Safety First[]
- Chemical Process Safety: Fundamentals with Applications by Crowl and Louvar
- System Safety Engineering And Risk Assessment: A Practical Approach by Bahr
- System Reliability Theory: Models, Statistical Methods, and Applications by Rausand and Høyland
- Technology, Law, and the Working Environment by Ashford and Caldart
History and Introductory Texts[]
History of Chemical Engineering[]
- People, Pipes, and Processes: A Short History of Chemical Engineering by Don Freshwater
- History of Chemical Engineering by W. F. Furter
- A History of Industrial Chemistry by Sherwood Taylor
- One Hundred Years of Chemical Engineering by Nikolaos A. Peppas
- A History of the International Chemical Industry by Fred Aftalion
Introduction to Chemical Engineering[]
- Chemical and Bioprocess Engineering by Simpson and Sastry
- Introduction to Chemical Engineering by Badger and Banchero
- Chemical Engineering for Non-Chemical Engineers by Jack Hipple
- A Practical Approach to Chemical Engineering for Non-Chemical Engineers by Moe Toghraei
- Introduction to Chemical Engineering: For Chemical Engineers and Students by Uche Nnaji
- Introduction to Chemical Engineering by van 't Land
Fundamentals[]
Prerequisites[]
For almost all these books, a working knowledge of Introductory Physics, General Chemistry, Multivariable Calculus, Ordinary Differential Equations and Partial Differential Equations is assumed. A general engineering foundation in Statics, Mechanics of Materials, Material Science is important to reactor and unit operation design. Furthermore, chemical engineers are expected to pick up Organic Chemistry and Quantum Chemistry (the Thermal Chemistry section in Physical Chemistry is superseded by Chemical Thermodynamics below) as they progress, but it is not immediately necessary and could be done at any time. Knowledge of Linear Algebra, Programming (Excel/VBA is the most used software in the industry and is strongly recommended to be developed along with the regular course study, Matlab and Python tends to be the more popular but C++ isn't unheard of either), and Numerical Methods (especially involving DiffyQs) is essential for professional chemical engineering.
Bible[]
- Perry's Chemical Engineers' Handbook by Perry, Green, and Southard
Material and Energy Balances[]
- Elementary Principles of Chemical Processes by Felder, Rousseau, and Bullard
- Basic Principles and Calculations in Chemical Engineering by Himmelblau and Riggs
- Principles of Chemical Engineering Processes: Material and Energy Balance by Ghasem and Henda
- Introduction to Material and Energy Balances by Reklaitis
- Basic Practice of Chemical Engineering by Shaheen
Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics[]
- Principles of Chemical Equilibrium (Parts I and II cover Thermodynamics) by Denbigh
- Introduction to Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics by Smith, Ness, and Abbott
- Fundamentals of Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics by Dahm and Visco
- Thermodynamics: Fundamentals for Applications by O'Connell and Haile
- Introductory Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics by Elliot and Lira
- Molecular Engineering Thermodynamics by Pablo and Schieber
- Engineering and Chemical Thermodynamics by Koretsky
- Molecular Thermodynamics of Fluid-Phase Equilibria by Prausnitz, Lichtenthaler, and de Azevedo
- Understanding Engineering Thermo by Levenspiel
Transport Processes with Unit Operations[]
- Transport Processes and Separation Process Principles by Geankoplis
- Unit Operations of Chemical Engineering by McCabe, Smith, and Harriott
- Fundamentals of Momentum, Heat, and Mass Transfer by Welty, Rorrer, and Foster
- Momentum, Heat, and Mass Transfer Fundamentals by Kessler and Greenkorn
Chemical Engineering Fluid Mechanics[]
- Fluid Mechanics for Chemical Engineers by Wilkes and Birmingham
- An Introduction to Fluid Mechanics by Faith Morrison
- Chemical Engineering Fluid Mechanics by Darby and Chhabra
- Introduction to Chemical Engineering Fluid Mechanics by William Deen
Heat Transfer for Chemical Engineering[]
- Kern's Process Heat Transfer by Flynn, Akashige, and Theodore
- Process Heat Transfer: Principles, Applications, and Rules of Thumb by Serth and Lestina
- Process Heat Transfer by Hewitt, Shires, and Bott
See the Mechanical Engineering's Heat Transfer and Fluid Mechanics recommendations as well
