Problem Solving in Chemical and Biochemical Engineering with POLYMATH, Excel, and MATLAB 2nd Edition

Professors Cutlip and Schacham, two of the most highly regarded and experienced in the field of chemical engineering computing, have authored this outstanding guide to solving a wide variety of problems in chemical engineering. This book describes succinctly the following classes of problems: (1) fluid properties and other basic calculations such as bubble and dew points, adiabatic flame temperatures, unsteady mixing, and heat exchange in a series of tanks, (2) linear and non-linear regression and correlation of data (a perennial headache), (3) problem solving with Excel and MATLAB, (4) advanced techniques for simultaneous nonlinear algebraic and differential equations (including boundary conditions), and partial differential equations, (5) equations of state for thermodynamic properties, activity coefficient models for nonideal liquid mixtures, and complex chemical equilibria, (6) fluid mechanics of laminar and turbulent flow in pipelines and networks, and other topics, (7) heat transfer by conduction, convection, and radiation, (8) mass transfer in beds and catalysts, simultaneous diffusion and reaction, and simultaneous heat and mass transfer, (9) reaction engineering (batch, plug flow, and CSTRs), (11) phase equilibria and distillation (batch and continuous), (12) process dynamics and control, including process model identification (1st and 2nd order SISO models), tuning methods including Ziegler-Nichols, and PI control, (13) selected topics in biochemical engineering.As is readily seen, this is a quite comprehensive list of topics in the undergraduate curriculum. The great thing about this book is that it describes , with examples, the use an excellent software package called POLYMATH which was developed by the authors for solving all the problems listed above. A student version - with some limits on problem size, and a professional version - with far wider limits - at a higher but still very modest price, are available at a nominal cost over the web. I have used the professional version of POLYMATH in my own work for several years with excellent success. The algorithms in the software package are of superior quality and have shown excellent convergence characteristics for a wide variety of tests that I have conducted for many of the problem types described above. The syntax is extremely easy to learn, when compared to many other packages, and is implemented in a very straightforward manner. Plenty of example problems are included with the software, so learning to adapt the package to solve your problem should be quite straightforward.It is worth noting that AIChE's famous list of ten problems was solved very readily using POLYMATH. This is described in the paper " A COLLECTION OF TEN NUMERICAL PROBLEMS IN CHEMICAL ENGINEERING SOLVED BY VARIOUS MATHEMATICAL SOFTWARE PACKAGES", easily accessed on the internet.For chemical engineering undergraduate (and even graduate) students, I think this is a truly outstanding approach to learning how to formulate and solve a large proportion of standard problems encountered in the typical curriculum. I think that instructors would find this an invaluable teaching tool.I am a chemical engineer with 51 years of experience and have been active in math modeling, simulation, and numerical methods throughout. In my opinion, this book and the associated POLYMATH software should occupy a prominent place on every chemical engineer's desk. If you want a straightforward and easy-to-learn (but powerful) software package, this is an excellent choice to get started. The book is a highly readable and practical way to understand the use of the software, and contains valuable information on how things work inside. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Llegó bien el producto, aunque un poco maltratado la portada.

Great book for any engineer especially ChemEs. Walks you through every example equation by equation.

Rating would be higher if I could be able to run Polymath. You can consider the book useless if you are not willing to pay for this software. In my case, I paid for the software but not successful during installation, it returns an error. Unsuccessfully trying to contact customer support (only options are by email or regular mail). No answer yet. Should not sell the software if no support can be provided.

From the perspective of a ChE instructor, I found this textbook a very good source of homework and mid terms problems. If you are teaching a numerical method course or one where modeling and simulation is the focus, this is a textbook for your personal library. The problems range from linear, non-linear equations, ODE to PDE equations that can be solve using the "method of lines". You can find a nice range of topics, including bioreactors, heat transfer, fluid mechanics, chemical reactions, process control, etc. Partial solutions are given to most of them. From the book's Web Site you can download many solved problem files in MATLAB, EXCEL AND POLYMATH; unfortunately, students also can download them. The Appendix includes a nice classification of all the problems, according to their application area (thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, mass transfer, etc.).If you are hoping to learn programming, in particular MATLAB, this is not the textbook. MATLAB is used in almost all the chapters; unfortunately, the "method of lines" solutions are in POLYMATH.Last, but not least; the price of the textbook is just perfect ($47) considering all the time you can save with this source of solved problems.

I was pleased with the step-by-step guide in the book, very helpful when using these tools. Downside is my book came with quite a bit of damage, but the content is very good for those that wants to learn to model biochemical kinetics in Polymath or MATLAB.

was not quite the book i waned but useful

Para todos aquellos estudiantes y profesionistas que requieren aplicar los métodos numéricos en la escuela o en el trabajo, utilizando el software de Polymath, es la guía ideal para ver como se resuelven diferentes tipos de problemas.

I like this book and it is Very good for learners.All chemical Engineers Should have thisDr.G.Chandra SekharProfessor,Chemical Engg,Pondicherry Engineering College

Un testo che comprende una raccolta di esercizi (svolti e da svolgere) alle cui soluzioni ci si può arrivare anche individualmente avendo le conoscenze di base nel campo dell'ingegneria chimica (comunque brevemente trattate nel testo). SCONSIGLIATO per chi è in cerca di "qualcosa di nuovo e particolare", per coloro che credono che in tale testo ci siano le soluzioni per tutti i possibili problemi del settore o per chi crede che in esso possa esserci un aiuto sull'utilizzo dei vari software. CONSIGLIATO per chi vuole esercitarsi ulteriormente e per chi vuole affrontare uno studio individuale avendo già buona pratica con i software.Testo comunque buono (anche perchè in commercio non ne ho trovati altri).

Book arrived 3 days after order in good condition. Price paid was a good saving over the university bookstore.

Very good product.