PXA pitches 100-job tire‑recycling plant in Dayton; Liberty County to consider five‑year tax abatement

PXA Properties LLC representatives told the Liberty County Commissioners Court on Jan. 29 that Project Emerald, a proposed tire‑recycling and pyrolysis facility at Gulf End Logistics Park in Dayton, would require about $50 million in Phase 1 capital and create approximately 100 jobs while processing roughly 30,000 metric tons of end‑of‑life tires a year.

The presentation, delivered by Dennis Cruz of Pristine Services Group on behalf of PXA, described a three‑stage shredding process feeding a reactor that separates oil, gas, recovered carbon black and steel. "Phase 1 is comprised of approximately 120,000 square feet under roof and approximately 100 employees," Cruz said. He added the company expects Phase 1 throughput to equal about 2,200,000 tires per year and listed expected annual outputs of roughly 8,400 tons of recovered carbon black, about 10,500 metric tons of oil and about 8,100 tons of steel.

County officials pressed PXA on safety, emissions and operations. Andy, identified in the meeting as the county fire marshal, asked about past tire‑facility fires and whether the plant would produce unprocessable waste. Cruz responded with a recovery breakdown—"steel allocates 27%, oil 35%, recovered carbon black 28% and gas 10%"—and said the company qualifies for ISCC certification because the process is designed for circular recovery. "No waste," Cruz said when describing their recovery approach.

Presenters said the gas stream is treated in a closed system and cleaned before use in onsite reactors, and that they have retained engineering consultants (BGE Inc.) to compare expected emissions against TCEQ thresholds. A company representative said the project would go through TCEQ permitting and dispersion modeling and that any county agreement would be contingent on required environmental approvals.

County staff outlined a potential five‑year real and personal property tax abatement the court could consider: 100% abatement in years one and two, 75% in year three, 50% in year four and 25% in year five. Commissioners and staff said they would review the application and supporting materials; the court made no decision at the workshop.

Cruz and his partners also noted PXA operates a similar facility in São Paulo, Brazil, and invited county officials to visit that operation. Presenters estimated a construction and permitting timeline of roughly 18–24 months, projecting initial production in early 2028 if approvals and buildout began immediately.

The court closed the workshop by thanking the company for the presentation and saying the abatement request and related permits would be considered in the near future; no vote or formal action was taken at the meeting.