Choice Review

This book collects the information available on the calculation of exergy (the capacity to do work calculated in relation to an ambient dead state) consumption in chemical processing. This type of analysis has been extensively used in evaluating the effectiveness of refrigeration processes, but it is less commonly used to assess the design of industrial chemical processes. Thus the authors have done a real service for those interested in chemical process development. The concept development is rigorous; there are extensive tables of data necessary for energy calculation as well as many graphs, tables, and diagrams showing results of the calculations. Detailed calculations are presented for power plants, iron and steel making, lead smelting, and industrial processes for making sulfuric acid, ammonia, and nitric acid. The authors also cover thermoeconomic applications and ecological applications. The book includes an extensive bibliography. Recommended for libraries serving chemical engineers. -L. A. Wenzel, Lehigh University