REPLACING CARBON BLACK
When OurCarbon is used as a black pigment, its impact is compounded. Carbon black is the ubiquitous black pigment that colors our manmade black objects. Textiles, footwear, electronics, plastics, inks, and paints are all colored black by the high carbon content in this toxic pigment.
The process that creates carbon black begins by burning fossil fuels in a kiln that has been designed to create large plumes of soot particulate. This soot is the raw material that makes up the black pigment we interact with every day.
For every one ton of carbon black produced, there are around 3 tons of CO2e emitted into our atmosphere.
Modern society has inherited ‘waste’ practices that are deeply flawed, resulting in significant emissions, toxicity to ecosystems, and a loss of the value these ‘wastes’ offer. Biosolids, for example, is a municipal waste stream produced every day around the world at wastewater treatment plants at the scale of 350,000 tons a day, yet current management options only lead to methane emissions (in landfill) and the proliferation of contaminants into food systems and our own population (in agricultural land application). Of the 5.8 million dry tons of biosolids produced every year in the US, 46% go to landfill and emit as greenhouse gas, 46% are land applied where PFAS, microplastics, pharmaceuticals, and other contaminants leach and disperse into ecosystems.
Simultaneously, consumer facing brands of apparel, goods, and accessories have inherited equally destructive and toxic production materials, and are seeking cleaner material innovations. Across all goods producing sectors, carcinogenic and fossil dependent raw materials like carbon black pigments are suspended in media that can be harmful to human health to be used in inks, dyes, and coatings that the public interacts with on a daily basis.
OUR IMPACT
OurCarbon is a biomaterials company focused on shifting both of these practices by offering sustainable production materials produced from ‘wastes’ like biosolids, food waste and more formulated directly into them to be utilized to produce finished goods, apparel, and accessories. These waste streams are processed in a passive pyrolysis process and the final product is comprised of the basic elements in the feedstock. All pathogens, contaminants, and forever chemicals are broken down by the high temperatures of the process. The implementation of these production materials into finished goods enables manufacturers to transition off of petroleum dependent raw materials. The highlighted ingredient throughout all of OurCarbon’s products is a black pigment called OurCarbon Black™ which can be used to color a myriad of products and materials. This pigment itself is the sequestered carbon fixed from waste through an advanced pyrolysis process creating more energy than it uses. Based on the elemental analysis this biogenic carbon in our products is sequestered for over 1,000 years.
Reach out to receive a copy of our full life cycle assessment or learn more about our process.
OurCarbon is made by sequestering the carbon in materials that have been labeled as ‘waste.’ These materials include municipal organic waste, agricultural waste, textile waste, offcuts, and even manufacturing sludges. These organic feedstocks each produce a unique material with broad capabilities to replace fossil based materials. Our production steps are carefully tailored to eliminate harmful practices permanently and maximize impact.
01
-
The materials that we generally categorize as ‘waste’ are often composed of carbon that will break down into methane in a landfill environment. Landfills make up 20% of global anthropogenic methane emissions. To change this, we divert organic 'waste' from their path to landfill and utilize it to produce OurCarbon.
We’re able to produce our materials from contaminated and even wet waste streams. We welcome the opportunity to test the effluent or waste streams your company is currently creating to see if it can be used as a feedstock to create our products.
02
-
The diverted waste is heated in a zero oxygen environment; a process called pyrolysis. During pyrolysis the carbon that could have broken down in landfill is forced into tight bonds while producing energy used to power the process itself. This transformation turns waste into sequestered carbon and breaks down problematic chemicals like PFAS in the process. What was once an emitter of methane is now a carbon sink.
The carbon sequestered in this process is fixed for over one thousand years.
03
-
OurCarbon is a new material that can be inserted directly into industries to green supply chains and replace fossil fuel materials. We can measure and count the tons of carbon sequestered in every batch of material produced.
When used as a pigment, OurCarbon replaces the ‘business as usual’ black pigment called carbon black. This pigment colors nearly every black object in the manmade world. Carbon black is made by burning fossil fuels; for every one ton of carbon black produced ~3 tons of CO2e are emitted into our atmosphere.