SPECIALTY CARBON BLACKS
SPECIALTY CARBON BLACKS
FOR PLASTIC MOLDED PARTS
Performance and leadership
in black plastics
Cabot Corporation is a global performance materials company and we
strive to be our customers’ commercial partner of choice. We have been
a leading manufacturer of carbon black and other specialty chemicals
for more than 130 years, and we have supplied additives to the plastics
industry since its inception.
Our global reach enables us to work closely with customers to meet
the highest standards for performance, quality and service. Our global
production network and three applications development facilities provide
our customers with global service capabilities as well as the latest
technical innovations.
Global reach
We support customers around the world in our global
production and applications development centers
◆ North America ◆ Europe, Middle East Asia Pacific
◆
Canada & Africa China
Mexico Belgium India
United States Czech Republic Indonesia
France Japan
South America
◆ Germany Korea
Argentina Italy Malaysia
Brazil Latvia Singapore
Colombia Norway
Switzerland
The Netherlands
United Arab Emirates
United Kingdom
With approximately 4,500 employees worldwide, we continue to create
a diverse environment rooted in values and sustainability.
We operate 44 manufacturing sites in 21 countries, all with local
management teams. We have a global footprint in order to serve our
customers throughout the world.
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SPECIALTY CARBON BLACKS FOR PLASTIC MOLDED PARTS
Delivering product performance
through superior color
We offer a range of specialty carbon blacks that provide superior color
for molded parts (including injection or blow molded parts) used
in the consumer, industrial and automotive markets. Our specialty carbon
blacks can be used in a wide range of polymers ranging from polyolefins
to engineering thermoplastics, providing long lasting color or opacity.
In addition, we ensure that our specialty carbon blacks are characterized
by high purity and physical cleanliness to help produce excellent
aesthetic quality for your final products.
This document provides information related to consumer, industrial
and automotive non-conductive molded parts. For information on
our offerings for extrusion-formed products (e.g., film and sheet),
food-contact applications, or conductive applications, please refer
to our respective literature.
Our brands
We supply a diverse product range of specialty carbon black products
to meet performance and processability requirements across many
industries and end uses. Offered in pellet and powder form, our long-
established products for plastics include VULCAN®, ELFTEX® and BLACK
PEARLS® specialty carbon blacks. While some products have performed
successfully in plastic applications for more than 50 years and are
top choices for the plastics industry, we continue to innovate and
develop new products to further improve our customers’ product
performance.
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Featured products for color
in molded parts
Our specialty carbon blacks are broadly designed for three
main end-uses:
◆ Consumer goods
◆ Industrial and automotive applications
◆ General purpose and utility applications
Among these grades, we offer products that meet EU and U.S.
FDA requirements for food contact compliance. Please contact your
Cabot representative for information regarding food contact
and other applications not covered in this brochure.
Color performance for consumer goods
Many consumer goods such as appliances, electronics equipment Figure 1:
(e.g. mobile phones, tablets) and packaging (including food contact) Carbon blacks for consumer goods
need to meet the increasingly stringent aesthetic requirements of
consumers who require deep black color balanced with appealing BLACK PEARLS®
bluetone. For these types of applications where components are visible 800
BLACK PEARLS 630
Increasing color strength
to end-customers, color performance is critical. Surface smoothness, VULCAN® 9A32
dispersibility and mechanical performance are also required to meet ELFTEX® 570
the performance requirements of the end-use product. In addition,
an ever-increasing range of polymers are used; these include basic
polymers such as polyolefins, polystyrene and PVC, as well as high BLACK PEARLS
450A111
performing polymers such as ABS, nylon and PC. Blends and composites
Increasing surface quality
are also increasingly used. We offer a full portfolio of specialty blacks to Increasing dispersibility
meet both basic and highly demanding applications (Figure 1).
