Ontario company takes world’s first plant-based carbon black substitute to market

By Lilian Schaer for AgInnovation Ontario     Source: AgInnovation

Leamington – Using specially grown crops and agricultural plant wastes, a local company has commercialized the world’s first plant-based substitute for carbon black.

Black plastic gets its colour from carbon black, a co-product of oil refining that is both non-renewable and deemed a possible human carcinogen by the International Agency on Research on Cancer.

There has been no alternative until now, with Competitive Green Technologies’ development of BIOBLAKR®, a bio-carbon using patent-pending technology invented at the University of Guelph’s Bioproducts Discovery and Development Centre.

“Using raw materials such as biomass crops like switchgrass and miscanthus, co-products of food processing and under-valued streams of agriculture like soy and rice hulls, we’ve commercialized this new carbon made entirely from a bio-source,” explains Atul Bali, CEO of Competitive Green Technologies.

BIOBLAKR® contains United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) certified 99 per cent new organic carbon, which is carbon derived from plants and other renewable agricultural, marine, and forestry materials. Old organic carbon originates from petroleum.atul-bali-with-car-part-made-from-carbon-black-webA key application for bio-carbon is as a filler and reinforcement agent in making lighter, high-stiffness car parts without compromising safety. This is important if automakers are to meet the new fleet vehicle average fuel economy standard set by the Centre for Automotive Fuel Economy in the U.S. of 54.5 miles per gallon (4.32 litres/100 kilometres) by 2025. The most fuel efficient vehicle is currently at 36.5 mpg (6.44 l/100 km).