Commodites co. buys into Delta-Energy

STAMFORD, Conn. — Commodities merchant Castleton Commodities International L.L.C. has bought majority ownership of Delta-Energy Group L.L.C., a resource recovery company providing recycling solutions to the tire industry, including a patented process to recover carbon black and marketable liquid chemicals from used tires.

Bridgestone Americas, which is considered an "early-stage investor" in Delta-Energy dating back to 2014, will continue to be an active, but minority, investor, Castleton said.

Delta-Energy claims its carbon-black recovery process provides a significant reduction of carbon emissions compared with traditional processes for producing virgin carbon black and fuel oils.

Financial terms of Castleton's investment are not being disclosed.

Proceeds from the investment will be used to develop a commercial-scale plant in Natchez, Miss., with an estimated daily processing capacity of 100 tons of end-of-use-tires, Castleton said.

Delta-Energy's commercial plant will recover carbon black and other basic materials for reuse in tire production and other rubber-related manufacturing processes, as well as liquid solvents and fuels. The investment will further expand CCI's activities in the renewables sector, which include nearly 20 biomass electric generation facilities, emissions trading and biofuels marketing.

"The founders of Delta-Energy have achieved technological proof of concept in large part thanks to early-stage support from Bridgestone," said Nicholas Haslett, CCI's chief strategy officer. "As an industry leader, Bridgestone's commitment to Delta-Energy validates the quality and market potential for the company's products.

"CCI will bring experience in developing and operating midstream and conversion assets, as well as access to one of the largest physical oil liquids marketing franchises, while Bridgestone will provide offtake capacity for DEG-produced recovered carbon black and continue to identify opportunities to substitute the DEG recovered product for virgin carbon black.".