Advances In Chemical Engineering

ADVANCES IN CHEMICAL ENGINEERING Volume 5 CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS VOLUME S. G. BANKOFF GEORGED. FULFORD K. RIETEMA J. H. SINFELT J. F. WEHNER Advances in CHEMICAL ENGINEERING Edited by THOMAS B. DREW Department of Chemical Engineering Columbia University New York, New York JOHN W. HOOPES, JR. Atlas Chemical Industries, Inc. Wilmington, Delaware THEODORE VERMEULEN Department of Chemical Engineering University of California Berkeley, California Assistant Editor Giles R. Cokelet Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering California Institute of Technology Pasadena, California Academic Press VOLUME 5 New York and London 1964 COPYRIGHT 0 1964, BY ACADEMICPRESSINC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED NO PART O F THIS .BOOK MAY BE REPRODUCED I N ANY FORM, BY PHOTOSTAT, MICROFILM, OR ANY OTHER MEANS, WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION FROM THE PUBLISHERS. ACADEMIC PRESS INC. 111 FIFTHAVENUE New York, New York 10003 United Kingdom Edition Published by ACADEMIC PRESS INC. (LONDON) LTD. Berkeley Square House London W.1 Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 66-6600 PRINTED I N THE UNITED STATES O F AMERICA CONTRIBUTORS TO VOLUME 5 S. G. BANKOFF, Department of Chemical Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois GEORGE D. FULFORD,* Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, England K. RIETEMA,Department of Chemical Engineering, Technical University, Eindhoven, Netherlands J. H. SINFELT,Esso Research and Engineering Company, Linden, New Jersey J. F. WEHNER,Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana *Present address: E. I. du Pont de Nernours & Company, Inc., Photo Products Department, Research Division, Parlin, New Jersey. This Page Intentionally Left Blank PREFACE This 1964 volume of Advances provides a new group of submitted and solicited reviews, authoritative and timely, in are= where the need has been recognized to evaluate the significance of recent chemical engineering research and to forecast the nature of future studies. Two of this year’s articles discuss the fluid-mechanical aspects of syst e m where material transfer may occur, accompanied by chemical reaction or heat transfer. Fulford analyzes thin-film flow in terms of the flow regimes and of surface disturbances, and relates recent experimental findings to the theoretical framework. Rietema discusses segregation phenomena in heterogeneous reactions, in relation to conditions of %ow and of mass transfer. Bankoff provides a comprehensive analysis of representative practical cases of simultaneous heat and mass transfer at phase boundaries. This is to be followed in a forthcoming volume by a review of evaporation and condensation a t bubble boundaries. The remaining two reviews treat active topics in applied chemical kinetics. Wehner provides a unified treatment of the theory of flames, including the role of intermediates and the problems of flammability limits and ignition conditions. Sinf elt discusses the near-simultaneous conduct of successive reactions needed, for instance, in the reforming of petroleum fractions, as produced by intimate mixtures of metallic and acidic catalysts. The editors express their appreciation to Giles R. Cokelet of the California Institute of Technology, who has also participated in manuscript review as the assistant editor for this volume; to Michel Boudart, for his review of the chapter by J. H. Sinfelt; and to the staff of Academic Press, for help in expediting publication. THOMAS B. DREW JOHNW. HOOPES,JR. THEODORE VERMEULEN November 1964 vii This Page Intentionally Left Blank CONTENTS CONTRIBUTORS TO VOLUME 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PREFACE