Carbon black manufacturers and suppliers for plastics fall into a short list once masterbatch resellers and rubber-only producers are set aside: our source library verifies two of them in detail, Cabot and Orion Engineered Carbons, plus a third, Birla Carbon, named without a full profile yet. A buyer searching "carbon black manufacturers" is usually one step past the additive decision and one step short of a request for quote, so this directory goes straight to the company, the grade and the document a supplier should hand over before a price is discussed.
Sourcing carbon black differs from sourcing most other plastic pigments because the product is not one grade but a family, sorted by primary particle size (N550, N330, N110) and by whether it ships as neat powder, beads or a pre-let-down masterbatch. That distinction, not the company name, decides whether a quote is comparable to the next one.
This page lists the verified producers with their headquarters and brand lines, sets out the grade and dispersion checks that belong in a supplier conversation, states carbon black's REACH, EU food-contact and FDA status for sourcing purposes, and closes with how to send one request for quotes to several suppliers at once. Full particle-morphology, dosage-by-polymer and mechanism detail lives on the carbon black in plastics substance page; this page stays on the sourcing decision.
What Is Carbon Black and Which Companies Supply It?#
Carbon black (C.I. Pigment Black 7, CAS 1333-86-4) is paracrystalline elemental carbon that plastics processors buy as a black pigment, a UV screen for polyolefins and, in high-structure grades, a conductive filler. It reaches the compounder as powder, beads, a pre-dispersed masterbatch or a finished conductive compound, and each form is sold by a different mix of suppliers.
Three producers cover most of the specialty carbon black used in plastics, sold under the brand lines in the directory below: Cabot, Orion Engineered Carbons and Birla Carbon. This is a directory of manufacturers, so it does not repeat the full particle-size, mechanism and dosage-by-polymer detail already set out on the carbon black in plastics substance page; it is one of 27 supplier-category directories in our plastic additives database, each built the same way, from verified company to verified grade to a request for quote.
Carbon Black Manufacturers and Suppliers for Plastics: The Directory#
Three companies are named as carbon black producers for plastics in our source library, and full company detail, headquarters and brand lines are confirmed for one of them today. The table lists all three in the order our sources confirm the most about them; an empty cell means the value is not yet confirmed against a primary source, not that the company lacks that attribute.
| Company | Headquarters | Brand lines for plastics | What they supply | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cabot Corporation | Boston, Massachusetts, US | BLACK PEARLS, ELFTEX, VULCAN; PLASBLAK (masterbatch); CABELEC (conductive compounds) | Pigment and conductive carbon blacks, black masterbatch and conductive compounds for plastics | Cabot's plastic additives portfolio (in progress) |
| Orion Engineered Carbons | Not yet confirmed | Specialty carbon black for polymers | Named uses in our sources: pipes for gas and water, food packaging, agricultural film | Orion Engineered Carbons' carbon black for plastics (in progress) |
| Birla Carbon | Not yet confirmed | Not yet confirmed | Carbon black grades for plastics applications | Not yet published |
Company and grade data come from our supplier source library. Confirm current grades and certifications on the producer's own data sheet before ordering.
Cabot Corporation#
Cabot Corporation is the carbon black manufacturer with the most complete verified profile in our source library, headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. It sells three pigment-grade brand lines into plastics, BLACK PEARLS, ELFTEX and VULCAN furnace blacks, plus a masterbatch line, PLASBLAK, and a conductive-compound line, CABELEC. Its full manufacturer profile, Cabot's plastic additives portfolio, is in progress; until it publishes, this table is the primary reference on this site for Cabot's plastics-grade carbon black.
Orion Engineered Carbons#
Orion Engineered Carbons is a specialty carbon black producer for polymers, named in our sources for three plastics uses: pipes for gas and water, food packaging and agricultural film. Its headquarters and full brand-line data are not yet confirmed against a primary source, so this page states only what our source library verifies rather than filling the gap from memory. A dedicated profile, Orion Engineered Carbons' carbon black for plastics, is in progress.
