Chemists can talk to engineers

Concepts of chemical engineering 4 chemists 

Stefaan Simons (ed) 

Cambridge, UK: Royal Society of Chemistry | 2007 | 184pp | ?39.95 (HB) | ISBN 9780854049516 

Reviewed by Jillian Thompson

Introducing the subject of chemical engineering to chemists is quite a challenge since, although these disciplines are inextricably linked, their practitioners are all too often separated by the chasm that can exist between pure science and its application. 

In a short text, most of the basic concepts of a current chemical engineering degree course are covered, including reaction engineering, fluid flow, the ubiquitous heat and mass transfer, scale-up, particle systems, process control and finally economic appraisal and hazard and risk assessment. Each chapter contains a list of references to more detailed texts. 

This book is written by chemical engineers, as an accompaniment to an RSC course of the same name. It is therefore presented in the style of a study aid which is easy to follow and contains many well explained worked examples. Some chemists might find the engineering language a little off-putting at first, but they will find that the presentation of familiar concepts, like kinetics and thermodynamics, from a different angle is an ideal way to start learning some engineering terminology. Working through the excellent examples, the chemist reader should gain sufficient knowledge of a wide range of topics to apply many simple engineering principles and should be able to communicate more effectively with engineering colleagues.