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SPECIALTY CARBON BLACKS FOR PLASTIC MOLDED PARTS
Color performance for industrial and Figure 2:
automotive applications Carbon black products for industrial and
automotive applications
Industrial and automotive moldings that require carbon black for
coloration include machinery housings, automotive parts and other BLACK
PEARLS©
moldings used in industrial and automotive applications. While color 900
BLACK
performance remains the most important attribute of a carbon black, PEARLS BLACK
Increasing color strength
800 PEARLS
physical cleanliness is very important because the presence of 4840
contaminants (e.g. grit) can concentrate stresses, erode mechanical BLACK
PEARLS
properties and degrade surface quality. 717 ELFTEX®
BLACK
570
PEARLS
450A111
For more information, please contact your Cabot representative.
Increasing surface smoothness
Increasing dispersibility
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Product performance
Specialty carbon blacks provide a number of important functionalities
to molded parts including:
◆ Pigmentation to provide deep color
◆ Surface smoothness to ensure aesthetic quality
◆ Physical cleanliness to maintain mechanical properties of the
overall part
We offer products for a variety of systems, including polyolefins and
engineering plastics.
Figure 3:
Color strength and blue tone in ABS
Color PIGMENT LOADING = 1.0%
12
Color is measured along three scales:
◆ L* (color strength or masstone) values represent white-to-black or
10
Color coordinates (L* and b*)
8
light-to-dark scale
Increasing jetness
6
◆ a* values represent the red-to-green scale; and
4
◆ b* values represent the yellow-to-blue scale
2
Black
0
With respect to carbon black, L* and b* are the most relevant values.
-2
Low L* values are preferable, as they indicate a darker, or more black
-4
color. Increasingly negative b* values indicate a bluer undertone. Our Increasing blue undertone
-6
products for molding have been specifically selected to deliver these BLACK BLACK BLACK BLACK
PEARLS PEARLS PEARLS PEARLS
performance characteristics. 900 800 4840 450A111
carbon carbon carbon carbon
black black black black
We offer four families of carbon blacks to meet the varying color n L* n b*
requirements of the plastics industry:
Carbon black family BLACK PEARLS® products
High color black BLACK PEARLS 1300
Medium color black BLACK PEARLS 900, 800, 717, 4840
Regular color BLACK PEARLS 450A111, BLACK PEARLS 630
Utility blacks BLACK PEARLS 280, 160, 120
Note: Carbon blacks having similar morphology to BLACK PEARLS 1300,
900, 800, 717, 280 and 120 carbon blacks are also available in fluffy form
under our MONARCH® brand.
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SPECIALTY CARBON BLACKS FOR PLASTIC MOLDED PARTS
Illustrative color strength performance data for select products is
presented in Figures 3 and 4 for different polymers. For questions related Figure 4:
to other specific products, please contact your Cabot representative. Carbon black color strength in PA6
Color coordinates (L*)
Increasing jetness
4
0
BLACK BLACK BLACK BLACK
PEARLS PEARLS PEARLS PEARLS
1300 900 800 450A111
carbon carbon carbon carbon
black black black black
Surface smoothness / quality
Consumers demand high quality parts requiring specialty carbon blacks
that achieve a very low rate of surface defects. As shown in the Figure 5,
poor dispersion leads to only partial de-agglomeration of particles, Figure 5:
causing surface defects. In contrast, excellent dispersion achieves full Dispersibility comparison
de-agglomeration, minimizes surface defects, delivers strong color Poor dispersibility Excellent dispersibility
performance and avoids deterioration of mechanical properties. (partial de-agglomeration) (full de-agglomeration)
Pellets
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Physical cleanliness
While dispersion is key to achieving a high level of surface smoothness,
physical cleanliness, or elimination of physical contaminants within
carbon blacks, is also critical to enabling high levels of surface quality
and mechanical properties. The presence of physical contaminants, or
ash and grit, can cause degradation of both aesthetic properties and
mechanical properties. Our BLACK PEARLS® specialty carbon blacks
feature high levels of cleanliness as measured by the 325-mesh delta-P test.
