Perry's Chemical Engineers' Handbook.

Dr. Dilhan M. Kalyon, Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, N.J.; Schweikart, Joan . Chemical
Engineering ; New York  Vol. 104, Iss. 12,  (December, 1997): 12.

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ABSTRACT
 
A book review of Perry's Chemical Engineers' Handbook, seventh edition, by Robert H. Perry and Don W. Green, is
presented.

FULL TEXT
 
Seventh edition. By Robert H. Perry (deceased) and Don W. Green. The McGraw-Hill Companies, 11 West 19th St.,
New York, NY 10011. 1997. 2,623 pages. $115.
Perry's Chemical Engineers' Handbook is one of the best known and widely used chemical engineering reference
texts in the world. Upon checking my own library, I realized that I have used the fourth and fifth editions between
1971-1983 and the sixth edition since 1984. Very few books attract this type of loyalty. Thus, I welcomed the
seventh edition and really enjoyed receiving it in the mail.
The thirteen years which have elapsed between the preparation of the seventh edition and the publication of the
sixth edition has witnessed significant advances in every sub-field of chemical engineering. These advances cover
new theoretical methods, new manufacturing techniques and equipment, computer-based simulation and control,
and so on. Techniques such as life cycle assessment, the integrated process and product team, which are so
pervasive now were just being developed a decade ago.
The seventh edition attempts to bridge this gap while still retaining the format and the ``feel'' of the previous
editions, which is so familiar to so many chemical engineers. Retaining of the familiar format will be valued by
many readers who have gotten used to retrieving information from the previous editions of the handbook.
The seventh edition consists of thirty chapters. These six sections -- covering reaction kinetics, process control,
adsorption and ion exchange, chemical reactors, process safety and analysis of plant performance -- consist
essentially of all new information in comparison to the previous edition. Eight sections, covering thermodynamics,
heat and mass transfer, fluid and particle dynamics liquid-solid operations and equipment, size reduction and size
enlargement, alternative separation processes, waste management, and energy resources, conversion and
utilization, consist of information (tables, figures, text, equations) which is at least 50% new.
The smallest extent of revisions are in sections covering conversion factors, process economics, transport and
storage of fluids, psychrometry, evaporative cooling and solids drying, liquid-liquid extraction, gas-solids
operations, and materials of construction. Qualitatively, virtually every section of the seventh edition of Perry's
Handbook has been revised, with substantial revisions and new data, especially including current costs and
process integrated, throughout.
However, in spite of this extensive coverage of so many subjects, a number of areas important in the domain of the
chemical engineering have received little coverage. There is scarce attention paid to polymers including their
polymerization (less than one page), properties (some treated as materials of construction) structure, processing
and ultimate properties.
Some other industrial areas of importance including personal care products, foodstuffs, composites,
pharmaceuticals, and so forth, also have been ignored. The editors probably felt that such material is covered

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elsewhere and found it difficult to cover additional topics within their various constraints of length, weight and
price. Indeed, it appears that these constraints can only be effectively removed if the Handbook were to be
distributed with CDs containing a good chunk of the data.
Overall, the seventh edition of Perry's Handbook is timely and important for every practicing chemical engineer.
The extensive compilations of the fundamentals and requisite data of chemical engineering in a single volume
continue to render the Handbook a convenient and user-friendly source.
Pharmaceutical Project Management. Edited by Tony Kennedy. Marcel Dekker, Inc., 270 Madison Ave., New York,
NY 10016-0602. 1998. 304 pages. $125.
Fermentation and Biochemical Engineering Handbook: Principles, Process Design, and Equipment. Second edition.
By Henry C. Vogel and Celeste C. Todaro. Noyes Data Corp. 369 Fairview Ave., Westwood, NJ 07675. 1996. 799
pages. $86.
Working Guide to Process Equipment. By Norman Lieberman and Elizabeth T. Lieberman. McGraw-Hill, Inc., 11
West 19th St., New York, NY 10011. 1996. 480 pages. $74.95.
Handbook of Cathodic Corrosion Protection: Theory and Practice of Electrochemical Protection Processes. Third
edition. Edited by W. von Baeckmann, W. Schwenk, and W. Prinz. Gulf Publishing Co., Book Div., P.O. Box 2608,
Houston, TX 77001. 1997. 567 pages. $195.
The Handbook of Applied Expert Systems. Edited by Jay Liebowitz. CRC Press, 2000 Corporate Blvd., N.W., Boca
Raton, FL 33431-9868. 1997. 500 pages. $89.95.
ASTM Standards on Environmental Sampling. Second edition. ASTM, 100 Barr Harbor Dr., West Conshohocken, PA
19428-2959. 1997. 925 pages. $99, non-members, $89, members.
Immobilization of Enzymes and Cells. Edited by Gordon F. Bickerstaff. The Humana Press, 999 Riverview Drive,
Suite 208, Totowa, NJ 07512. 1997. 367 pages. $79.50.
Proceedings of the Ethylene Producers' Conference. Volume Six. Ethylene Producers' Committee of American
Institute of Chemical Engineers, 345 East 47th St., New York, NY 10017. 1997. 800 pages. $145, U.S.; $200,
elsewhere.
Practical HPLC Method Development. Second edition. By Lloyd R. Snyder, Joseph J. Kirkland, and Joseph L.
Glajch. John Wiley &Sons, Inc., 605 Third Ave., New York, NY 10158. 1997. 765 pages. $84.95.
Source Book: Soviet-Designed Nuclear Power Plants in Russia, Ukraine, Lithuania, Armenia, the Czech Republic, the
Slovak Republic, Hungary and Bulgaria. Fifth edition. Nuclear Energy Institute, 1776 I St., N.W., Suite 400,
Washington, DC 20006-3708. 1997. 320 pages. $100, members.

DETAILS

Subject: Book reviews; Chemical engineering; Textbooks

Classification: 9000: Short article; 8640: Chemical industry, includes rubber &plastics

Publication title: Chemical Engineering; New York

Volume: 104

Issue: 12

Pages: 12

Number of pages: 0

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 Publication year: 1997

Publication date: December, 1997

Section: Bookshelf

Publisher: Access Intelligence LLC

Place of publication: New York

Country of publication: United States, New York

Publication subject: Chemistry, Engineering--Chemical Engineering

ISSN: 00092460

Source type: Trade Journals

Language of publication: English

Document type: PERIODICAL

Accession number: 01579086

ProQuest document ID: 194403609

Document URL: https://search.proquest.com/docview/194403609?accountid=29018

Copyright: Copyright 1997 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Last updated: 2016-11-19

Database: ProQuest Central

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