 |  Plant Design and Economics for Chemical Engineers, 5/e Max S. Peters,
University of Colorado
Klaus Timmerhaus,
University of Colorado, Boulder
Ronald E. West,
University of Colorado, Boulder
Introduction
Chapter OverviewA
successful chemical engineer in this modern age of national and international
competition needs more than a knowledge and full understanding of the fundamental
science and the related engineering concepts of material and energy
balances, thermodynamics, reaction kinetics, heat transfer, mass transfer, and computer
technology. The engineer must also have the ability to apply this knowledge to practical
situations to initiate and develop new or improved processes and products that will
be beneficial to society. However, in achieving this goal, the chemical engineer must
recognize the economic, environmental, and ethical implications that are involved in
such developments and proceed accordingly.
Chemical engineering design of new chemical or biochemical processes and the
expansion or revision of existing processes require the use of engineering principles
and theories combined with a practical realization of the limits imposed by environmental,
safety, and health concerns. Development of a new process or plant from concept
evaluation to profitable reality often is a very complex operation. It is important
to keep in mind that process design problems are open-ended and thus may have many
solutions that are profitable even when not entirely optimal, yet meet the design constraints
noted above. |
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2003 McGraw-Hill Higher Education