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ELEMENTS OF FOOD ENGINWING. 2 AND 3
VOLUMES
Milton E. Parker, Consulting Food Engineer, Ellery H. Harvey formerly Professor of Food Engineering, and E. S. Stateler, formerly Professional Lecturer in Food Engineering, Illinois Institute of Technology. Reinhold Publishing Corp., New York, 1954. 360 pp. Illustrated. 16 X 23.5 cm. $8.50. Vol. 2: vi 241 pp. Illustrated. 16 X 23.5 cm. $6.75. Vol. 3: v
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THESEtwo volumes develop the details of unit operations applied to food processing as outlined in the first volume of this series. Section 1 deals with assembly of rsw materials under Materials Handling and Separating. The preparation of raw materials is divided in Section 2 into Cleaning, Separating, Disintegrating, and Pumping. The conversion of raw materials, Section 3, involves Mixing, Heat Exchange--Heating Applications-Refrigerating Applications, Evaporating and Distilling, Dehvdration and Drvine. and Controlline. The treatment of
made bv the staole versions. es~eciallvin blendine with other
under trade names, is given, while separate chapters discuss the individual fibers under the caption Trade Names. The reviewer believes that s, pr&is, organizing the data into ( I ) vinyl and acrylic fibers, (2) polyamide fibers, and (3) polyester fibers, etc., and discussing the proprietary fibers under these general headings would reduce redundancies and improve rlnritv
and the patent structure established, errors are prone to occur in the dsta presented. Some of these could have been corrected by submission of the manuscript to the respective fiber producers. Evidence of this is found in the statement, "It is evident 'X-51' has been spun from the melt. . . ." The statement, "The felting ," is not in process of wool is entirely due to the scale system. accord with the opinion of authorities on this subject. One understands the author's defense of wool in the statements: "Most likely, in 6fty years time, it will still he true to say there is nothing like wool," and "It will prabably be a long time indeed before an artificial fiber which is a. good match for wool can be made." Wool is an important faotor in the textile economy of Britain, hut these statements would seem to be more germane to the wool industry than to scientists doing research on fibers made from synthetic polymers. The new edition will be found useful by a wide range of readers as a source, within the covers of one book, of information on man-made fibers. A need exists for a book containing the general scope of information presented; but it is hoped that the next edition will present a more authoritative and balanced account of the new fibers and that the author's viewpoint will be entirely objective.
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asyembled a valuable mass of informaxion concerning the application of unit operations to specific food processes. The choice of equipment is made easier by discussion of the advantages and disadvantages each offers for particular jobs. The approach used is apt to prove disappointing to the engineer though it should be useful to one newly introduced to the food industry. Study of unit operations as developed in these volumes will serve to acquaint the food technologist with the existence of problems the solution of which must be sought in more thorough engineering treatment. As a text for college students this series of three volumes should furnish 8. good introduction to engineering and technical problems which the eraduate will encounter w o n entering the food mocessing industry. A few minor errors were noted b i t are not of material consequence. The illustrations are profuse and add a great deal to the value of text. For the smaller food manufacturer without specially trained technical st,aff,this presentation of the elements of unit opera'ions as applied in the industry can serve wcll to orient him to his needs for further engineering guidance.
J. B. QUIG E.I. nn Posr DE NEMOURB 8. COMPANY W~LMIN~TO DN E, L A W * ~ ~
JOAN H. NAlR
Taouns J. LIPTOW, INC. H o s o ~ e nS . aw Jmaer
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G. Brooks King, Professor of Chemistry, The State College of Washington, and William E. Caldwell, Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Oregon State College. Second edi589 pp. tion. American Book Company, New York, 1954. viii SS fbs. 3 7 tables. 14 X 22 cm. $4.50.
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ARTIFICIAL FIBRES
R. W. Moncrieff. Second edition. John Wiley & Sans, Inc.. New Yo& 1954. xii
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THE FUNDAMFWTALS OF COLLEGE CHEMISTRY
144figs. 14.5 X 22 om. $6.
THE word "artiftcial" 88 applied to fibers has a different connotation in England than in America, thus explaining its use. There is a stigma associated with the word "artificial" in the United States. A title more consonant with scientific progress and, a t the same time, having wider appeal would be desirable. The original edition has been expanded to cover the developments in the field of man-made fibers in recent years and the author has tried to delineate the salient properties of each fiber. Most of the additional information relates to new man-made fibers, the new methods of dyeing required, and the great strides 29
A REVIEW of the f i s t edition is to be found in ~ m JOURNAL s (26,571 (1949)). This new edition is improved by various additions to the text. The electronic configuration of atoms is described in greater detail, and differences in properties between elements are explained in terms of atomic size and structure. A brief discussion of complex salts, several pages more on radicactivity and nuclear changes, and an additional page on electrode potentials me further examples of additions to the text. The solution of gas-law problems by substitution in formulas is still encouraged, hut in the new edition examples are d m given showing how the solution may be obtained by common sense, without recourse to formulas. This is a step in the right direction. The
291
MAY, 1955 term "hydronium ion" and symbol HIOt, used in the &st edition, have been replaced by "hydrogen ion" and H + with a resulting gain in consistency and clarity. The most obvious change is the addition of approximstely 50 per cent more "exercisea" and "references!' The exercises now represent a greater range of difficulty and include some interesting and challenging problems. Answers are given for some of the numerical problems. Production, price, and use data in the tables and text have been brought up to date, as has also the periodic table. A long-form periodic table has been added and a new figure shows the relative sizes of atoms and ions. The index is more effectively organized and contains about 20 per cent more entries than the previous edition. The purpose and structure of this edition are the same as in the k t edition; the changes increase its usefulness and improve its clarity without changing its chssacter.
propriate synopses of the historical background of current practices. T o say that only 20 per cent of the volume is devoted t o plasticieers carries a n inaccurate implication, for much of the discussion of solvents applies equally well to those specialized solv e n t ~which , are called plasticizers. In the author's words, "The characteristic that differentiates plasticizers from solvents is volatility." One cannot avoid the conclusion, however, that plasticizers have not been given the thorough, thoughtful treatment accorded t h e more conventional solvents. The relative emphasis m y be in fair agreement with the relative commercial importance of the two fields. However, much more could he said about the standards by which various plastici~ersare chosen for various applications, about combinations of plasticizers and why they
WALTER B. XEIGHTON
S w ~ m a r o mC o ~ m a n S a ~ n ~ r nPENNBTLVAN~A o ~ ~ .
