Swedish firm pursuing carbon black recovery ventures in U.S.

GOTHENBURG, Sweden — A Swedish developer of a pyrolysis-based recovered carbon black (rCB) process is advancing its tire recycling ambitions in the U.S. with the recent signing of a second deal to set up a tire pyrolysis joint venture in America.

Gothenburg-based Scandinavian Enviro Systems A.B. signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in mid-December with EE-TDF Cleveland L.L.C. of Cleveland, Texas, to build a pyrolysis plant in Texas rated at 30,000 metric tons per year of rCB from scrapped tires.

EE-TDF Cleveland is a scrap tire collection and mechanical shredding enterprise that covers Houston and southern Texas. It's been in business since 2011 and has been evaluating a step like this for several years, according to Carl Frampton, comptroller.

The plant will be located at property EE-TDF acquired a few years ago, he added. The MoU will be in place for six months with an option to be extended.

"Our ambition is to sign a binding agreement over the next three months and then commence our first plant project in second quarter 2019," Enviro CEO Thomas Sörensson said.

"In the future, Enviro will be prioritizing plants with full or joint ownership," Mr. Sörensson said, setting out a new business strategy for the rCB company.

Additionally, Enviro has extended an MoU with Canadian firm Treadcraft Ltd. of Wainfleet, Ontario, to build a 30,000-ton/year rCB plant in Niagara Falls, N.Y., on a site listed by Invest Buffalo/Niagara as a "heavy industrial urban brownfield redevelopment opportunity."

Based on the MoU signed in June, construction was expected to start year-end 2018, but the two companies extended the MoU on Dec. 28 by another six months, Enviro said.

The site selected was a Union Carbide manufacturing facility from 1910-1986 and more recently owned by Santarosa Holdings Inc.

"The fact that we have a specified a site for the plant is an important step forward. We will now continue to formalize the terms and conditions of the project," Mr. Sörensson said.

Enviro said it expects to clarify the legal, financial and license issues of the plant within the next six months.