This chapter is about one of the most important and fundamental topics in chemical and bioprocess engineering: material balance. The significance and importance of this chapter lies in the two objectives we expect to accomplish simultaneously: delight students with the prospect of a satisfying process engineering career and train and prepare them in one of the most significant topics in the field: material balance. We will use many examples to teach you, step by step, how to approach, formulate, and solve material balance problems and, at the same time, through the diversity of the examples, discover the breadth of applications of process and bioprocess engineering. You will be exposed to classical problems of chemical engineering, bioprocess engineering, environmental engineering, food engineering, biochemical engineering, biotechnology, and other fields.
How difficult is material balance? At this stage, this is a valid question because, as mentioned earlier, and as we will discover, material balance forms the core of this book and is a vital tool for process engineers. Although it might seem difficult, the good news is that with adequate training and a sound strategy, it can be easy, fun, and, most important, encouraging. Some problems, and probably most real-world problems, can be nightmarish if not approached armed with an adequate procedure. The key word in this chapter is PROCEDURE!
This chapter is devoted entirely to empowering you with one of the most important pieces of knowledge a process engineer should acquire, material balance. In addition, 5 examples, 15 detailed solved problems, and 45 proposed problems are included.
Optimists enrich the present, enhance the future, challenge the improbable and attain the impossible.
William Arthur Ward
He that would have the fruit must climb the tree.
Thomas Fuller
Imagination is more important than knowledge.
Albert Einstein
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