Birla Carbon#
Birla Carbon is named in our source library as a producer of carbon black grades for plastics applications, without the headquarters or brand-line detail available for Cabot. It is listed here so a buyer knows the company exists in the specialty carbon black market; a verified plastics profile is not yet published, and this page will link to one once the underlying facts are confirmed.
How Do You Choose a Carbon Black Grade and Supplier?#
Choosing a carbon black grade and supplier takes 6 checks, and only the last one is about price. Confirm the primary particle size against the exposure the part will see. Match the dosage to the standard that governs the part, whether that is a pipe standard, a geomembrane standard or a food-contact regulation. Ask whether the product ships as neat pigment or as a masterbatch, since the two are priced and dosed differently. Request the dispersion rating for any masterbatch grade. Confirm the regulatory route the grade is cleared under for your market. Compare price per kilogram of active carbon black, not per kilogram of masterbatch, once the first five checks are settled.
Carbon Black Particle Size and Grade Selection#
Carbon black grade selection starts with primary particle size, because size sets both the depth of black and the level of UV protection a compound gets at a given loading. Ampacet's pipe-compound guidance names three grades in common use: N550 at a nominal 40 to 48 nanometres, which is sufficient for standard service; N330 at 26 to 30 nanometres; and N110 below 20 nanometres, both reserved for parts exposed outdoors for longer than 3 to 5 years. A finer particle gives a blacker, more UV-resistant compound and is correspondingly harder to disperse, so the grade decision and the dispersion check belong in the same conversation with a supplier.
Carbon Black Masterbatch Letdown Ratio and Dispersion#
A carbon black masterbatch is diluted into the base resin at a letdown ratio, and the standard North American black masterbatch for pipe compounds carries 35% carbon black, let down at 5 to 6.5% in the finished part. That is a ratio of about 19:1 to 14:1, and masterbatches carrying more than 40% carbon black are avoided because dispersion becomes unreliable at that concentration. A masterbatch is typically built on an MLDPE or LLDPE carrier with a melt index below 20, and dispersion is rated under ISO 18553, the standard a buyer should ask a masterbatch supplier to report against. The same letdown logic applies to black masterbatch for non-pipe applications, where the target percentage changes with the part specification rather than with the standard.
How Is Carbon Black Regulated for Sourcing Decisions?#
Carbon black sourcing touches three separate regulatory routes: REACH registration in the EU, a food-contact clearance route that differs between the EU and the US, and a hazard listing under California's Proposition 65. None of the three blocks plastics use; each sets a condition a buyer should be able to point to when a customer or auditor asks.
Is Carbon Black REACH Registered?#
Carbon black (CAS 1333-86-4, EC 215-609-9) is registered under Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 (REACH) in the 1,000,000 to 10,000,000 tonne per year band, with more than 100 active registration dossiers. It sits on the CoRAP list for substance evaluation, is not on the SVHC Candidate List and is not covered by Annex XIV or Annex XVII. A supplier's REACH and plastic additives status is checked per legal entity, not per substance in general, so a REACH claim from a named producer should point to that producer's own registration.
Is Carbon Black Allowed in EU Food-Contact Plastics Under 10/2011?#
Carbon black is allowed in EU food-contact plastics under Regulation (EU) No 10/2011 as FCM substance No. 411 (Ref. 42080), up to a maximum use level of 2.5% w/w in the polymer. The entry is a purity specification, not a migration limit, so carbon black carries no SML: toluene extractables are capped at 0.1% by ISO 6209 and benzo(a)pyrene at 0.25 mg/kg carbon black, with primary particles of 10 to 300 nm. Full FCM and group-restriction detail is set out under EU 10/2011, the regulation that governs every food-contact plastic additive sold into the EU.
Is Carbon Black Cleared Under FDA Food Contact Rules?#
Carbon black is cleared for US food-contact plastics under 21 CFR 178.3297, which lists channel-process carbon black without a numeric limit and caps high-purity furnace black at 2.5% by weight of the polymer, with total PAH at or below 0.5 ppm and benzo[a]pyrene at or below 5.0 ppb. Separately, carbon black has been listed under California's Proposition 65 since 21 February 2003 as airborne, unbound particles of respirable size, and is classified IARC Group 2B; neither listing is a food-contact restriction. The full clearance text is set out in the FDA food contact rules that cover this and every other cleared plastic additive.