Separation Processes[]
- Diffusion by Cussler
- Separation Process Principles: Chemical and Biochemical Operations by Seader, Henley, and Roper
- Separation Process Essentials by Alan M. Lane
- Principles and Applications of Mass Transfer by Jaime Benitez
- Distillation Design, Distillation Operations, and Distillation Troubleshooting by Henry Kister
- Separation Processes by Judson King
- Mass Transfer Operations by Robert Treybal
- Separation Process Engineering: Includes Mass Transfer Analysis by Wankat (Additional reference for unit-operations)
Transport Phenomena[]
- Introductory Transport Phenomena by Bird, Stewart, Lightfoot, and Klingenburg (rewritten for undergraduate courses)
- Transport Phenomena by Bird, Stewart, and Lightfoot (classic text)
- An Introduction to Mass and Heat Transfer: Principles of Analysis and Design by Middleman
- Analysis of Transport Phenomena by Deen
- Advanced Transport Phenomena by Slattery
- Transport Phenomena Fundamentals by Joel Plawsky
- Transport Processes Primer by Constantine Pozrikidis
Process Control[]
- Process Control: A First Course with MATLAB by Pao Chau
- Process Dynamics and Control By Seborg, Edgar, Mellichamp, and Doyle
- Process Control Systems: Application, Design, and Tuning by Greg Shinskey
- Process Control: A Practical Approach by Myke King
- Understanding Process Dynamics and Control by Kravaris and Kookos
- Chemical Process Control: An Introduction to Theory and Practice by Stephanopoulos
- Process Control: Designing Processes and Control Systems for Dynamic Performance by Marlin
- Process Systems Analysis and Control by Coughanowr and LeBlanc
Reactor Design[]
- Chemical Reactor Theory by Denbigh and Turner
- Elementary Chemical Reactor Analysis by Aris Rutherford
- Elements of Chemical Reaction Engineering by Fogler
- Biochemical Engineering: A Textbook for Engineers, Chemists and Biologists by Yoshida and Katoh (important supplement to Fogler for covering Bioreactors)
- Introduction to Chemical Engineering Kinetics and Reactor Design by Hill and Root
- Chemical Reaction Engineering by Levenspiel
- Chemical Reactor Analysis and Design by Froment, Bischoff and De Wilde
- Engineering of Chemical Reactions by Lanny Schmidt
Chemical Engineering Design and Process Synthesis[]
- Introductory Elements of Analysis and Design in Chemical Engineering by Bruce C. Gates
- Chemical Engineering Design: Principles, Practice and Economics of Plant and Process Design by Towler and Sinnott
- Product and Process Design Principles: Synthesis, Analysis and Evaluation by Seider, Seader, Lewin, and Widagdo
- Plant Design and Economics for Chemical Engineers by Peters, Timmerhaus, and West
- Systematic Methods of Chemical Process Design by Biegler, Grossmann, and Westerberg
- Process Engineering and Plant Design: The Complete Industrial Picture by Mukherjee
Computations Applied to Chemical Engineering[]
Engineering Mathematics[]
- Calculus Revisited Lectures by Herbert I. Gross (for insight as the course goes deeper than a typical engineering math curriculum)
- Klotz's Online Math Notes
- Paul's Online Math Notes
- Robert Sobot's Engineering Mathematics by Example
- Advanced Engineering Mathematics by H. Kreyszig, E. Kreyszig, and Norminton
- Mathematics for Engineers and Scientists and Advanced Engineering Mathematics by Alan Jeffrey
- Advanced Engineering Mathematics with MATLAB by Dean G. Duffy
- Engineering Mathematics and Advanced Engineering Mathematics by Stroud and Booth (great supplements for both the books above)
- All The Math You Missed: But Need to Know for Graduate School by Thomas Garrity
Applied Mathematics[]
- Applied Mathematics in Chemical Engineering by Sherwood, Mickley, and Reed
- Mathematical Methods in Chemical Engineering by Jenson and Jefferys
- New Mathematics for Chemical Engineers by Ning Hshing Chen
- Numerical Calculations for Process Engineering using Excel VBA by Chi M. Phan
- Applied Linear Analysis for Chemical Engineers: A Multiscale Approach with Mathematica by Balakotaiah and Ratnakar
- Statistics for Chemical and Process Engineers: A Modern Approach by Yuri Shardt
Process Modeling, Simulation, and Analysis in Chemical Engineering[]
- Introduction to Chemical Engineering Analysis using Mathematica by Foley
- Chemical Engineering Process Simulation by Dominic Foo
- Process Modeling Simulation and Control for Chemical Engineers by Luyben
