BOOK REVIEWS The authors stress many good terhniques for prohlem working, psrtieldnrly the drawing of hloekdiagmmsfor theproeess or piece of equipment involved in the calculation. Many illustrated prohlrms are given, along with many prohlems at, t,he end of each chapter. Complete s o h tions, not just an answer, are given in Appendix V for a few prohlems in exeh chapter. An extensive series of xppendixes gives many physical, chemicxl and engineering data and a humidity chart,. This book is bot,ween the elementary " P ~ m e s s Calculation" of fammermeyrr and Oshurn and the revised "Industrial Stoichiometr.vV of Lewis, Rdxaeh, and Lewis. I t will satisfy many chemical engineering teachers as s. sophomoi~clevcl stoiehiomet,l:y text.
KENNETIT A. KOBE The iUniversit!, of l'ezaa Ai&n
Advancer in Petroleum Chemistry and Refining. Volume 1
Edited by Kenneth A . Kobe and John J . dlcKetla, Jv., Department of Chemical Ihgineering, University of Texas. Intcrseiencp Publishers, Inc., New York, 1968. xv 641 pp. Many figs. and tnhlca. I6 X 23.5 cm. W3.50.
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This hook lxunrhes a aeries that has two
A254 / Journol o f Chemicol Educofion
somewhat contradictory aims: to record the advances in the petroleum and petrochemical industries as they occur, and to serve ultimately as s. reference work. These aims are contradictory because recent advanecs can constitute only a small "art of a. book eomorehensive enoueh to
t,he title is mideading. The series \ d l resemhle a technical journal in several respert,~. A new volume will appear annnsllg. Each valorno will include a wide variety of mhjcets ranging from economies to mechanical equipment, with timeliness the chief crit,prion for selection. Each snhjeat will be h a n d l d by an expert in the field. The first volume should hc of interest and value t,o anyone engaged in the rpfining of pet,roleum. Aowcver, heenusc the whjrrta are diverse, most readers will find only a few nppliaahle to their own wot.k. From the standpoint of u~efulness,organization by suhjeet matter, rather than timrliness, umdd hc much preferred. Only two pet,roleum-refining and t,wo petrochcmicnls snhjeetn are covered; alkyIntion, catalytic reforming, the o m process fm making primary nlcoliols, and the prodrletion of polymers, such as polyethylene, by surface cat,alysis. The discussion of alkylst,ion is limitod to the chemistry of the resetion; it npdatettepin mom readnhle form-a. chapter published in 1048 in "Advances in Cntr~lysis." Chapters on three unit operationsrlist,illntion, n.ystnlliaation, and solvent
extraetion-discuss prinripler t,horoughly enough that t,hey might he wed its general texts for these subjects. A chapter on power plants of the futuro should appeal particularly to nwehsniral mgincers. Ant,omobile-consciol~s Am&cans can get here the informed speculations of an expert on the possihilitirs of gas turbines, free-piston engines, and nt,hcr recent engine developments. The hroador suhjerts should apppal to a hrmd audience. Three chapters dealing with rconomics and future trrnds give an cxeellrnt survey of the p r t r o l ~ u min dust,^, with emphasis on p?trolcum production. Economists should find thpm interesting. Stndents of political sciencr mny a h he intwestcd in thc discussions of deprrcintion sllowsnecfi and petroleum imports. 411 of the chapters in the first volume are sut,horitat,ive and well written. Typogmphy and illustrations are errellent,, and the index appears t,o he conlplete and well arranged. Thia book should hc in all prtrolcum-refining lihmrics.
R. J . HENMTEREDK Stnndnrd Oil Compnnl, ( I n d i o n n ) . Whiling, Indiana
