AkzoNobel Deal to Use Black Bear’s Carbon Black from Recycled Tyres

Paints, coatings and speciality chemicals firm, AkzoNobel, and Black Bear Carbon have teamed up to make powder coatings by recycling waste tyres in a process which has received Cradle-to-Cradle certification.

As part of the tie up, tyres that have reached the end of the road are already being recycled for carbon black and used to produce powder coatings in a new cooperation between the Dutch firms.

The Cradle-to-Cradle certified carbon black supplied by Black Bear – which is obtained from end-of-life tyres – is being used as pigment in the eco-premium products developed by AkzoNobel’s Powder Coatings business.

With this cooperation AkzoNobel not only uses carbon black, traditionally obtained from fossil fuels, with a vastly lower CO2 footprint, but also helps to solve the global waste tyre problem.

“This partnership is a great example of how the supply chain can contribute to CO2 savings,” said André Veneman, AkzoNobel’s Director of Sustainability. “We encourage more suppliers to work with us and collectively contribute to develop more sustainable product solutions.”

Powder coatings are claimed to be an inherently sustainable product as they contain no volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and produce virtually no waste. The majority of products supplied through AkzoNobel’s Interpon brand also qualify as eco-premium.

“We are pleased to have partnered with an innovative company like Black Bear,” said Klaas Kruithof, AkzoNobel’s Chief Technology Officer for Paints and Coatings. “We selected their product based on technical performance and environmental footprint, in line with our own Planet Possible agenda of doing more with less.”

In addition to announcing the agreement, the two companies will also work together to find additional applications for Black Bear’s certified carbon black.