Introduction
Welcome to the next generation of Coulson-Richardson series of books on Chemical
Engineering. I would like to convey to you all my feelings about this project which have
evolved over the past 30 years, and are based on numerous conversations with Jack
Richardson himself (1981 onwards until his death in 2011) and with some of the other
contributors to previous editions including Tony Wardle, Ray Sinnott, Bill Wilkinson, and
John Smith. So what follows here is the essence of these interactions combined with what
the independent (solicited and unsolicited) reviewers had to say about this series of books
on several occasions.
The Coulson-Richardson series of books has served the academia, students, and working
professionals extremely well since their first publication more than 50 years ago. This is a
testimony to their robustness and to some extent, their timelessness. I have often heard
much praise, from different parts of the world, for these volumes both for their informal
and user-friendly yet authoritative style and for their extensive coverage. Therefore, there
is a strong case for continuing with its present style and pedagogical approach.
On the other hand, advances in our discipline in terms of new applications (energy, bio,
microfluidics, nanoscale engineering, smart materials, new control strategies, and reactor
configurations, for instance) are occurring so rapidly as well as in such a significant
manner that it will be naive, even detrimental, to ignore them. Therefore, while we have
tried to retain the basic structure of this series, the contents have been thoroughly revised.
Wherever, the need was felt, the material has been updated, revised, and expanded as
deemed appropriate. Therefore the reader, whether a student or a researcher or a working
professional should feel confident that what is in the book is the most up-to-date, accurate,
and reliable piece of information on the topic he/she is interested in.
Evidently, this is a massive undertaking that cannot be managed by a single individual.
Therefore, we now have a team of volume editors responsible for each volume having the
individual chapters written by experts in some cases. I am most grateful to all of them for
having joined us in the endeavor. Further, based on extensive deliberations and feedback
from a large number of individuals, some structural changes were deemed appropriate, as
detailed here.
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Introduction
Due to their size, each volume has been split into two sub-volumes as follows:
Volume
Volume
Volume
Volume
Volume
Volume
1A: Fluid Flow
1B: Heat and Mass Transfer
2A: Particulate Technology and Processing
2B: Separation Processes
3A: Chemical Reactors
3B: Process Control
Undoubtedly, the success of a project with such a vast scope and magnitude hinges on the
cooperation and assistance of many individuals. In this regard, we have been extremely
fortunate in working with some outstanding individuals at Butterworth-Heinemann, a few
of whom deserve to be singled out: Jonathan Simpson, Fiona Geraghty, Maria Convey, and
Ashlie Jackman who have taken personal interest in this project and have come to help us
whenever needed, going much beyond the call of duty.
Finally, this series has had a glorious past but I sincerely hope that its future will be even
brighter by presenting the best possible books to the global Chemical Engineering
community for the next 50 years, if not for longer. I sincerely hope that the new edition of
this series will meet (if not exceed) your expectations! Lastly, a request to the readers,
please continue to do the good work by letting me know if, no not if, when you spot a
mistake so that these can be corrected at the first opportunity.
Raj Chhabra
Editor-in-Chief
Kanpur, July 2017
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