THE TECHNOLOGY OF SOLVENTS AND PLASTICIZERS Arthm K. DooUttle, Assistant Director of Research, Carbide and Carbon Chemicals Company. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, 1954. xv 1056 pp. Many figs. and tables. 14.5 X 22.5 cm. $18.50.
proprietary products, but the formulator who consults this hook The for hrln in choosine ~lesticizersmitv well be disanoointed. r s brief, dccasional mention of polyme& plasticizers is hardly commensurate with their growing commercial importance. Nevertheless, for its intended purposes, this volume genuinely deserves to he described by the word "monumental." It is a t once a textbook, a handbook, and .an encyclopedia which should never be farther away than arm's reach for the technical man whose work involves solvents, diluents, and extenders.
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SOMEfeeling of insecurity comes to the student chemist in his occasioual glimpses of the large amount of unfamiliar, empirical technology upon which successful industrial enterprises may be based. Much of this technology cannot be treated in the student's academic career for any af several reasons: (a) its clear relationship to basic principles may not yet he evident, (b) appreciation of its significance may require firsthand knowledge of its manner of application to practical purposes, (c) the time required to master its complex mass of detail may not he commensurate with its value t o the majority of students, and (d) the various essential parts of a given technology have usually not been brought tagether in up-to-date, accessible form with expert integration into a unit. The last-named of these chasms between the student and the technology of industrial solvents has been solidly bridged by Dr. Doolittle. He has bhmght together in a single volume a veritable treasure of facts, principles, and lore relating to the industrial uses of solvents and plasticizers up to recent times. I t is readily apparent t o the reader of his book that Dr. Doolittle has enjoyed an active, inquisitive, and sueceasful career in the field which is his subjcot. The hook is directed primarily to the practicing chemist or technician, rather than to the student. The technician coucerned with formulating products containing solvents will know the intended meaning of such terms as "alkyd" (p. 48), "hlushing" (p. 98), "fluxing" (p. 125), "calendering" and "press polishing" (p. 868); the average student, and perhaps his professor, will not. Evan though the meanings of such terms must be deduced from the context or sought in other references, the book is easy to read and should bring a rich return to the tyro whose curiosity leads him into its pages. Eighty per cent of the volume is concerned with industrial solvents, and their treatment is comprehensive. The vast literature on the theory of solutions seems to have been condensed and highlighted with good judgment, with the needs and desires of the practical man in mind. Extensive tables and charts are included which will serve as ready murees of data on vapor pressures and other chsraeteristic physical properties of a host of solvents. Data are oolleeted together on the solubility of typical resins in common solvents. A table of szeotropic mixtures and their properties and composition embraces those most likely t o be encountered in commercial practice. The discussion of the industrial uses of solvents is superb, and interest is added by ap-
STARCH AND ITS DERIVATIVES. VOLUMES I AND I1 1. A. Radley, Chemical Consultant. Third edition. John Wiley & Sana, Inc., New York, 1954. Vol. I: xi 510 pp. Vol. 11: xi
465 pp.
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IS X 22.5 cm. $10 per volume.
STARCHchemistry, like other carbohydrate fields, has made tremendous strides forward in recent years. This progress in fundamental chemistry and technology has been the basis for a number of authoritative publications of which the work from Great Britain here being reviewed is one of the best. Many of the topics covered in Radley's volumes are the same as thoseincluded in Kerr's "Chemistry and Industry of Starch," a n American book of somewhat similar character. One even notes, with some surprise, that the authors of certain sections are the same in both works. On the whole, however, the present volumes tend to supplement and extend rather than to duplicate the literature already available. The extensive lists of references which aecompttny most chapters are indicative of the scholarship of the work and afford an added value for the user. Volume I is divided into two parts of which the first is devoted to The Structure and Reactions of Starch. Most of the chapters of this part are contributed by such prominent workers in the field as S. Peat, L. Hough, J. K. N.Jones, T. J. Schach, R. L. Whistler. G. V. Caesar. R. M. Hixon. B. Brimhall. and E. G. Denr . i , 5tnrch irnr;iwo," t,? T. J. cring. o n e of t l w ~ e c h ~ ~ t e .Th; Srhuch is t1.p mwt cornplrtt diiruaiiw of thi.; important topic : t v n h l ~ l ebnd is supported I,? 137 wicrmres with an rxtrnaivc cross index of subjects. The chapter, "The waxy cereals and starches which stain red with iodine," by R. M. Hixon and B. Brimhall, also constitutes a thorough - discussion of a t 0 ~ i cnot adeauatelv . . reviewed else where. Part I1 of Volume I is concerned with Amvlases and Their Aotion on Starch..~and is an exhauntivelv " documented discussion of grnrral fruturrs and n o r n r d x t u r ~ ,pr~pnrationof enzymra urpd in thr stnnh industry, the action of n nnri 8- amylaws on starch, the kinetics of amylase action, and methods of determining the activity of amylase preparations. Volume I1 is divided into three parts covering The Manufac~
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