The chemical structure of C in pyrolytic carbon black(PCB) from the pyrolysis of used tires in a pilot-scale rotary kiln was analyzed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS).The surface charging and background were corrected and the asymmetrical and symmetrical peaks were fitted by “asymmetrical Gaussian-Lorentzian sum function” and “Gaussian function”

respectively. It was found that when pyrolysis was complete at a temperature above 500℃

the chemical structure of C in the bulk of PCB was similar to commercial carbon black(CCB) N660

but different from the PCB surface layer containing absorbates and deposits.At a higher pyrolysis temperature

the content of graphitic C in the surface layer increased. When pyrolysis was not complete at 450℃

the content of graphitic C in the bulk was low and the surface layer was thinner.The PCB was sieved

and the smaller the PCB particle diameter

the lower the content of graphitic C. The thickness of the PCB surface layer was about 0.2 mm and the chemical structure of C in the bulk of PCB was not affected by the surface layer.