1999-05-28
8:15 at ML D 28

Thermodynamics for Separation-Process Technology

John M. Prausnitz

University of California, Berkeley, USA

 All chemical engineers have a tacit, almost subconscious, understanding of qualitative thermodynamics: whenever we conceive or design a separation process, we instinctively avoid any violation of the first and second laws of thermodynamics. Thus, qualitative thermodynamics inevitably lies at the foundation of separation science. But quantitative thermodynamics can provide much more, primarily because it can significantly decrease the amount of experimental work required to test the feasibility of a separation-process concept or to optimize a separation-process design. Thus, quantitative thermodynamics (often coupled with molecular models) establishes a powerful tool for separation-science applications. Some examples are presented to illustrate the use of quantitative thermodynamics to inform some present and some future separation technologies.