Chemical Engineering: An Introduction By M. M. Denn

A staple of the undergraduate chemical engineering curriculum is the introductory course, usually taught in the first term of the sophomore year, and often referred to as ‘‘mass and energy balances’’, ‘‘chemical process principles’’, or just ‘‘introduction to chemical engineering.’’ Over the years, a number of textbooks have been available for this course; at present, the most widely used text is Felder and Rousseau, Elementary Principles of Chemical Processes. Another noteworthy text is Murphy, Introduction to Chemical Processes. The basic elements of most courses include fundamentals of material balances, including process flow sheets, single and multiphase systems, energy balances on closed and open systems, and balances on nonreactive and reactive processes. Details of the chemical reactor and of particular separation processes await the traditional subsequent courses. The nature of the introductory course depends in many respects on the extent to which it bears a portion of the thermodynamics instruction. Felder and Rousseau covers a good deal of thermodynamics, and, therefore, fits well with a subsequent one-term thermodynamics course.