PLANTS AND PROJECTS

Chemical Engineering Progress, Apr 2008

ACCIONA Dedicates Nevada Solar One Plant

ACCIONA (www.accionaenergia. com), an Alcobendas, Spain-based leader in renewable energy technologies, has dedicated Nevada Solar One, a 64-MW concentrating solar power plant based in Boulder City, NV. The plant - the world's third largest of its kind, and the largest to be built anywhere in 16 years - was inaugurated on Feb. 22, 2008, at a gathering that included leading scientists, environmentalists, federal and state officials, and industry executives.

Spread over 400 desert acres, the Nevada Solar One plant uses a parabolic trough design employing 182,000 curved mirrors that track and concentrate the sun's rays. This technology reportedly has the potential to compete directly with conventional fossil fuel powered technologies.

Nevada Solar One, which creates clean energy for more than 14,000 homes, bolsters Nevada's position as the largest per-capita producer of solar power in the U.S.

The plant is an important part of ACCIONA's plan to reduce the world's CO2 emissions by 220 million tons in the next 23 years. This is a full 1% of the 18.4 billion tons that must be eliminated from the world's powergeneration industry by the 2030 milestone set by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Eastman Expands Copolyester Capacity

Eastman Chemical Co. (www.eastman. com) will expand production capacity for its new-generation Tritan copolyester products at its facility in Kingsport, TN. The expansion, expected to be completed by late 2009, includes both the construction of new manufacturing facilities as well as conversion of some existing operations. Eastman anticipates annual growth of 6%-8% for the global copolyester market, including products like Tritan - which has generated market demand from manufacturers of housewares and appliances, as well as for extruded sheet applications. Tritan offers the clarity and chemical resistance of traditional copolyesters, with higher heat resistance, improved design flexibility and ease of processing.

UOP to Establish Natural Gas Operations Center in Malaysia

UOP LLC (www.uop.com) will establish a natural-gas-processing design center in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to better serve the Southeast Asia market. The new design center will initially focus on projects involving UOP's Separex membrane systems, which are used to remove impurities from natural gas streams. The Separex systems are modular, skid-mounted units containing either spiral-wound or hollow-fiber membranes. Depending on the application, these systems require less capital and energy than competing technologies and provide smaller footprints, allowing for lower costs and easier installation on off-shore platforms.

UOP LLC, a subsidiary of Honey well international, Inc., headquartered in Des Plaines, IL, is an international supplier and licensor of process technology, catalysts, adsorbents, process plants and consulting services to the petroleum refining, petrochemical and gas processing industries.