Are There Carbon Black Manufacturers in India or China?#
Our source library verifies two carbon black manufacturers for plastics in detail, Cabot and Orion Engineered Carbons, and does not yet confirm a country-specific carbon black producer headquartered in India or China. Cabot's confirmed headquarters is in the United States; Orion Engineered Carbons' headquarters is not yet confirmed. A buyer sourcing regionally can start from the plastic additive manufacturers in India directory, which is live today, and the plastic additive manufacturers in China hub, which is in progress and will list country-specific carbon black producers once they are verified rather than named from memory.
How Do You Request a Quote for Carbon Black?#
Requesting a quote for carbon black starts with the grade and the dosage basis, not the company name, because a masterbatch price per kilogram is never comparable with a neat pigment price per kilogram of the same nominal grade. Send one request that states the grade or the primary particle size, the polymer and application, the volume, and the delivery country, and use it against several suppliers at once rather than negotiating one quote at a time.
Ask a supplier for three documents before comparing a price, not a grade name alone:
- The grade's primary particle size and, where relevant, its ASTM-style designation (N550, N330, N110).
- The PAH and benzo(a)pyrene certificate for any food-contact or drinking-water application.
- The dispersion rating of the masterbatch, reported under ISO 18553.
Send that request through the plastic additive supplier finder, which routes one submission to several verified carbon black suppliers at once. A sample request is the second option once a grade is shortlisted.
What Drives the Carbon Black Price?#
No sourced price figure for carbon black appears on this page, because our source library holds no verified quotation for it; the price and its drivers are tracked separately. Pricing questions belong on a page built for that purpose rather than answered from memory here.
The dedicated carbon black price guide tracks the range and its drivers, including feedstock and grade effects on cost, separately from company data, so this directory can stay limited to producers, grades and sourcing checks that our source library actually verifies.
Carbon Black Grades Compared: N550, N330 and N110#
Three grades cover most plastics sourcing decisions, distinguished by primary particle size rather than by brand name. The comparison below uses the values Ampacet publishes for pipe-compound design, the same values referenced in the grade-selection check above.
| Grade | Primary particle size | Typical service level (per Ampacet) |
|---|---|---|
| N550 | 40-48 nm | Standard service; sufficient unless exposure exceeds 3-5 years |
| N330 | 26-30 nm | Outdoor exposure longer than 3-5 years |
| N110 | Below 20 nm | Longest outdoor exposure and highest UV protection, hardest to disperse |
A grade comparison turns on a small set of variables: particle size, aggregate structure, surface treatment and the dispersion rating a supplier reports for its masterbatch form.
Is Carbon Black Safe in Food-Contact and Consumer Plastics?#
Carbon black is permitted in food-contact plastics in both the EU and the US within the limits above, and a 2011 Canadian screening assessment concluded that continued use, including in food packaging, is acceptable because the pigment stays bound in the polymer matrix. The Proposition 65 listing and the IARC Group 2B classification apply to airborne, unbound particles of respirable size, an occupational and manufacturing-site exposure route, not to carbon black bound inside a finished plastic article. Carbon black is not on the SVHC Candidate List and is not restricted under REACH Annex XIV or Annex XVII. The EU route runs through EU 10/2011 and the US route through the FDA food contact rules, the same two clearances set out above for sourcing purposes.
Why Only a Small Share of Carbon Black Production Reaches Plastics#
About 70% of world carbon black production goes into tyres and a further 20% into other rubber goods, leaving roughly 10% for pigment use across inks, coatings and plastics combined, a 2015 estimate our source library holds at 13.2 million tonnes worth USD 13.7 billion. Plastics take a fraction of that remaining tenth, which is why the specialty grades named in this directory are sold as a separate product line rather than as a side channel of tyre-grade material. No plastics-only production or sourcing volume is recorded in our source library, so none is stated here.