Carbon black pellets and method of forming same

A method of forming carbon black pellets comprising:

• de-aerating carbon black aggregates to form de-aerated carbon black;
• introducing said de-aerated carbon black into a fluid-solids contactor;
• introducing a particulate encapsulating material into said contactor;
• and
• contacting said de-aerated carbon black with said encapsulating material for a period of time sufficient to form encapsulated carbon black pellets comprising an inner core of de-aerated carbon black and an outer surrounding shell of encapsulating material, wherein said shell has an average thickness of about 1% to about 10% of the average thickness of said pellet.