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Introduction to chemical engineering thermodynamics

1950, Journal of Chemical Education

JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL 584 BIOLOGICAL STUDIES WITH POLONIUM, • RADIUM, AND PLUTONIUM Downloaded via 63.141.32.102 on May 6, 2020 at 10:25:20 (UTC). See https://pubs.acs.org/sharingguidelines for options on how to legitimately share published articles. Edited by Robert M. Fink, Professor of Physiological Chemistry, University of California, Los Angeles, California. National Nuclear Energy Series, VI-3. McGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc., New York, 1950, xvi + 411 pp. 96 figs, 129 tables. 16 X 24 cm. $3.75. The data collected by members of the Biological Chemistry Section of the Division of Radioactivity in the Manhattan Department of the University of Rochester are presented, discussed, and summarized in this volume of the National Nuclear Energy Series. The problem under investigation was the comparison of the biological effects of three alpha-emitting radioactive elements —polonium, plutonium, and radium. The plan and conduct of the directed research under the Manhattan District were often determined by the availability of technical assistance, materials, and animals, but more frequently by the pressure of time. A relatively small number of animals of one species studied at a few dose levels and for a short interval of time had to suffice for the initial pilot experiments. Although the major portion of the work was done on rats, a few mice, one rabbit, and several tracer studies in humans were included. The careful outlining of procedures and methods is preceded by a valuable review of the literature dealing with polonium and radium toxicity. The excretion, retention, and tissue distribution of these two elements were studied following intravenous and oral administration. The subcutaneous administration, inhalation, and skin absorption of polonium were also investigated. The experimental work designed to determine the intravenous lethal doses and relative toxicities of the three elements is clearly described and presented in detail. The mortality studies are combined with hematological as well as gross and micropathological investigations. The data are so presented that in many instances it is possible to follow the history of an individual animal from the time of injection through its clinical course and final autopsy. This pioneering work is unusual in several respects, not the least of which is the vast amount of material collected by the combined efforts of many investigators over a relatively short period of time. One is immediately impressed with the great care the authors have taken to present their problems and sources of error and with the voluminous data that are included. MIRIAM P. FINKEL Argonne National Laboratory Chicago, Illinois • FUNDAMENTALS OF CHEMISTRY AND APPLICATIONS Charlotte A, Francis, formerly Instructor of Chemistry, and Edna C. Morse, Assistant Professor of Home Economics (Chemistry), Teachers College, Columbia University. The Macmillan Company, New York, 1950. xi + 545 pp. 99 figs. 15 X 22 cm. $4.50. This book is designed for students interested in an introductory in chemistry leading to more specialized courses in nursing practice, nutrition and home economics, medical technology, and teaching of general science. In carrying out this design, nineteen chapters, 264 pages, are devoted to general principles and inorganic chemistry at an elementary level. The remainder of the book, twelve chapters, 261 pages, contains a much more extensive treatment of organic chemistry than is found in the usual introductory college chemistry textbook. The arrangement of the subject matter and general plan follows that of the first two editions but all chapters have been revised by the addition of new material and elimination of some of the older concepts. Some chapters dealing with radioactivity and the structure of matter have been rewritten in the light of recent changes and additions to knowledge in these fields. The authors are especially adept at introducing the subject course EDUCATION of chemistry to the student in the terms of everyday language which permits immediate understanding without the necessity of introducing scientific terms. The use of the word substance and the careful definition of it in the beginning is a good example of this technique. The general use of tables, listing together compounds similar in properties and giving their corresponding formulas, makes the book useful as a reference book at a technicians level. If these tables had been numbered and listed in the index under a table heading, its usefulness as a reference book would have been increased. The inorganic section contains a limited discussion of atomic structures with some emphasis on the relationship of molecular structure to properties. The use of the Periodic Table has been eliminated. The larger portion of this section is devoted to water, colloidal and true solutions, ionization, and a complete discussion of acids, bases, and salts. The organic portion is