Book Reviews

Mechanisms of Ionic Polymerization (Current Problems), by B. L. Erusalimskii, Plenum, New York, 1986, 306 pp. Price: $89.50.

It is always welcome to receive English translations of polymer books recently published in the USSR. This book is no exception. In dealing with the current problems assoCiated with mechanisms of ionic polymerization, the author shows an insight and awareness which points the way for researchers in this field or desiring to enter the field. For them, this is required reading. This is a critical evaluation even as shown by the title of various chapters-“The Informativeness of Research Methods into Ionic Active Sites;” “The Reactivity of Active Sites and Monomers in Homoge- neous Ionic Systems;” “The Problem of Stereospecificity.”

This is not a review, but as the author stresses, it is a critical evaluation. As such, it will probably cause some controversy-and that is good for science. A problem with translations sometimes is timeliness-the latest references are in 1983 and there are only a few of these. Even so, this is a valuable contribution.

Eli M. Pearce Polymer Research Institute Polytechnic University Brooklyn, New York 11201

Polymer Products Design Materials and Processing, by David H. Morton-Jones and John W. Ellis, Chapman and Hall, New York, 1986, 345 pp. Price: $45.00.

The preface of this book speaks well to its contents. The chapters represent case studies for examples of polymers “at work;” that is, the use of products made from polymers. The reported studies were carried out at the University of Lancaster, UK, under the auspices of the Departments of Chemistry and Engineering. Each study is a separate chapter or subchapter and the studies are grouped into book sections by subject content. Generally, the book sections are introduced by an overview chapter intended to cite the polymer science and engineering relevant to the particular polymer product.

The book does not pretend to be a comprehensive account of polymer technology. As such, completeness and symmetry are absent, in terms of either polymer products or compositions. The book does present a series of anectodal presentations by polymer composition, e.g., polyurethanes, and by polymer applications, such as for gaskets, shoe soles, and gears. Still other viewpoints are presented in terms of techniques for processing polymers, such as injection molding and foaming, and by choice of polymer for application.

Much of the value of this book has indeed been in the preparation of the studies themselves. As a consequence, the book makes interesting reading, yet is not intended

Journal of Polymer Science: Part C: Polymer Letters, Vol. 25, 359-360 (1987) 0 1987 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. CCC 0360-6384/87/080359-02$04.00

360 J. POLYM. SCI. PART C: POLYM. LETT., VOL. 25 (1987)

to be encyclopedic. "he index of the book is woefully short. The contents are thus best reviewed by citing some of the key words from the outline of chapters. These include a discussion of plastics used as gears, foam-cored moulding, sandwich moulding (of TV frames), glass reinforced plastics, and rubber-steel conveyor belts. A dozen other specific applications of plastics are briefly reviewed.

Roger Porter University of Massachusetts Amherst, Massachusetts

Distillation Tray Fundamentals. by M. J. Lockett, Cambridge University Press, New York, 1986,226 pp. Price: $54.50.

Historically, it was the Chinese who discovered the distillation process during the middle of the Chou dynasty. Nowadays, distillation is the dominant separation process used in the petroleum and chemical industries. This is the reason why the design and performance of distillation trays is one of the most thoroughly studied topics in chemical engineering. Factors which influence the selection of tray type include capacity, efficiency, turndown, pressure drop, fouling resistance, cost, and tradition.

The book entitled Distillation Tray Fundamentals is a very opportune one; it contains an up-to-date, in-depth treatment of distillation tray fluid dynamics and efficiency, with emphasis on sieve and value trays. I t contains the following chapters and two appendices: 1. Some general considerations, 2. Bubbles, froth, spray and foam, 3. Clear liquid height, dispersion height and density, 4. Pressure drop, 5. Maximum capacity, 6. Weeping, 7. Tray efficiency, 8. Point efficiency, 9. Relationship between point efficiency and tray efficiency, and 10. Prediction of efficiency for multicomponent mixtures.

This volume is presented at a scientific level and it is very useful for chemical and process engineers in industry concerned with distillation and absorption, for research workers, and for graduate students in chemical engineering.

Dorel Feldman Concordiu University Montreal, Canada

Topics in Current Chemistry 136 - Biomimetic and Bioorganic Chemistry 111, by F. M. Menger, M. Badertscher, M. Welti, P. Portmann, E. Pretsch, K. Tanizawa, Y. Kanaoka, and G. Schmidt, Springer-Verlag, New York, 1986, 166 pp. Price: $61.60.

This volume presents four chapters which deal with chemistry of multi-armed organic compounds, calculation of interaction energies in host-guest systems, design of biospecific compounds which simulate enzyme substrate interactions, and recent devel- opments in biologically active peptides. The book has been exceedingly well edited; it is very readable and will be of great interest to those interested in the topics either as an introduction or an extension of their knowledge of such systems. The chapter on interaction energies and host guest systems provides extensive data tables which will be of great interest to those working in this area. There is no subject index in the work.

L. Guy Donaruma University of Alabama Huntsville, Alabama 35899