Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 2004, 43, 245
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To R.S., with Affectionate Respect, R.A.1 Rutherford Aris Department of Chemical Engineering & Materials Science, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455
O, Reuel Shinnar is come out of the East, Of Distinguished Professors by no means the least, For of seminal papers he has not a few, And many will praise his profound point of view. So deep is his research, his vision so far, “They’ll need keen minds to follow”, quoth Reuel Shinnar. He has carefully shown that things seem what they ain’t When you do not consider the proper constraint, For thermo is all very well for a start But you mustn’t forget economics’(e)s part. “If they’d only tax naphthas as now they tax tar.2 It would make life lots easier”, said Reuel Shinnar. Among all the seeds he’s so skilfully sown, Which, fecund indeed, to a bush have now grown (For he gave it good roots as an engineer should, And he trained it as only a probab’list could), Is the residence time, “A concept that’s far More pervasive than most”, quoth our Reuel Shinnar. From the myst’ries of hold-up and residence times, He turned his attention to punishing crimes, And he shewed that the risk of two muggings per life Would be greatly reduced if the cities weren’t rife With muggers who’d be behind bars, not a bar.3 “They need RTD theory”, quoth Reuel Shinnar. Another dark subject that soon will be lit Is the dismalest science, economics to wit. He’s proposing the notions of partial control As a cure for the system we now have to thole. “If they’d filter their inputs, they’d find where they are, Without which we’re stymied”, said Reuel Shinnar. “The Feds play with interest, and Congress with tax, The President budgetssor plays on his saxs While the law courts, without any mandate at all, Play havoc by some of the judgments they call. “It is only the Fed’ral Reserve, in its war ‘Gainst inflation, has feedback”, says Reuel Shinnar. Now, with Arbel and Huang and Rinard, has he (Nor should I forget Mobil’s Ajit Sapre) Modeled Fluid Cat Crackers for partial control By designing the parts with his eyes on the whole.4 “For you cannot use a sow’s ear and get peau de soie When you’re making your purse”, quoth our Ruel Shinnar. The distinction is made between freedom’s degrees
And the number of things you can, so to say, squeeze,5 Since the dominant var’ables each have their own range Over which they’re permitted (fast or slowly) to change. And the margin of error’s as slim as a gar, “It depends on th’objectives”, quoth Reuel Shinnar. The model itself is a bunch of DEs, Which computers can solve with the greatest of ease, While the ten-lump kinetics of Gross, Jacob, and Nace6 Describes the reactions that chiefly take place. And the catalyst hold-up is never a bar; “It has very small impact”, quoth Reuel Shinnar. Thus, Arnon and Zupeng and Irven Rinard,7 Not forgetting A. Sapre, have worked with Shinnar On the Fluid Cat Cracker and have shown you cannot Have perfect control over such a big plant, But, with Ishmael’s8 counsel, you sure can go far If you follow the footsteps of Reuel Shinnar.
Literature Cited (1) The model is from Sir Walter Scott’s Marmion “O, young Lochinvar has come out of the west”. Each verse ends with “quoth” or “said” or “the young Lochinvar”, and such lines as “So faithful in love, so dauntless in war” and “ ‘They’ll have fleet steeds that follow’, quoth young Lochinvar” invite immediate translation. This parody, written some time ago, has not, to my knowledge, been published before, although it was read as part of an introduction at an AIChE session in Shinnar’s honor. (2) A kenning for tax reform. Choice of naphtha and tar dictated by rhyme and meter is probably inept, but I did not have any relevant paper. (3) Clumsy line. “Who’d” is intended to mean “who (shoul)d”, rather than the usual “who (woul)d”. (4) Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 1995, 34, 1228-1243; 1995, 34, 30143026; 1996, 35, 2215-2233. (5) In Part 4, to be published. (6) With apologies to S. E. Voltz, who is excluded by the exigencies of meter. (7) Francophone pronunciation presumed. (8) I could not get the title Rabbi in the line and hope that no disrespect is implied by its absence.
Received for review July 15, 2002 Revised manuscript received August 6, 2002 Accepted August 7, 2002
10.1021/ie0205501 CCC: $27.50 © 2004 American Chemical Society Published on Web 01/07/2003
IE0205501
