404 Book Reviews
and developing strategies for the manipulation of antibiotic-
producing strains. Emphasis is placed on the semi-random
methods of mutant selection and protoplast fusion together
with specific applications of recombinant DNA technology in
contrast to the random methods of the past.
The final three chapters are concerned with product
recoveries and downstream processing Georges Belfort intro-
duces an overview of future opportunities in the form of
magnetic and electrical processes, bioselective fractionation
and membrane processes which are compared and contrasted
with traditional methods of solid-liquid separation and
product concentration. Separation by sorption processes are
considered by Michael Lad&h who presents quantitative
methods applicable to liquid chromatography in terms of
column design and operation, process scale-up and cost
analysis. Requirements for the exact definition of operational
variables are emphasised as being essential to the successful
pursuit of process male-up. The book finishes with a lengthy
review of membrane separation technology characterised by a
historical introduction and a discussion of membrane ma-
terials and configurations. The various types of membrane
modules or permeators are considered and transport mechan-
Distillation Tray Fundamentals. By M. J. LOCKETT.
Cambridge University Press, New York, 1986,226 pp., $54.50
This new book brings together a considerable amount of
recent research in the area of distillation tray design. Much of
the material is not available in the standard design texts, and
the book fills a considerable gap in the literature. A great deal
of very useful work has been around, in research journals, for
some time but has been unknown to many design engineers.
This coverage makes the latest developments readily available
to those concerned with producing the best column designs.
The process of distillation is the most widely used of all the
separation techniques, and many feel that we already know
all that is required to design satisfactory columns. However,
this is incorrect, and many recent studies have illustrated the
fact that there is still much that is not fully understood and,
most important, there is still considerable scope for signifi-
cantly reducing the numbers of trays required for many
separations. It has been estimated that about 2% of the
energy consumed in the Western world goes in distillation,
and consequently the potential savings resulting from im-
provements in design are very large indeed.
This book covers all aspects of the detailed design of trays.
After an initial description of the tray types available, the
recent work on the nature of the liquid-vapour mixture on
the tray is covered in detail. This includes the transition from
the froth regime to the spray regime. Methods of estimating
the clear liquid head, the dispersion height and the biphase
density are described, and tray pressure drop is covered in
detail. The capacity ranges, with prediction methods for such
undesirable occurrences as weeping, entrainment, flooding
isms presented for reverse osmosis, ultrafiltration and micro-
filtration. Of particular value is the treatment of membrane
fouling using models based upon current understanding of
duct hydrodynamics.
This is a worthy book which presents advanced material
well and is serviced by a topical bibliography. The opening
chapter is headed by a statement that “the 80’s and 90’s will
see a biochemical industry borne from a new creative union of
biochemical engineers and molecular biologists”. I would
suggest that this union is best promoted by attending the
course at Renssalaer rather than reading the book. However,
the text remains a valuable collection of advanced material
which is absent from most chemical engineering and bio-
technology source-books.
ANDREW LYDDIATT
Biochemical Recovery Group
Department of Chemical Engineering
University of Birmingham
PO Box 363, Edgbaston
Birmingham, B15 2TT, U.K.
and biphase oscillation, are given very good coverage. Finally
the difficult area of mass transfer efficiency, and how to
predict it, is included, together with a numerical multicom-
ponent example. Well over 400 reference sources are quoted.
It seems to me that there are two major areas which need
attention in distillation column design, and these are the
hydraulic design and the prediction of multicomponent
efficiencies. Both these are given excellent coverage.
Regarding the hydraulics of conventional circular sieve trays,
the problem of stagnant zones and flow non-uniformities is
now well known to have a serious effect on tray and column
efficiencies. The recent models have indicated the magnitude
of this effect, and I feel that further refinement of these models
is probably not worthwhile. The important step now is to
continue to improve the hydraulics to remove the problem.
On the question of efficiency, particularly in multicomponent
systems, there is much to be done, and the coverage in this
book provides the up-to-date picture, so that these results
may be used, and establishes a base for further work.
In his preface, Dr Lockett says that he wished to convey to
others his enthusiasm for the subject. This he has un-
doubtedly done. This is an excellent book and a very welcome
addition to the literature. It should be read by every engineer
who is designing distillation trays, and will be very useful to
undergraduate students.
MICHAEL BIDDULPH
Department of Chemicnl Engineering
Universiry of Nottingham
University Park
Nottingham NE7 2RD. U.K.