very complete and begins in the conventional manner with a discussion of the aliphatic hydrocarbons and their derivatives. This study led naturally into the discussion of carbohydrates and fats. A very short discussion of cyclic compounds, both carbocyclic and heterocyclic, consists mainly of introducing basic ring structures which are used in building up the more complex protein and alkaloid structures that appear later in the book. Tne remaining three chapters, approximately 100 pages, are devoted to Chemistry of digestion; Function and fate of glucose, fats, and proteins in the body; and Important physiological functionings of electrolytes, ail very thorough for a beginning text. Teachers of introductory courses for students interested in becoming technical aids will find this volume attractive from both The introduction of a teacher’s and student’s viewpoint. enough organic chemistry along with the excellent presentation of the physiological applications make it a very good background book for nurses, nutritionists, and teachers of general science. JAMES F. CORWIN Antioch College Springs, Ohio Yellow • INTRODUCTION TO THERMODYNAMICS CHEMICAL ENGINEERING M. Smith, Professor of Chemical Engineering, Purdue University, Lafayette, Indiana. McGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc., 1949. x + 386 pp. 64 figs. 25 tables. 16 X 23.5 cm. $4. 7. This book is a new addition to the McGraw-Hill Chemical Engineering Series. As a text it is designed for the third or fourth year of undergraduate work and for use in a two-semester course of average intensity. The author states that the book is to present, from a chemical engineering viewpoint, an introductory treatment of thermodynamics which is sufficiently simple and free from complicated mathematical treatment that it may be understood by the average undergraduate student, yet rigorous and sound enough to provide a firm foundation for more advanced work. The subject is covered under the following twelve chapter headings: (1) Introduction to chemical engineering thermodynamics, (2) The first law of thermodynamics (3) Pressure-volume-temperature relations of fluids, (4) Ileat effects, (5) The second law of thermodynamics, (6) Thermodynamic properties of fluids, (7) Flow of fluids, (8) Production of work from heat, (9) Compression and expansion process, (10) Refrigeration, (11) Phase equilibria, and (12) Chemical-reaction equilibria. In each chapter numerical examples are solved that illustrate very well the various topics under discussion, and at the end of each chapter there are lists of unsolved problems which are aimed principally at chemical engineering applications. The material covered in the twelve chapters generally follows the usual approach. However, the author introduced two work terms, one to represent work done by the system, and the other OCTOBER, 1950 585 to represent work appearing in the surroundings. In the case of irreversible processes, it is not clear just where the irreversibility is to occur. By the conventional definitions of system and surroundings (also those used in this text), this irreversibility occurs in either one or the other. It would appear that, by using these two work terms, the irreversibility is occurring at the boundary between the system and the surroundings. This is apt to prove confusing to the student and, at the same time, no apparent advantage can be seen for this approach. The author waits until the last chapter to define “standard states” while the concepts have actually been used in one form or another from Chapter 3. The student generally is careless in using standard states unless they are introduced early and are carefully emphasized each time they are encountered. Also, it is important to point out why a standard state is necessary in each of the cases encountered. In Chapter 11, equation (H-2) is not the definition of the chemical potential as given by Gibbs. Reference is made to “The Collected Works of J. Willard Gibbs,” Vol. I, page 89, Longmans Green and Co., Inc., New York, 1931. As long as the author uses partial free energies in the text, the introduction of the Gibbs ^-potential adds little, and may prove very confusing. The author would have done better to have stated and discussed the equilibrium conditions in terms of partial free energies instead of introducing Gibbs’ treatment. Tliis would have circumvented the discussion centering around equation (11-11) and the confusion that is certain to arise in the beginner’s mind as to just what is the difference between the partial free energy and the ^-potential, if any. Chapters 11 and 12 would have been greatly improved if the author had expanded them. The author states in the Preface that the book is designed for use in a two-semester course of average intensity but may be used for a one-semester course by omitting most of Chapters 11 and 12. On the basis of this division it appears that supplemental material would be necessary in a two-semester course. HARTLEY C. ECKSTROM Oil and Gas Company Tolha, Oklahoma Stanoi.ind UNFAMILIAR OXIDATION STATES AND THEIR STABILIZATION • These have stimulated