FAQ
Q1: What's new about what you're making? How is it different?
The difference between G3C Technology, the first implementation of the Generation 3 Scrap Tire Conversion Technologies, and the existing technologies (Generations 1 & 2) is that instead of traditional pyrolysis it is using more sophisticated thermolysis process featuring a greater number of chemical reactions and versatile operational control, which results in higher grade product. The recovered carbon black produced includes those with surface area (the prime indicator of CB quality) that is 3 to 4 times higher than that can be produced by the Generation 2 systems and is suitable for high demand CB uses such as highway tire tread as well as semi-conductor applications.
Q2: How big is the market?
The global annual carbon black market, which can be potentially addressed by a Generation 3 Technology is greater than $16 billion. A Generation 2 Technology can potentially address only a lower grades portion of this market.
Q3: Who are your competitors? How are you different?
Of course, the natural competition includes virgin carbon black industry. However, it is coming with the cost of consuming fossil oil and gas, emitting 19 million ton of CO2 annually and cost of managing other pollutions. This is besides of 1.7 billion scrap tires mistreated every year globally.
Within the Circular Economy paradigm G3C Technology as the first and only Generation 3 Tire Conversion Technology, has no competition in the high grade (i.e. high surface area) recovered carbon black market. G3C Technology has created three new segments of the Scrap Tire to Carbon Black Conversion market, i.e. Carbon Black for Highway Tire Tread, High Grade Carbon Black for Non-Tire Rubber & Plastics and Specialty Conductive Carbon Black.
Q4: What do you understand about your business that others don't get?
G3C Technology’s ability to potentially produce any grade of carbon black including the highest grade used for cable coating is unique in the scrap tire recovery industry. According to ASTM specification the current recovery processes can only produce rCB with properties (i.e. surface area) matching N400 and N500 series grades (used for tire carcass and non-highway tread), whereas our G3C Technology is capable of producing rCB with properties (i.e. surface areas and structure) matching much larger variety of ASTM specified grades and suitable for much wider range of applications.
Q5: How will you make money?
The income of our operation will increase exponentially as we expand our worldwide business in a progressive manner: Phase I (Year 1) - Sale of proprietary equipment to existing scrap tire recovery facilities; Phase II (Year 2 and 3) - Sale of total systems to project developers; Phase III (starting from Year 4)- Build, own and operate G3C plants on a worldwide basis.
Q6: How do you acquire customers?
Phase I (sale of G3C proprietary equipment) – Customers will be existing scrap tire recovery plant owners. Substantial income improvements will result from retrofitting our key equipment into their existing system; Phase II (sale of G3C systems) – High operating income and short payback period will be the two major attractions for the project developers; Phase III (sale of rCB produced by our BOO plants) - Tire making rCB will be sold as a commodity, and High grade carbon black will be offered at a much lower price than the virgin carbon black due to much lower raw material and production costs.
Q7: How is carbon black price affected by oil price? What will be the effect on oil price if virgin carbon black for tire making is substantially replaced by recovered carbon black?
Since oil is used as raw material for the production of virgin carbon black, the price of virgin carbon black is directly affected by the cost of oil. For example, the average price of virgin carbon black for tire making purpose rises from approximately $850 to approximately $1,350 per ton when oil price rises from $45 (Spring 2016) to $70 (Spring 2018) per barrel. The price for conductive carbon black is generally in the order of $4,000 to $10,000 per ton and is not closely tied to the oil price. This is because the higher sell price is due to the higher processing costs, which substantially outweighs the raw material (oil) cost.
Q8: Can you upgrade a Generation 1 or a Generation 2 scrap tire pyrolysis plant into a Generation 3 plant?
Yes, we can upgrade an existing pyrolysis plant by adding our G3C rCB refining system to the back of an existing pyrolysis reactor to improve the quality of the rCB. An enrichment system will be added if higher rCB purity is required. This upgrade will enable the production of higher grade and higher price rCB with the use of the existing plant equipment and the same scrap tire feedstock.
Q9: Do you have to presort the tires in order to achieve consistent rCB output?
One of the major advantages of the G3C system is that our product has reduced dependency on the grade of carbon black existing in tire. It produces carbon black of desired grade from the carbon in the scrap tire by programming the conversion process, whereas the pyrolysis system recovers the carbon black that exists in the scrap tire. Our G3C system will accept any tires that contains carbon, whereas a typical pyrolysis system must process presorted tires that contain the specific grades of carbon black to be recovered.