Reverse osmosis membrane research

Reverse osmosis membrane research

Book Review inflated standards. In fairness it must be stated that the production of the book (even down to the delightful feel of the paper) is first...

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Book Review inflated standards. In fairness it must be stated that the production of the book (even down to the delightful feel of the paper) is first-class. The publication of the book within a year of the symposium is very much par for the course nowadays. The unique nature of the subject matter of this volume will ensure for it a wide and receptive audience among both academic and industrial colloid and surface chemists interested in the preparation of crystalline colloidal dispersions and in crystal growth phenomena.

Particle Growth in Suspensions. Edited by A. L. SMX~I, Soc. Chem. Ind. Monogr. No. 38, Academic Press, London, 1973. 306 pp. $16.80 (£7.00). This book had its origins in the proceedings of an obviously successful symposium held at Brunel University in April, 1972. The symposium was organized by the Colloid and Surface Chemistry Group of the Society of Chemical Industry. One of the difficulties commonly associated with the publication of a set of symposium papers, such as these, under a rather general heading is the absence of a discernible unifying theme. This volume is no exception but the presence of several minor themes, which are pursued to considerable depth, more than compensates for this. Perhaps the prime example is the aging and ripening of colloidal precipitates : fully one-third of the papers in this collection at least touch upon this topic. Dunning's outstanding contribution, which opened the symposium, is an important, and challenging, theoretical conspectus of ripening and aging processes that colloid scientists have traditionally viewed rather empirically. This paper should be compulsory, if not compulsive, reading for all experimentalists in the field. The aging of metal oxides and hydroxides provides a further important subtheme (with contributions from Sing, Rehbinder, Matijevi6 and Dwivedi). The title of this book may be misleading to the newer breed of colloid chemists; the growth of crystalline particles alone is considered, so that the growth of polymer latex particles, for example, is not touched upon. There is, however, a fascinating group of five papers discussing the growth and dissolution of organic crystals (e.g., the pharmacologically important drugs aspirin and phenobarbitone). Of course, no symposium such as this could pass without new light being cast (by Ottewill and Herz) upon those old faithfuls of colloid science, the silver halides. As a personal (perhaps narking) prejudice, I was surprised that the quantitative theories of Burton, Cabrera and Frank, coupled with the associated notions of kink sites and kink poisons, did not intrude more into this symposium, given its origins. The importance of these ideas was highlighted by Sir Eric Rideal in his all-too-brief foreword. The inclusion of the discussion among participants is one of the most stimulating features of the book. The cost of the book, composed of only 18 papers plus discussion, seems rather steep even by today's

D. H. NAPPER University of Sydney Sydney, Australia

Reverse Osmosis Membrane Research. Edited by H. K. LONSDALE and H. E. PODALL, Plenum, New York, 1972. xi q- 503 pp. $27.50.

This book is an expanded collection of papers of a Symposium held in 1971. Of its some 500 pages, about 60 are on transport process theory and concentration polarization, 220 on the preparation, properties and uses of cellulose acetate membranes, 150 pages on similar studies of membranes based upon other polymers, and 70 pages describe the technologies of membrane fabrication in sheet, tube, and hollow fiber form. As with all symposia, the various contributions do not present a unified or complete picture of research in a given field, and an uneven quality necessarily results. The two papers on fundamentals by Kedam and by Pusch are authoritative and particularly useful to those interested in fundamental aspects. The series of papers on cellulose acetate membranes contain many useful details and are likely to be of interest but to a relatively small group of specialists. The papers on non-celluloslc membranes are individually good and were well selected in that they describe the salient non-cellulosic candidates. Those papers on hollow fibers and small tubes are again highly specialized and of interest limited to a relatively smal/group. This collected volume will be valuable to those interested in keeping abreast of advances in this active and extensive field of research and development, particularly so because its published contributions are to be found in such a wide range of journals.

181 Copyright ~ 1974 by Academic Press, Inc. All rights of reproduction in any form reserved.

Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, Vol. 46, No. 1, January 1974

182

BOOK REVIEWS

All of the articles were retyped with the result that the format of the volume is most pleasing. While it would have been more convenient to have had a single list of references, it must be recognized that a compilation of this kind places an unusual burden upon the editor. HARRY P. GREGOR

Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry Columbia University New York, New York 10027

The Surface Tension of Pure Liquid Compounds.

JOSEPI-IJ. JASPER, American Chemical Society. $8.00, Professor Emeritus Joseph J. Jasper has done yeoman service for surface chemistry by providing a compilation of surface tension data on some 2,200 pure liquid com-

pounds, mostly in tabular form. From acetals to water and hydrogen peroxide, the compounds are arranged according to chemical type and increasing molecular weight, with a final compilation of 226 compounds for which the reported values are only available at a single temperature. The literature has been surveyed from about 1874 to 1969 and the reliability of the data is in considerable detail. Selection of values was done with great care, considering the method of measurement, purity, quality of apparatus, experimental procedure, and experience of the investigator. The compendium is available either in the Journal of Physical and Chemical Reference Data or as an independent book from the American Chemical Society for $8.00. The book will be used by scientists for years to come and will stand as a monument to the efforts of Professor Jasper. A. C. ZETTLE~rO¥~I~

)Lehigh University Bethlehem, Pennsflvania

Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, Vol. 46, No. 1, January 1974