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Chemical and Process Thermodynamics

This book review summarizes two technical books: 1) The Science and Technology of Coal and Coal Utilization focuses on modern coal utilization technologies like gasification and liquefaction rather than conventional methods. It is written from a US perspective and provides extensive references. However, it does not adequately discuss circulating fluidized beds and presents many topics at a detailed level, making it difficult for readers to gain a comprehensive overview. 2) Chemical and Process Thermodynamics is praised as one of the better textbooks on the subject. It clearly presents thermodynamics concepts in a logical progression. However, it only superficially covers processes in the final sections, failing to live up to the implication of "Process" in the title.

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Rangga Said
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254 views

Chemical and Process Thermodynamics

This book review summarizes two technical books: 1) The Science and Technology of Coal and Coal Utilization focuses on modern coal utilization technologies like gasification and liquefaction rather than conventional methods. It is written from a US perspective and provides extensive references. However, it does not adequately discuss circulating fluidized beds and presents many topics at a detailed level, making it difficult for readers to gain a comprehensive overview. 2) Chemical and Process Thermodynamics is praised as one of the better textbooks on the subject. It clearly presents thermodynamics concepts in a logical progression. However, it only superficially covers processes in the final sections, failing to live up to the implication of "Process" in the title.

Uploaded by

Rangga Said
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Cknicol lZnginrr_ Scien.x, Vol. 40. No. 4. pp. 683 684. 1985.

Pergamon PressLtd. Printed in Great Britain.

..............................................................................................

The Science and Technology of Coal and Coal Utilization. on new developments), role of impurities, catalysis for coal
Edited by 3. R. COOPER and W. A. ELLINGSON. Plenum Press, liquefaction, materials of construction (the hrgest chapter)
New York, 1984,666 pp., $85 and instrumentation.
The book is well written in general with small but clear
illustrations. However, the fact that much detailed and
The editors hope “that this book will allow a technically ;E~I; information is given on the various topics in relatively
educated person to become aware of the general aspects of urnmanes, does not make it easy reading. Each chapter
coal utilization, from characterization of coal itself to the ends with an extensive list of references, covering develop
processes of coal utilization”. Therefore, one would expect ments up to 1981. A short index completes the book.
that conventional coal utilization technologies as applied in The different authors of the various chapters all come from
the power, cement and metallurgical industries would be U.S. universities or research institutes. As a consequence, the
discussed in the book, but this is not the case. various topics are mostly based on U.S. developments and
Instead, it concentrates on a number of modern develop- experience.
ments and research activities, such as coal gasification and The intention of the book is “to bring an established
indirect liquefaction, direct liquefaction, fluidized bed com- research worker or graduate student with little or no knowl-
bustion, coal-fired open-cycle magnetohydrodynamic plants edge of coal utilization related research to the point of being
and fuel cell power plant systems. able, with sufficient reference to cited work, to productively
The latter two subjects are more general in nature and not participate in or initiate coal research programmes”. It is hard
written specifically for coal. Circulating fluid beds are not to imagine that this can be done in one book covering many
discussed at all in the review of fluid bed combustion. This is subjects. Further study is certainly required, in particular, on
unfortunate since the high fuel flexibility makes it an present-day technologies and experiences.
interesting and useful development.
Supporting chapters cover coal characterization, coal J. W. VAN BREUGEL
preparation (which also concentrates, for the major part, Shell Coal International Ltd.

Chemical and Process Thermodynamics. By B. G. KYLE. case. On the other hand, the student reading the book from
Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1984, xvi the beginning is led step-by-step through the intricacies of
+ 512pp., k36.05 thermodynamics much as one would hope to achieve in a well
thought-out lecture course.
This is one of the better books on chemical engineering The first third of the book is taken up with the presentation
thermodynamics. Student text books written for the of the ideas and functions of thermodynamics as illustrated by
American market have a bad habit of being excessively flabby, the properties of simple, single-phase substances and their
particularly in the earlier chapters where the most trivial behaviour. Then follows an extensive section, nearly 50 per
points, such as how to measure temperature with a liquid in cent in terms of the number of pages, on phase and chemical
glass thermometer, are expounded at great length. This book equilibrium. These sections cover most of the topics which
by Kyle does not fall into that category. The text is clear, one would expect, but there are one or two surprises. Thus, for
concise and logical. Even the worked problems are carefully example, liquid-vapour equilibrium is discussed extensively,
chosen to illustrate points. They are, of course, fewer in both from ideal mixing and non-ideal mixing standpoints and
number than in the flabby textbook in which one is often left the book even contains a few pages on the prediction of phase
with the impression that the author has tried to pack in as behaviour. However, there is no mention of the thermo-
niany as possible without any consideration of the desirability dynamics of distillation as a stage process and in particular,
of so doing. Needless to say, Kyle has also selected his the necessity for including enthalpy in these considerations.
problems for the student to do himself with the same degree Similarly, chemical equilibrium is discussed, but not the
of care. thermodynamics of a chemical reactor. I find omissions, such
The author has taken the approach that he was writing a as these, surprising in a book which includes “Process
teaching book rather than a reference book. Thus, often. he Thermodynamics” in its title.
presents a much simplified version of a topic to get over basic Processes as such, are really only considered in the final 100
ideas and follows it up later with a more rigorous. extended pages of the book and, for the most part, very superficially.
treatment. Sometimes, the follow-up comes much later and This criticism cannot be applied to the first chapter in this
herein lies a danger. A student picking up the book and section, on “availability” and its application to the thermo-
dipping into it to find the answer to a particular question is as dynamic analysis of processes, which is of the right depth.
likely as not to find himself reading the simplified version and However, in the following chapter, the author dismisses
unless he reads the section very carefully, is unlikely to be compression and expansion of gases, JouleThomson expan-
aware that it is simplified and perhaps not applicable to his sion, liquefaction of gases, refrigeration, heat pumps, power

683
684 Book Reviews

generation and cogeneration of steam and power, all in 32 inclusion of “Process” in the title. In my opinion, they have
pages. The final chapter on compressible fluid flow is not failed to achieve this objective.
much better. One is left with the feeling that these last two
chapters are an after-thought, included. perhaps, to justify the G. SAVILLE

Thermodynamic Properties of Nonelectrolyte Solutions. NRTL,UNIQUAC.UNIFAC, ASOG,AEC,etc.Inthelast


By W. E. ACREE.Academic Press, Orlando, U.S.A.,, 1984, four chapters we return to the descriptive thermodynamics of
308 pp., U.S. $65.00. liquid-liquid equilibrium, axeotropy, the solubility of solids
aid gas-iiquid chromatography. -_
This book, although from a Department of Chemistry, is The first and last sections contain little that cannot be
clearly intended more for the chemical engineer than for the found in other books and are restricted to the treatment of
academic chemist. The hrst four chapters are a straightfor- solutions at, and below, atmospheric pressure. The middle
ward account of the thermodynamics of nonionic solutions, section is more novel and useful since it discusses critically
and the next four of the many semi-empirical schemes of methods that are not so easy to learn about except from the
prediction that have been devised to help the engineer who primary literature.
needs a value for an unmeasured thermodynamic property. The price is U.S. 21 cent per page, which is about twice the
The older of these schemes are known by the names of their cost of many monographs published in 1984.
authors and the more recent by less euphonious acronyms;
van Laar, Hildebrand-Seatchard. Glory-Huggins, Wilson, J. S. ROWLINSON

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