to carry out targeted de-clumping, so that most of the oversized agglomerated particles are fully crushed in the grinding link, laying a solid foundation for the subsequent fine classification.
3. High-precision aerodynamic classification to separate oversized particles efficiently
High-precision air classification is the core process to completely eliminate oversized carbon black particles. After ultra-fine grinding, the powder will inevitably produce a small number of residual oversized particles, and the specialized aerodynamic classification system can realize accurate separation according to particle density and size.
The pulverized carbon black powder is sent to a dedicated air classifier. By virtue of refined aerodynamic control, the equipment sets an optimal particle size “cut-point”. Fine powder that meets the standard is sent to the finished product bin with the air flow, while all oversized particles are screened out in a targeted manner. This classification method effectively avoids the defects of traditional screening equipment such as mesh blockage and low separation efficiency when dealing with lightweight carbon black powder. It can continuously remove oversized particles, ensure that the final product has an extremely narrow particle size distribution, and make the particle size index of rCB fully meet the requirements of high-end applications. The classification efficiency of this process is outstanding, which is the key link to ensure the zero existence of oversized particles in finished products.
4. Multi-parameter intelligent optimization to maintain long-term stable particle size
In actual production, raw materials from different sources and different pyrolysis processes will lead to changes in the properties of carbon black materials. Fixed process parameters are easy to cause incomplete removal of oversized particles due to material changes. Therefore, multi-parameter intelligent adjustment is required to maintain the long-term stability of the production line.
JACAN’s integrated intelligent control system supports real-time adjustment of operating parameters such as equipment frequency, feeding speed and air flow velocity. Operators can flexibly adjust the production state according to the characteristics of different pyrolysis materials. When the material viscosity, hardness and agglomeration degree change, the system can quickly optimize the grinding intensity and classification air volume to prevent the re-appearance of oversized particles caused by material fluctuations. This full-process intelligent optimization realizes high-yield and stable production of rCB, and avoids the problem of periodic excess of oversized particles in the production line due to parameter mismatch, ensuring the consistency of product quality in batches.
5. Complete supporting services to ensure continuous and stable operation of the system
The stable operation of equipment is also crucial to avoid oversized particles caused by production failures. JACAN provides a full set of supporting services to guarantee the long-term efficient operation of the particle size control system. The equipment can be delivered within 1 to 2 months to help customers quickly put into production. The professional team provides on-site installation, commissioning and operator training to ensure that the staff can master the process operation and parameter adjustment skills from the start of production. In addition, the 24/7 all-weather professional technical support can quickly respond to and solve equipment failures and process abnormalities, avoid production downtime and particle size out-of-tolerance problems caused by equipment faults, and keep the ability to eliminate oversized particles at a high level for a long time.
Eliminating oversized particles in carbon black is a systematic project covering the whole production process. Relying on JACAN’s mature rCB processing technology, through the four core links of raw material magnetic separation and pretreatment, ultra-fine grinding and de-agglomeration, high-precision aerodynamic classification and multi-parameter intelligent control, combined with perfect after-sales service support, manufacturers can completely remove oversized particles in carbon black. This set of dry processing systems not only realizes D90 < 10μm ultra-fine particle size control and high product purity, but also has the advantages of low cost, high efficiency and global adaptability. It has become the preferred solution for more than 100 industry-leading enterprises around the world, helping the recycled carbon black industry to achieve sustainable and high-quality development.
