US carbon black producer and black masterbatches specialist Cabot (Boston, Massachusetts; www.cabotcorp.com) has announced its intention to acquire Tokai Carbon's Tianjin, China, facility from the Tokai Carbon Group (Tokyo / Japan; www.tokaicarbon.co.jp) for USD 9m (EUR 7.95m). The carbon black manufacturing facility was commissioned in 2006 and is located in close proximity to Cabot’s current carbon black and speciality compounds facility in Tianjin.

The acquisition is expected to support the growth of Cabot’s Battery Materials product line. The site currently can produce up to 50,000 t/y of carbon black; Cabot plans to invest to upgrade the capabilities to produce battery grades. The parties expect to close the transaction in Q2 2022.

Cabot also recently introduced “Vulcan 3-LP”, a pelletised reinforcing carbon black with a very low level of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) for rubber. The supplier said applications for the material include those for contact with food or water and consumer goods.

Vulcan-3-LP is manufactured through a special process said to yield very low PAH content to comply with international regulatory requirements and quality certification guidelines. It is the fourth product in Cabot’s LP carbon black series and is engineered for end-use products requiring more reinforcement, strength, and abrasion and tearing resistance than semi-reinforcing carbon black materials.