Black masterbatch: Advantages and 5 most common applications

According to some statistics, black masterbatch is the second-largest consumed color masterbatch worldwide. Thanks to its outstanding advantages, black masterbatch has been widely used in various applications. In this article, let’s find out how it benefits us and its 5 most common uses.

As we already know, color masterbatch plays a vital role in creating attractive appearances for plastic products. According to some reports, black masterbatches market size is estimated to be USD 2.4 billion in 2021 and is projected to reach USD 3.0 billion by 2026, at a CAGR of 4.4 % between 2021 and 2026. Though this growth has been somehow slowed down by negative impacts of Covid-19, it is expected to revive gradually as well as generating more demand in the future.

What is black masterbatch made of?

Black masterbatch is a combination of black carbon pigment, incorporated with virgin resin and specific additives in a granular form. Depending on end-products’ requirements, those components along with proportion will be adjusted and customized accordingly, making it perfectly meet customers’ expectations.

How does black masterbatch benefit us?

Compared to other coloring methods, color masterbatch seems to be the most optimal type of colorant thanks to its composition. Unlike pigment, which is commonly in the powdered form, color masterbatch is in the granular form. This shape introduces several benefits to manufacturers.

Great dispersion: The biggest advantage of color masterbatch is definitely the great dispersion. Unlike pigments, color masterbatch disperses more evenly on the products’ surface as it includes resin that’s been already used in end-products, thus boosting products’ color fastness.

Properties enhancement: Secondly, black masterbatch allows manufacturers to add other additives for more functionalities such as UV resistance, abrasion resistance,… Hence, it significantly improves end-products’ overall mechanical properties.

Affordability : This is definitely a plus point of color masterbatch in comparison with compound. Though both of them are in masterbatch form, compound is considerably expensive due to its complicated manufacturing process. Whereas, black-color masterbatch is easy to produce in bulk with simple technology, thus making it the top-of-mind when it comes to coloring methods.

Thanks to its outstanding advantages, the demand for color masterbatch has witnessed a significant growth year by year, making it the second-largest contributor to the color masterbatch’s overall consumption. This growth is mainly driven by the increasing need for innovative and attractive plastic products.

5 most common applications of black masterbatch

Let’s figure out how black masterbatch is effectively applied in a wide range of applications.

Automotive compounding

As you may not know, automotive is the largest end-use industry for black masterbatches market. Since plastic has gradually come into use in the automotive industry with a view to decreasing overall weight and cutting down on production cost, the demand for black masterbatch is growing rapidly.

Generally, black-color masterbatch is embedded into engineering compounds in order to create attractive appearance for end-products. Compound is a specific material which is tailor made to fit end-products’ requirements. Normally, this substance is applied in exterior applications such as vehicle bodies, bumper, headlamp lenses, body side protection strips, window sealing profiles, and tires.

Not only does it deliver a high level of color permanence, black compound also contains various reinforcements and specific additives, which effectively preserve colors as well as preventing external factors from degrading your products’ surface. In other words, the addition of black-color masterbatch remarkably upholds your end-products’ performance and lengthens its service life.

Packaging films

Another common application of black-color masterbatch is packaging films (such as garbage bags, shopping bags,…) Thanks to the granular form, it disperses more evenly on the end-products surface. Moreover, manufacturers can easily adjust the formula along with loading rate to make it suit the end-products best.

Pipes and conduits

Pipes, tubing, fencing, deck railings,… are amongst the most common extruded applications of black masterbatches. Not only offers end-products attractive looks, it also assists in creating a protective layer, which prevents chemicals from deteriorating end-products’ surface as well as enhancing their impact strength and wear resistance.

Geomembrane industry

The geomembrane industry has traditionally used pre-coloured compounds but more and more geomembrane manufacturers are adding masterbatches to the virgin resin. The role of the masterbatch and carbon black is to provide optimum UV and thermal protection of the membrane. As carbon black is one the most effective and most widely used light stabilizer for plastic materials, it is commonly embedded into masterbatch to improve the UV resistance ability of geomembrane.

*More and more geomembrane manufacturers are adding masterbatches to the virgin resin*

Moreover, due to its unique surface chemistry, carbon black limits the degradation process that occurs in the polymer. Most of the masterbatch types however contain additional antioxidant packages that provide long term heat ageing protection as well as processing safety.

Recycled black masterbatch for various applications

With a view to delivering cost effectiveness, a new line of black masterbatches that contain 100% recycled content has been introduced. It is said to be made of 100% recycled carbon black from post-consumer tires and polyethylene (PE) resin from a recycled stream, thus helping manufacturers save costs as well as achieving the same performance as many standard grades of carbon black.

From the sustainability standpoint, the use of 100% recycled content delivers major advantages. Every ton of feedstock used in the recovery process results in the elimination of one ton of oil in the production process and 1.4 tons of CO2 emissions. The black colorant in the form of masterbatch offers a cost savings from 5% to 10% over standard grades and can be used in many traditional applications such as film, sheet, and molded items.

PolyFill black masterbatch

Having entered the plastic raw material market for nearly 5 years, PolyFill takes pride in providing manufacturers top-quality color masterbatch. In which, black masterbatches are one of our best sellers. Thanks to the perfect combination of carbon black, virgin resin and specific additives, PolyFill black masterbatch delivers excellent dispersion and superior fastness. Most importantly, our masterbatches are always customized to exactly meet your requirements.

Currently, PolyFill offers customers with various types of black-color masterbatches, which are available in over 80 countries. For further details and consultation, don’t hesitate to contact us HERE!