BOOK REVIEWS in the literatnre, both books suggest problems which remsin to be solved concerning the chemistry of the elements. This feature of the books is particularly noteworthy. I n their discussions of the amine complexes of rhenium bath monw graphs fail to mention the biguanide complexes of rhenium (V) (see M. M. Ray, J . Inorg. Nu'uel. Chem., 27, 2193 [I9651 and references therein). Both books show a neglect of the Russian and Indian literat,ure. This is not entirely exmsable since much of the work has been reported in English or translations are available. Of the two books under review, the monograph by Dr. Peacock is the better with which to beein a studv of the ehemistry of rhenium and technetium JOHNR. WASSON Southern State College
Magnolia, Arkansm Fundamentals of Chemical Reaction Engineering
TValler Brblz. Translated by David A. Dcene? and John A . Weaver, University of Delaware, Newark. Addison-Wesley Publishing Co., h e . , Reading, Mas325 pp. Figs. and sachusetts. ix table-. 16.5 X 24 om. $15.
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accepted English language forms and British units of measure have been employed, which would tend to make the book more useful as a n undergraduate text. The sketches of commercial reactors provided will be very useful for many students in order to obtain a qualitative notion of how chemical processes are rtctually carried out. This point is often neglected in texts, which can lead the reader to propose reactor designs of only academic interest. The principles of stoichiometry and chemical thermodynamics are presented in a general way, including complex reactions. Tables of standard enthalpies and entropies of formation me presented for reference. The basic ideas of chemical kinetics are also presented in'a general way with special discussions of the subtle eomplicstions one sometimes encounters in dealing wit,h real industrial reactions. The basic methods of determining pressure drop are presented with emphasis on packed and fluidized beds often used for chemical reacton. Intraphase molecular and eddy diffusivities are discussed briefly along with the standard treatment of interphase transfer coefficients. The latter are given for both solid-fluid and fluid-fluid cases. Various types of heat exchange equipment are illustrated with design mrrelt~tionsfar the most important. All of the above chapters have the physical property data needed to make t h e calculations d o n g with extensive tabulation of equipment design relations. The last section on reactor design begins
BOOK R E V I E W S with a listing of the basic equations of change and shows haw dimensional analysis can be used to find the important groupings of variables. Next, the concept of residence time distributions and their use with homogeneous, isothermal r e actions are illustrated for single and chains of perfectly mixed vessels. Tubular (plug flow) reacton are then covered along with comparisons with stirred tanks. Simple plug flow design methods for multiphase systems are also presented. All of the above consider single reactions and the industrially important case of design for multiple reactions is not discussed. Tem~eratureeffects are next introduced.
stirred tank and tubular reactom are au& lined. Finally, i t is shown how mass transfer effects, with emphasis on intraand inter-particle diffwion, are introduced into the calculation. Although a. wide range of topics is
design data are extremely convenient for performing calculslions. Extensive references are given in each section but many of of them are not very upto-date. A useful feature for English-speaking readers is the thorough coverage of the German literature. Thus, the book will prohably
6nd its greatest use as a. reference work rather than a. text.
KENNETH B. BISCHOFF Unive~sityof Tezm Austin Nonexistent Compounds: Compounds of Low Stability
W . E. Dasat, Victoria. Universit,y of Wellington, New Zealsnd. Maxel Dekker, Inc., New York, 1965. ix 182 pp. Figs. and tabla. 15.5 X 23.5 cm. $8.50.
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The author eives an accurate d e s c r i ~
simpler d e s of valence, but which are nevertheless characterized by a low degree of stability." The emphasis given in t,he title to the bizarre can surely be forgiven. Authom and ~ublishersof chemistrv books are rarely afforded the chance of an intriguing title. While the author stresses the importance of kinetic as well as thermodynamic factors in the stability of chemical species, the treatment throughout the text is almost entirely from the point of view of thermadvnamics. The first chanter illustrates the various standard ways of estimating heate of formation and free energies of reactions. There are numerous tables of data which, had they included Latimer's entropy table and a table of ionic radii, woold have fnrnished a
handy source of materid for the solution of many problems. I n the seven subsequent chptem, a variety of questions for which only semiquantitative &ta a n be found are tackled with considerable resourcefulness in the ways of arriving a t numerical estimates. The following familiar topios are discussed. The energy balance in the promotion of electrons to possible bondfonning orbitals and the energy of the chemical bonds in the subsequent wmpound. Examples are the nonexistence of NX,, the imtahility of higher oxidation states in the postAransition elements of periods 4, 5 and 6 and in the transition elements of period 4 and the nonexistent chlorides, bromides and iodides of the nohlegases. Theinstability of monomeric species containing multiple bonds in compounds of the non-metah of the 3rd and subsequent periods and the instability of self-linking among these elements are discussed phenomenologically. Noble gas compounds of the type XeBF, and X e r SiFe are shown to he definitely on the list of likely compounds in spite of the unfavorable entropy term. I n view of this interesting observation it is rather s q r i s ing that same other ionic species were not considered. I t would have been instructive to compare the stabilities of Xe01 and X ~ O S - ~of, PI& and pHn-, of NF,+F- with NF,+SKF-. T h e general phenomenon that unstable oxides such as P102give highly sbahle compounds such as Sr.PrOs suggests the importance of lattice energy in overcoming the energy(Continued on page A760)
Volume 43, Number 9, September 1966
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