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The book is written primarily for the reader who brings fairly extensive background and interest to the field. Chemists in general will, however, find the c h a p ters on the modern explosives industry and its instrumentation and testing methods, as mil as the discussion of damage potential, interesting. The sections dealing mith the calculations of reaction products and heat effects,etc., also offer same ercellent examples of modern thermoehemistry of gases reacting a t high temperatures. The illustrations, by drawing and photographs, and the technical details such as indexing and printing are good-and the hook is generally well written.
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Chemicol Process Economics
John Happel, Professor of Chemical Engineering a t New York University. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, 291 pp. 20 figs. 15.5 X 1958. xii 23.5 cm. $8.50.
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Dr. Happel's bxkgroond of experience with Socony-Mobil Oil Company is reflected in the prrtcticd approach to process economics which he e v e s in this book. The many problems dealing with phases
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fractionating towers, shell and tube equipin the chemical literature show that this ment. Dine still heaters, machinery, oumus. field of ormess economies is one in which he com$ssors, and piping. The -append& has contributed in many ways and that on cost data gives tables of costs bmed the book is not a. literature survey of on a. Marshall and Stevens Index of 223.1 other people's views. for 1957. The level of the book is relatively high Chemical Process Economics is a. text for students who have had no previous a t a. higher level than most of them in the experience with economies, business pracchemical field. The many illustrated tioe, or accounting terminologv. The problems and problems at the end of each eight chapters are: I'rineiples of Economic chapter will make this book a. worthwhile Balance; Expanded Economic Balance text. Equations; Special Mathematical Techniques; Notes on Cofit Estimation; KENNETH A. KOBE Risk, Return Rate, and Investment The Uniuersity of Tczaa Recovery; Over-all Considerations in Austin Project Andy&; Process Plant. Components; Social Values in Engineering Economy. The chapter on special mmatheMoney and the Chemical Engineer matical techniques discusnes the d e t w mination of the optimum b,y the methods James 0. Oshunz and Karl Kammer,of c&lcul~s, ~ the method of steepest ascent, meyer, Professors of Chemical Engilinear~ programming, ~ and ~ statistics ~ and i neering, ~ State~ University of Iowa. risk. An unusual chapter in a. technical Prentice-Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, book like this is the one on social values in New Jersey, 1958. ix 201 pp. engineering eneonomy which contrasts the 15 X 22 cm. $6. system of free economy with that of The scientist may not be interested in government control, and discusses the the economic aspects of his research, but effect of government ownership and milithe engineer has to take economics into tary expenditures on private bnsinrss. omsideration in order to be a good engiA lengthy appendix gives: summation neer. Thus the chemical engineer is of time series, practical rules of thumh, concerned with money-optimizing the cost data, summary of formulas and tal~les. investment necessary, the production rate, The summation of time series discusses replaoement of equipment, and the like. finite difference, finite integration, and The writing in this book is informal and the definite sum. Most interesting is the stimulating. It takes the reader right insection on practical rules of thumb used to the problem a t hand, rather than inby engineering companies to give first volving some mythical third person. The estimates for design purposes. These (Continued on page -4318) cover pressure vessela, rpactors, drums,
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titles of the chapters intrigue the reader. C h p t e r I, It Takes Money, tells about capital investment required for various types of plants. Chapter 11, Repeated Costs, lists operating eosts and discusses fixed and variable costs. Getting Your Money Back, Chspter 111, discusses interest, capital recovery, depreciation, depletion, profit, pay-out time, and cost of capital. Chapter IV, Design for a Profit, gives the analytical and graphical methods for economic balznco. Chapter V is similar, Operate for a Profit, and shows how to analyze for optimum operating conditions. The Economic Side of Process Design, Chapter VI, shows the way to go about process design to eonsider economic as well as technical factors. Spending to Save, Chapter VII, sounds anomalous, but shows how economic considerations dictate replacement of equipment before it is wornout. Chapter VIII, The Decision t o Invest, shows the young engineer that money is not limitless and that management must decide where it should use the money it has available. Checking Up, Chapter IX, shows the engineer how to check on many things-the company's finanoial Stat* ment,. production costs. cost-cuttine- meth. ads. The hook is a textbook for senior chemical engineers and has numemus problems a t the end of each chapter. Illustrated prohlems are used throughout to show the applications of the principles discussed.
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References are given to artioles on the application of economics t o industrial problems, and to technical artioles t h a t describe the process being used for an economic study. Not only can i t be used for a separate course in chemical engineering economics, but many of the methods and problems can be introduced into other chemical engineering courses in unit operations, thermodynamics, technology, and design. It should he well received by tcsehem of chemical engineering.
KENNETH A. KOBE University of Tezas Austin Gmelinr Handburh der Anorganirchen Chemie. System No. 42. Zirconium
Edited by the Gmelin Institute under the direction of E. H.E. Pietsch. 8th ed. Verlag Chemie, GmbH., Weinheim 448 pp. 57 Bergstr., 1958. xxxvii graphs. 17.5 X 25.5 em. Paper bound, 862.64. Cloth, $63.84.
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Gmelins Handbuch der anorganischen Chemie. System No. 43. Hafnium
Edited by the Gmelin Institute under the direction of E. H. E. P i d x h . 8th ed. Verlag Chemie, GmbH., Weinheim 23 pp. 1 grsph. Bergstr., 1958. ii Paper bound $4.08. Cloth, $5.28.
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The nnhliaation of the volume an zir-
completes the treatment of Group I V B for the eighth edition of Gmelin. The Literature coverage is t o December 1949. I n view of the current interest in t h e use of zirconium metal and its compounds in the industrial applications, the appearance of these volumes is very timely. This interest also means however, t h a t in the nine years which have passed since the literature search far these volumes was closed a significant amount of new material has appeared which must be searched for elsewhere. The coverage of the material is thorough and accurate. There is an interesting section on the geoohemistry of zirconium which covers its occurrence not only in the lithasnhere. hut also in the hvdroa complex mixture of other chemicals, an extensive body of material on ore dressing and the preliminary treatment of the ores t o enrich them in zirconium has developed. This is well presented here. The practical applications of zirconium and its compounds are also treated a t length. The small volume on hafnium brings the literature coverage up to 1949 also. Several pages are devoted t o the geochemistry of hafnium and an equal amount to the important topic of the separation of zirconium and hafnium. Additional data are presented on t h e physical and chemical properties of hafnium. THOMAS E. FERINGT~N The College of Wooster Wooster, Ohio