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SPECIALTY CARBON BLACKS FOR PLASTIC MOLDED PARTS
Processability
Processability refers to the ease with which a customer can incorporate
the carbon black into a formulation. It is a key design consideration
and we understand the need to create products that provide the proper
performance benefits as well as a high level of processability as
measured along three dimensions:
◆ Dispersibility
◆ Masterbatch dilutability
◆ Polymer compatibility
Dispersibility
As discussed previously, adequate dispersion of carbon black within
polymers is necessary for proper final product performance and high
quality surface finishes. Regardless of whether compounders utilize
carbon black powder, pellets, or masterbatch, the selection of the
appropriate carbon black is important.
Figure 6:
Masterbatch dilutability Carbon black melt flow index in polystyrene
Our carbon blacks are often formulated into masterbatches that are then 20
CARBON BLACK LOADING = 30%
used by compounders. Masterbatch dilutability is a measure of how 18
MFI (g/10') - 10 kg / 200° C
Increasing performance
16
easily a masterbatch can be distributed in, or mixed with, the dilution
14
polymer. When masterbatch dilution is inadequate, non-homogenous 12
pigmentation, lower UV performance, and poor mechanical properties 10
may occur. 8
6
4
Dilutability of a masterbatch is directly linked to its viscosity as measured 2
by the melt flow index (MFI). At a standard dosage in a masterbatch, all 0
BLACK BLACK BLACK
Powder
Pellets
carbon blacks will reduce MFI and increase viscosity of the neat polymer, PEARLS PEARLS PEARLS
717 800 4840
but by selecting the most appropriate carbon black, masterbatch carbon carbon carbon
black black black
formulators and customers can obtain a masterbatch with dilutability that
meets their needs and saves substantial formulation cost.
We offer offers carbon black products that can be used in almost all
polymer systems, though certain products are most suitable for
particular applications. Figure 6 provides typical MFI data for three of
our products in polystyrene.
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Technical data
Specialty carbon
Description
black product
BLACK PEARLS® 120 General purpose low color speciality black with low to medium weatherability; ideal for color adjustments, allows
MONARCH® 120 higher loadings in concentrates.
General purpose low color specialty black suitable for a broad range of tinting applications, easy to disperse, this
BLACK PEARLS 160
economical specialty black allows higher loadings in most systems.
BLACK PEARLS 280 General purpose carbon black suitable for a variety of tinting, coloring, and UV applications.
BLACK PEARLS 450A111 All purpose regular color specialty black that is easy-to-process and can be used in high loading masterbatches.
Multi-purpose regular color black for coloration and UV / weatherability performance across a range of plastics
ELFTEX® 570
applications.
Offers a balance of jetness and bluetone without sacrificing ease-of-dispersion characteristics for use in a broad
BLACK PEARLS 630
range of polymers.
VULCAN® 9A32 Provides excellent UV protection in plastic applications where weathering and cleanliness are paramount.
BLACK PEARLS 717
Easy to process medium color specialty black offering a balance of high loadability and jetness.
MONARCH 717
BLACK PEARLS 4840 Medium color, easy to disperse specialty black specifically for engineering resins.
BLACK PEARLS 800 Offers an optimal balance of properties including high jetness, blue undertone, excellent UV protection and low
MONARCH 800 viscosity in applications for plastics.
BLACK PEARLS 900 Offers a balance of color and viscosity where superior jetness is required for interior/exterior automotive, electronic,
MONARCH 900 appliance and business machine applications.
Provides very high color jetness in some automotive engineering polymers, especially in various polyamide
BLACK PEARLS 1300
applications.
