ABSTRACT
Carbon black belongs to an important class of industrial carbons employed as reinforcing agents in rubber and as black pigments in inks, coatings, and plastics. The large majority of carbon black manufactured for use in the rubber industry is used in tire production. The remainder is used in a variety of other rubber products such as inner tubes, conveyor belts, wire and cable covering, motor mounts, fan belts, hoses, gaskets, rubber heels, and a variety of specialty elastomeric products for the consumer market. Type and loading of carbon black vary with the application and service demands to which the product is to be subjected. In a tire tread, for example, the resistance to abrasive wear is of major concern; hence, highly reinforcing blacks are required. In contrast, in tire sidewalls and ply compounds a minimum of hysteresis and low heat generation is essential, and semireinforcing blacks are generally preferred. Extruded articles, such as automotive stripping and glass run channels, require blacks with structure which provides a minimum of shrinkage and close adherence to die dimensions during extrusion.
