680
NEW BOOK8
The discussions on pages 450 and 451 also need drastic revision. It is hoped t h a t the author will revise the three last chapters considerably when a new edition is prepared.
I. M. KOLTHOFF. Volumetric and Phase Behavior of Hydrocarbons. By BRUCEH . SAQE AND WILLIAM N. LACEY. 294 pp.; 188 fig. Stanford University, California: Stanford University Press, 1939. Price: $5.00. i Much of the d a t a presented in this volume is the well-known work of the authors carried out as “Research Project 37” of the American Petroleum Institute. The authors state, “It is the purpose of this volume t o set out for consideration the fundamental principles and some of the facts relating to that type of hydrocarbon behavior which does not involve chemical reactions or changes in the molecular species present. The treatment is also limited t o cases characterized by the absence of solid phases. The portion of the subject thus chosen for discussion finds application in the process of petroleum and natural gas production and transportation, of natural gasoline manufacture, and of certain parts of petroleum refining.” The subject has been developed “in a logical manner, without assuming that the reader has made intensive studies of physical chemistry.” 1 All who are familiar with the compilations of physical data used by petroleum engineers will appreciate the value of the work of Sage and Lacey. As the authors have noted, “The quantitative application of scientific principles in petroleum technology has been retarded by the surprising scarcity of determinations of the necessary constants.” Much of the physical data now used by petroleum engineers has been determined since 1920, much of i t since 1930. The work presented by Sage and Lacey, largely their own, is of the greatest value to petroleum engineers. The use of liquid propane in refinery operations, the separation and recovery of low-boiling hydrocarbons from gas mixtures, and the recovery of so-called “di stillate” by retrograde condensation from high-pressure natural gas, in t h e field, need only be mentioned t o indicate the very practical value and interest of t h e work of Sage and Lacey. The volume contains abundant data, shown mostly by diagrams or figures, of the phase behavior of low-boiling hydrocarbon systems. The phase behavior of such systems, indicated by the well-known volume of Kuenen, Verdanpfung und VerflWsigung uon Gemischen (1906), has been experimentally determined for many gas-liquid systems by Sage and Lacey. This little volume is a gem of clear exposition and explanation. B. T. BROOKS. Quantitative Biological Spectroscopy. By ELMERS. hfILLER. 21.3 x 27.3 cm.; 213 pp.; 121 fig. Minneapolis: Burgess Publishing Coqpany, 1939. Price: $3.50. This is a preliminary, mimeographed edition of a text used by the author in a course dealing with the applications of spectroscopy to biological problems, which is given in the Department of Botany to advanced students in the biological sciences. The author is well known for his outstanding work irf the measurement of absorption coefficients of compounds having biological importance and in the application of photoelectric spectrophotometry t o quantitative chemical analysis of such materials. The unique and most useful feature of this book, from the viewpoint of the physical chemist, is the detailed discussion of spectroscopic apparatus, particularly that -used in photoelectric spectrophotometry. The characteristics of specific types of equipment on the market are discussed and procedures and precautions in the use of the apparatus are made clear, so that anyone intending t o work in this field will know exactly what equipment he can get, how t o set i t up, and how t o use it.