Specialty black offering medium jetness with excellent dispersibility and masterbatch dilutability; suitable for use in
BLACK PEARLS 4350
plastic materials that are intended to comply with U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) requirements.1, 2
BLACK PEARLS 4750 Specialty black offering very high jetness and blue undertone; suitable for use in plastic materials that are intended to
MONARCH 4750 comply with U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) requirements.1, 2
Note: For specialty carbon black products offered in both pellet and fluffy form, MONARCH is the fluffy form.
The data in the table above are typical test values intended as guidance only, and are not product specifications. Product specifications are
available from your Cabot representative.
1. Information current at publication. For assurance that a carbon black product can be used in food contact applications, a Cabot issued food contact
certification statement is required. Please contact your local Cabot representative.
2. T his product meets U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requirements (21 CFR 178.3297) for contact with food when used as a colorant in polymers.
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SPECIALTY CARBON BLACKS FOR PLASTIC MOLDED PARTS
Representative physical properties
Typical applications Physical properties ASTM ASTM ASTM ASTM ASTM
D-1510 D-2414 D-3265 D-1514 D-1513
General Iodine OAN 325 mesh
Consumer Industrial Tint Pellet density
purpose and Pellets Fluffy number (cc/ residue
goods applications (%) (kg/m3)
utility (mg/g) 100g) (ppm)
• • • 30 65 58 <200 510
• • 36 90 60 <200 450
• • 43 121 60 <200 365
• • 82 73 109 <25 450
• • • • 121 114 115 <50 345
• • • 136 98 121 <25 380
• • • 142 118 120 <30 352
• • • • 181 57 137 <200 495
• • • 205 90 <100 430
• • • • 258 71 152 <200 430
• • • • 258 67 153 <200 425
• • • - 96 121 <100 433
• • 116 70 121 <100 443
• • • 260 120 145 <200 307
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Additional references
This Product Application Guide provides specific information about our specialty carbon blacks for use in non-conductive molding
applications. For other application-specific product recommendations and broader product portfolio information, please visit
cabotcorp.com or contact your Cabot representative.
NORTH AMERICA SOUTH AMERICA EUROPE MIDDLE EAST & AFRICA ASIA PACIFIC JAPAN
Cabot Corporation Business Cabot Brasil Industria SIA Cabot Latvia Cabot Dubai Cabot China Ltd. Cabot Specialty Chemicals Inc.
and Technology Center e Comericio Ltda. 101 Mukusalas Street P.O. Box 17894 558 Shuangbai Road Sumitomo Shiba-Daimon Bldg. 3F
157 Concord Road Rua do Paraiso 148 - 5 andar Riga, LV-1004, Jebel Ali Free Zone Shanghai 201108 2-5-5 Shiba Daimon,
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Billerica, MA 01821 - USA Brazil T +371 6705 0700 Dubai T +86 21 5175 8800 Tokyo 105-0012
Technical service T +55 11 2144 6400 F +371 6705 0985 United Arab Emirates F +86 21 6434 5532 Japan
T +1 800 462 2313 F +55 11 3253 0051 T +971 4 8871800 T +81 3 6820 0255
Customer service F +971 4 8871801 F +81 3 5425 4500
T +1 678 297 1300
F +1 678 297 1245
The data and conclusions contained herein are based on work believed to be reliable, however, Cabot cannot and does not guarantee that similar results and/or conclusions will be obtained by others. This
information is provided as a convenience and for informational purposes only. No guarantee or warranty as to this information, or any product to which it relates, is given or implied. This information may contain
inaccuracies, errors or omissions and CABOT DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AS TO (i) SUCH INFORMATION, (ii) ANY PRODUCT
OR (iii) INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY INFRINGEMENT. In no event is Cabot responsible for, and Cabot does not accept and hereby disclaims liability for, any damages whatsoever in connection with the use of
or reliance on this information or any product to which it relates.
BLACK PEARLS, ELFTEX, MONARCH and VULCAN are registered trademarks of Cabot Corporation.
© 2013-2016 Cabot Corporation.
cabotcorp.com 9/2016
