what is carbon black

Carbon black is a material produced by the incomplete combustion of coal tar, vegetable matter, or petroleum products, including fuel oil, fluid catalytic cracking tar, and ethylene cracking in a limited supply of air. It is a form of paracrystalline carbon that has a high surface-area-to-volume ratio, albeit lower than that of activated carbon. Carbon black is a fine black powder composed of elemental carbon, and it is used in a variety of applications such as strengthening rubber in tires, acting as a pigment, UV stabilizer, and conductive or insulating agent in rubber, plastic, ink, and coating applications. It is also used in hoses, conveyor belts, plastics, printing inks, and automotive coatings. Additionally, carbon black is used in the top 50 industrial chemicals manufactured worldwide, based on annual tonnage, with approximately 90% of it being used in rubber applications, 9% as a pigment, and the remaining 1% in various other applications.