Chemical Engineering and Thermodynamics

[wintermute++]

Hi all,

I'm a recent graduate of chemistry that wanted to be in chemical engineering but couldn't afford the schools around my location that offered it. While I spend a few years working and saving, I want to get ahead of the curve with the subject before I return to school.

Would any kind Chem. Eng.'s be willing to recommend me some starter and intermediate textbooks? I'm also looking for a solid statistical thermodynamics textbook that would be in depth and hopefully include exercise solutions, as well as an advanced thermodynamics textbook with a focus on applications.

Thanks in advance to anyone who replies.

 

[gfd43tg]

For Thermodynamics, a textbook used by many chemical engineers at the undergraduate level is ''Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics'' by Smith, Van Ness, and Abbott. If you are looking for a graduate level book, I believe ''Molecular Thermodynamics of Fluid Phase Equilibria'' by John Prausnitz would be a good choice

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0139777458/?tag=pfamazon01-20

 

[Smittron]

Hi winter. With your chemistry degree you should have a good background in math, physics and chemistry to further your studies in chemical engineering.

I consider the core chemical engineering courses to be the following:

o Material and energy balances
o Thermodynamics
o Momentum, heat and mass transfer
o Reactor design
o Unit operations
o Process design

There are many electives that help round out the chemical engineering curriculum but this core provides a solid foundation.

If you have any questions or would like recommendations for textbooks for any of these courses please let me know.

 

[wintermute++]

Hey Smittron, thanks for the core outline!

Do you recommend a specific sequence of courses to build upon each other? I'd like text recommendations for Thermodynamics (I have Atkins Physical Chemistry), Material and Energy Balances, and Process Design. But if one requires another to learn well then I'll take that textbook instead.

Or if you're feeling unusually generous you could give me a textbook recommendation for each subject you have listed. If I get this job as a chemist at a cement manufacturing corporation it will be about 2 years before I go back to school, so at least I'll have that time to learn as much as possible.

 

[gfd43tg]

One area you may have forgot to mention is process control.

The main textbooks for some of those subjects

- Mass/Energy balance (Felder and Rousseau)
- Thermodynamics (Smith, Van Ness, Abbott)
- Momentum, Heat, Mass Transfer (Bird, Stewart, Lightfoot)
- Reactor Design (Fogler)
- Unit Operations (Geankopolis and/or McCabe)

Just look on amazon at the authors and you will see the books. You need all those subjects before you are ready for process design, so this should keep you busy for the next couple years

 

[wintermute++]

Hey Maylis, are these the proper textbooks you're referring to?

Transfer Phenomena --> For momentum, heat, and mass transfer by Bird et al.
Elementary Principles of Chemical Processes -->Mass/Energy balance by Felder

Thanks for your suggestions. Looks like I'll have a lot of interesting stuff to learn.

 

[gfd43tg]

Yes those are the ones