Fundamentals of Material and Energy Balances (Chapters 2and 3) and Flow Sheeting (Chapter 4)} attempts to de® neand explain the fundamental tools used in process design.In general, the author succeeds in this objective and,although somewhat pedestrian in nature, all the necessaryfoundations are properly and effectively put in place.

The second section comprising the next ® ve chapters{Piping and Instrumentation (Chapter 5), Costing andProject Evaluation (Chapter 6), Materials of Construction(Chapter 7), Design Information and Data (Chapter 8) andSafety and Loss Prevention (Chapter 9)} build on theprevious section. In an attempt to cover such a wide range ofmaterial, the author does little more at times than guide thereader to seek information in the more specialist texts.However, the chapters on Materials of Construction andDesign Information and Data are very well conceived andshould become obligatory reading for all undergraduatesundertaking a design project.

The ® nal section of the book comprising Chapters 10to 13 {Equipment Selection, Speci® cation and Design(Chapter 10), Separation columns (Chapter 11), HeatTransfer Equipment (Chapter 12) and Mechanical Designof Process Equipment (Chapter 13)} is the heart of the book,covering some 350 pages.

Chapter 10 details the uses and range of applications ofmany different types of equipment including outline designprocedures. This approach is complemented by reference tomore comprehensive texts when appropriate. The speci-® cation and design of distillation and absorption columnsis covered in Chapter 11. Starting with a brief review ofthe fundamental phenomena, the author outlines appropriatedistillation design methods in suf® cient detail to clearlypoint the way for a competent student. The coverage ofabsorption columns is disappointing with little reference toequipment design either under non-isothermal operation orfor systems involving absorption with reaction.

Chapter 12 is a student guide to the design of heat transferequipment. It is well written with the clearly explaineddesign methodology appropriately supported by workedexamples. The design procedures are easy to follow and allthe necessary complementary texts are properly cited.Chapter 13 is concerned with the mechanical design ofequipment and contains some well written guidance to thedesign of pressure vessels and brief discussions of thedesign of storage tanks, centrifuges and heat exchanger tubesheets. Chapter 14 (General Site Considerations) is ratherdisappointing in both scope and context and the author’ scoverage of an Environmental Impact Assessment is verysuper® cial.

Overall, the latest addition to the Coulson and RichardsonVolume 6 is an improvement on the previous version andwill undoubtedly be widely used by undergraduates tosupport their work on the design projects.

C. A. MillingtonUniversity of Surrey

Journal Review

Organic Process Research and Development

Organic Process Research and Development was launchedas a new journal earlier this year. It is jointly published bythe American Chemical Society and The Royal Society ofChemistry and is aimed at chemists (and their chemicalengineering colleagues) working in process R & D. I lookedat issue number 2 (March/April 1997).

The journal contained 7 articles and 6 shorter `technicalnotes’ as well as an extensive technical review ofheterogeneous catalysis in ® ne chemicals manufacture. Inaddition, there was a useful review of the current literatureelsewhere in this area by the editor, along with correspon-dence and book reviews. The content of the journal relatedpredominantly to the pharmaceutical and ® ne chemicalindustry, with approximately one half of the submissionsfalling into the former category. It contained much complexorganic chemistry with detailed considerations of molecularand crystal structure of compounds, although the emphasiswas on development of the reaction conditions and scale-uprather than the study of the chemical mechanisms in theirown right. It also contained some papers which could becategorized as process engineering, including discussions ofreactor geometry and agitation conditions for scale up of aco-polymerization reaction and a study of batch crystal-lization operating strategy. There was also a description oflaboratory equipment for undertaking multiple hydrogena-tion reactions, an example of the considerable interest inheterogeneous catalytic processes in the journal.

It was pleasing to see so many contributors from industryin the issue reviewed. It is not easy to get industrialists tosubmit articles to journals as the subject editors of theTransactions will testify! However, the reasons that liebehind this traditional reluctance (con® dentiality, etc.) maymean that such articles may not be completely up-to-date oralready have been published elsewhere (e.g. patents).Nevertheless, this is a welcome feature and it will beinteresting to see if the number and quality of contributionsfrom that quarter can be maintained in the future.

Chemical engineers are being constantly encouraged tobecome more involved in the early, laboratory stages ofprocess development. For those employed in the pharma-ceutical and ® ne chemicals industries this publicationshould make interesting reading, for while this is a primarilya journal for the development chemist, its breadth of subjectmatter means that it contains something to appeal to theirengineering colleagues as well.

Launching a new journal is a considerable challenge atany time but particularly so in the current climateÐ I wishthem well!

Alan HallZeneca, Hudders® eld

524 BOOK REVIEW

Trans IChemE, Vol 75, Part A, July 1997