BOOK
REVIEW
A. D. Sulimov PRODUCTION OF AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS FROM PETROLEUM RAW M A T E R I A L S * Reviewed by V. I. Karzhev
In this book, a large amount of material is collected and correlated on the production of aromatic hydrocarbons from petroleum raw materials; descriptions are given not only for current processes, but also processes now being develope d that will be finding commercial applications in the immediate future. The material is quite thoroughly and profoundly analyzed from the standpoint of modern concepts of reaction mechanisms, thermodynamics, and kinetics. No less valuable is the systematization of commercial operating data from both domestic and foreign units or combinations of units in the production of high-purity aromatic hydrocarbons. The book consists of an introduction and six chapters, containing 69 tables, 49 figures~ and a list of references with 607 entries. The bibliography covers the basic literature on the production of aromatic hydrocarbons. In the domestic and foreign literature (mainly periodical literature) during the past few years, a rather large number of articles and reviews have been published on matters that are brought into this book. However, there had been no systematized material that was treated on the modern level of knowledge or that was convenient for use. The 1959 brochure of A. D. Sulimov (69 pages), "Recovery of Aromatic Hydrocarbons from Petroleum Raw Materials", is already o u t d a t e d . The book gives the most detail on processes and technology for the production of individual xylene isomers and ethylbenzene (Chapter I) and the isomerization of Ca aromatic hydrocarbons (Chapter IV). It should be noted that the various isomerization processes are discussed in Chapter IV with varying degrees of completeness. In the descriptions of the ICl, ARCO, and Isolene processes, there is no listing of all basic process indices, as has been done for the processes of other foreign companies and USSR units. For the processes of dealkylation, disproportionation, and transalkylation (Chapter VI), the material published during the last few years, both in the field of research and in the development of technology and systematization of commercial operating data, is not discussed adequately. The book does not contain any information on automation, mathematical simulation, or optimization of the processes under consideration. These shortcomings should be taken into consideration by the authors in the future. The book undoubtedly will have a large circle of readers, not only among engineering and technical personnel of petroleum refineries and petrochemical plants, but also among research and design organizations.
*Khimiya, Moscow (1975).
304 pp., i ruble 76 kopecks.
Translated from Khimiya i Tekhnologiya Topliv i Masel, No. 6, p .
62, June, 1976.
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