ABSTRACT

Process design is the distinguishing feature that differentiates the chemical engineer from all other engineers. As the field of air-pollution control engineering has evolved over the last several decades, it is obvious that the air-pollution control engineer must adopt the ideas and principles of process design. In defining process design, we first define design as the development of a plan to accomplish a goal. The engineer must modify that definition to consider engineering design. Borrowing from a nineteenth century definition for railway engineering and extending the definition to our time, engineering design is “The art of engineering a safe, environmentally sound system for $1.00 which any fool can do for $2.00.” The engineer must now accept the responsibility to see that any engineering system is not only economically feasible, but it must be safe and meet environmental regulations. Two books that would be of assistance in developing the ideas of process analysis, synthesis, and design principles are the texts by Seider et al.1 and by Turton et al.2 Both these books emphasize the use of computer-aided process design and are up to date in their viewpoint.