Book Preface

Although introductory in nature, the material of this text should not be thought simple. Indeed, there is no way to make it simple, and a student new to the subject will find that a demanding task of discovery lies ahead. New concepts, words, and symbols appear at a bewildering rate, and here memory plays a part. A far greater challenge is the necessity to develop a capacity to reason and to apply thermodynamic principles in the solution of practical problems. While maintaining the rigor characteristic of sound thermodynamic analysis, we have made every effort to avoid unnecessary mathematical complexity. Moreover, we encourage understanding by writing simple active-voice, present-tense sentences. We can hardly supply the required motivation, but our objective, as it has been for all previous editions, is a treatment that may be understood by any student willing to exercise due diligence.

The first two chapters of the book present basic definitions and a development of the first law. Chapters 3 and 4 treat the pressure/volume/temperature behavior of fluids and certain heat effects, allowing early application of the first law to realistic problems. The second law and some of its applications are considered in Chap. 5. A treatment of the thermodynamic properties of pure fluids in Chap. 6 allows general application of the first and second laws, and provides for an expanded treatment of flow processes in Chap. 7. Chapters 8 and 9 deal with power production and refrigeration processes. The remainder of the book, concerned with fluid mixtures, treats topics in the unique domain of chemical-engineering thermodynamics. Chapters 11 and 12 provide a comprehensive exposition of the theory and application of solution thermodynamics. Chemical-reaction equilibrium is covered at length in Chap. 13. Chapter 14 deals with topics in phase equilibria, including an extended treatment of vapor/liquid equilibrium, and adsorption and osmotic equilibria. Chapter 15 treats the thermodynamic analysis of real processes, affording a review of much of the practical subject matter of thermodynamics.

The material of these 15 chapters is more than adequate for an academic-year undergraduate course, and discretion, conditioned by the content of other courses, is required in the choice of what is covered. The first 13 chapters include material thought necessary as part of any chemical engineer’s education. Where only a single-semester course in chemicalengineering thermodynamics is provided, these 13 chapters may represent sufficient content.

The laws and principles of classical thermodynamics do not depend on any particular model of the structure of matter; they are free of any molecular considerations. However, the behavior exhibited by matter— gases, liquids, and solids— does depend on its particulate nature, and in Chapter 16 we present an introduction to molecular thermodynamics, to which reference is occasionally made in earlier chapters.

The book is comprehensive enough to make it a useful reference both in graduate courses and for professional practice. However, length considerations make necessary a prudent selectivity. Thus, we do not include certain topics worthy of attention, but of a specialized nature. These include applications to polymers, electrolytes, and biomaterials.

We are indebted to many individuals—students, professors, reviewers—who have contributed in various ways to the quality of this seventh edition, directly and indirectly, through question and comment, praise and criticism, over the 55 years and six editions of its evolution. To all we extend our thanks.

J. M. Smith
H. C. Van Ness
M. M. Abbott