some valuable research, but the surface of the subject has hardly been scratched. The monograph by Professor Kleinberg is therefore especially welcome and it is hoped that it will do much to stimulate further interest in this important field. The opening chapter of the book clearly outlines the factors which are important in different kinds of valence stabilization and delineates the underlying principles. Succeeding chapters discuss the low oxidation states of the elements of the aluminum group, the superoxides, unusual oxidation states of the halogens, and of copper, silver, chromium, manganese, iron, cobalt, nickel, and the rare earths. To many chemists, compounds of monovalent manganese or of trivalent copper and nickel will be new ^nd exciting. Only a few examples are discussed, but they are well selected and will suggest many interesting research problems. Dr. Kleinberg has done a splendid job, both in the selection of material and in his manner of presentation. The monograph is a distinct addition to the literature of inorganic chemistry, and should receive wide study. JOHN C. BA1UAR, JR. University of Illinois L'rhana, Illinois Thomas H. Dunans. New York, 1950. xv "ixth edition. + 242 pp. D. Van Nostrand Co., 14.5 X 22 cm. $6. The title for this book should be “Solvents for Cellulose Nitrate,” although the acetate is occasionally mentioned. No general discussion of solvent properties outside this specific field is given, so the book will be useful only to one engaged in lacquer formulation. The book is divided into two parts, the first 74 pages being a general discussion of solvent properties of importance in lacquers and the second part a specific description of individual compounds in nine classes of solvents. An appendix gives trade names, solubility tables for cellulose compounds and resins, and plasticizer proportions. The fifth edition was published in 1944, but only two references in the sixth edition bear dates later than this. Frequent reference is made to undated manufacturers’ circulars, and some of this material may be more recent. Jacob Kleinberg, Associate Professor of Chemistry, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas. University of Kansas Press, Lawrence, Kansas, 1950. 131 pp. 8 figs. 17 tables. 14 X 22 cm. SOLVENTS • KENNETH A, KOBE Texas Austin, Texas University op $3. The stabilization of valence states of the elements has important implications, both in theory and in practice. It enters into considerations of structure and reaction mechanism and is of utmost importance in electroplating, in catalysis, in many analytical separations, and in oxidation-reduction reactions of all sorts. Examples are abundant, and applications have been used for many years. Thus, silver and gold, which are usually inert to all but the strongest oxidizing agents, are readily oxidized by the air in the presence of potassium cyanide, because of the formation of the [Ag(CN)2]_ and [Au(CN)a]“ complex ions, and copper is dissolved by hydriodic acid because it forms the stable [CuIjI- ion. In the presence of excess fluoride ion permanganate titrations yield manganese in the tripositive state rather than in the more usual dipositivo state. Erbium is separated from the other rare earths through the formation of the stable, insoluble, europous sulfate, while cerium is separated by oxidation to the tetrapositive condition. Cobalt cannot be determined polarographically in the presence of nickel if the inert electrolyte is a chloride bath, but the polarographic waves are quite distinct when the bath contains an excess of thiocyanate. In spite of the importance of the subject of valence stabilization, little was written on it until about a decade ago. During the last few years it has attracted a considerable amount of attention and several brief reviews on the subject have appeared. • THE CHEMISTRY OF INDUSTRIAL TOXICOLOGY B. Elkins, Chief of Laboratory, Division of Occupational Hygiene, Massachusetts Department of Labor and Industries. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, 1950. ix + 406 pp. 24 $5 50. figs. 43 tables. 14 X 22 cm. Hervey This book was written to "provide a convenient source of information on the basic properties of the common industrial poisons; to stimulate the interest of the industrial chemist in problems of occupational illnesses of toxic origin; and to encourage employers to utilize the knowledge and training of their chemists and chemical engineers in protecting their workers from the harmful substances to which they are exposed.” Since control of occupational disability resulting from undue exposure to toxic substances may best be made initially by chemical methods, this book treats industrial poisons primarily from the point of view of the chemist and engineer rather than from the medical point of view. The first two chapters cover general principles known to the toxicologist and with which the industrial chemist should be familiar. Chapters III, IV, and V discuss in general terms the hazards associated with the elements and their chief industrial compounds. Chapter VI deals with additional inorganic com-