ABSTRACT
We can view any process as a circuit analagous an electrical circuit. Instead of voltage differences between points in the circuit, there are pressure differences. Instead of current flow, there is mass flow. Before a process can be completely designed, all the mass flow rates, compositions, temperatures, pressures and energy requirements in all parts of the process must be known. Process engineers usually specify pressure drops and temperatures from experience. They calculate mass flow rates, which are traditionally treated in a course in mass and energy balances. However, mass and energy balances are only a partial set of equations that process engineers can write when analyzing a process circuit.
