DOE Conducts Energy Assessment at Catalyst and Zeolite Plant in Alabama

May 9, 2006

DOE announced on May 9th that it will launch an industrial Energy Saving Assessment at a UOP LLC manufacturing plant in Mobile, Alabama. The plant produces catalysts and zeolites for the refining, petrochemical, and consumer products industries. The plant also includes facilities for research, development, and small-scale manufacturing. Zeolites, also known as molecular sieves, are porous crystals that can absorb some molecules while rejecting others. They are mainly used for separating chemicals and drying and purifying liquids and gases. See the DOE press release and UOP's description of its manufacturing plants and zeolite products.

DOE's Energy Saving Teams have completed visits to 33 large federal facilities and are in the process of visiting 200 energy-intensive manufacturing facilities as part of the national "Easy Ways to Save Energy" campaign launched in October 2005. DOE's free three-day energy assessments are helping major manufacturing facilities to identify energy-saving opportunities, primarily by focusing on steam and process heating systems used at the plants. The first 39 industrial Energy Saving Assessments have identified a total of $101 million per year in potential energy cost savings. If implemented, these energy-saving measures could reduce natural gas consumption by more than 11.5 trillion Btu per year. See the results of many of these industrial Energy Saving Assessments on the "Save Energy Now" Web site, provided by DOE's Industrial Technologies Program.