Review: The Engineering of Chemical Reactions

The Engineering of Chemical Reactions by Lanny D. Schmidt

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



by Valentin Chirosca
"Perhaps the central idea to come from Minnesota is the notion of modeling in chemical engineering. This is the belief that the way to understand a complex process is to construct the simplest description that will allow one to solve the problem at hand. Sometimes a single equation gives this insight in a back-of-the-envelope calculation, and sometimes a complete simulation on a supercomputer is necessary. The chemical engineer must be prepared to deal with problems at whatever level of sophistication is required. We want to show students how to do simple calculations by capturing the essential principles without getting lost in details. At the same time, it is necessary to understand the complex problem with sufficient clarity that the further steps in sophistication can be undertaken with confidence. A modeling approach also reveals the underlying beauty and unity of dealing with the engineering of chemical reactions."
Modelling is the best way to understand processes, if you design a process first fix the mass balances and after that energy balances using the simplest way: chemical calculations.



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