- pycse (Python3 Computations in Science and Engineering) by John Kitchin
- Chemical Engineering Computation with MATLAB by Yeong-Koo Yeo
- A Step by Step Approach to the Modeling of Chemical Engineering Processes: Using Excel for Simulation by L. Maria Lona
- Mathematical Modelling: A Chemical Engineer's Perspective by Aris Rutherford
Numerical Methods in Chemical Engineering[]
- A Numerical Primer for the Chemical Engineer by Edwin Zondervan
- Numerical Methods for Chemical Engineering Applications in MATLAB by Kenneth Beers
- Numerical Methods for Chemical Engineering using Python and Simulink by Nayef Ghasem
- Numerical Methods for Chemical Engineers using Excel, VBA, and MATLAB by Victor J. Law
- Applied Numerical Methods for Chemical Engineers by Moustoufi and Constantinides
- Numerical Methods with Chemical Engineering Applications by Dorfman and Daoutidis
Plant and Chemical Technology[]
- Chemical Process Technology by Mouljin and Makee
- Chemical Technology: From Principles to Products by Jess and Wasserscheid
- Shreve's Chemical Process Industries by George T. Austin
- Outlines of Chemical Technology by Dryden
Special Topics[]
Phase Equilibria[]
Prerequisites[]
A foundation in Chemical Thermodynamics, Statistical and Quantum Mechanics is required for these topics, other than the textbooks recommended here see the Physics and Physical Chemistry sections for more details.
- Principles of Quantum Mechanics by Shankar
- Statistical Mechanics by Pathria and Beale
Chemical Solutions Thermodynamics[]
- Thermodynamic Models for Industrial Applications: From Classical and Advanced Mixing Rules to Association Theories (2010) by Kontogeorgis and Folas
- The Properties of Gases and Liquids (2001) by Polling, Prausnitz, O'Connell
- Phase Equilibria in Chemical Engineering (1985) by Walas
Molecular Simulation[]
- Understanding Molecular Simulation by Frenkel and Smit
- Molecular Modelling Principles and Applications by Leach
- Molecular Driving Forces; Statistical Thermodynamics In Chemistry And Biology by Garland and Bromberg
Optimization[]
- Optimization of Chemical Processes by Himmelblau and Edgar
Material Science and Engineering[]
Prerequisites[]
A foundation in Chemical Thermodynamics, Transport Phenomena and introductory level Material Science (the polymer and composites sections in Callister is especially important) is required.
Polymer Material Science and Engineering[]
- Introduction to Polymers by Young and Lovell
- Principles of Polymer Processing by Tadmor and Gogos
- Polymer Processing Fundamentals by Osswald
- A Concise Introduction to Additives for Thermoplastic Polymers (2010) by Fink
Process Control Engineering[]
See the EEE recommendations for Control Theory
[]
Safety[]
- Dispelling Chemical Industry Myths by Trevor Kletz
Management[]
- Managing Engineering, Procurement, Construction, and Commissioning Projects: A Chemical Engineer's Guide by Avinashkumar Karre
Guides[]
- Strategies for Creative Problem Solving by Fogler and LeBlanc
- Rules of Thumb For Chemical Engineers by Carl Brennan, Stephen Hall
- Problem Solving for Process Operators and Specialists by Bonem
- Process Engineering: Facts, Fiction, and Fables by Norman Liberman
- A Working Guide to Process Equipment by Norman Liberman and Elizabeth Lieberman
- Flow of Fluids Through Valves, Fittings & Pipes: TP-410 and TP-410M by Crane Co.
Handbooks and Reference Manuals[]
- See Bible
- Handbook of Chemical Engineering Calculations by Chopey and Hicks
- A Handbook of Chemical Engineering Vol I and Vol II by George E. Davis (for those interested in the history of Chemical Engineering)
- Albright's Chemical Engineering Handbook
- Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry
- Kirk-Othmer's Concise Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology
- Encyclopedia of Physical Science and Technology: Chemical Engineering by Robert Meyers
- Chemical Engineers Calculation and Shortcut Deskbook
Dictionaries[]
- Moran's Dictionary of Chemical Engineering Practice by Sean Moran
- A Dictionary of Chemical Engineering by Carl Schaschke
Non-Fiction relevant/adjacent to Chemical Engineering[]
- The Alchemy of Air by Thomas Hager
- Excuse Me Sir, Would You Like to Buy a Kilo of Isopropyl Bromide by Gergel Max
- The Prize and The Quest by Daniel Yergin
- Ignition! An Informal History of Liquid Rocket Propellants by John Clark and Isaac Asimov
- The Signal and the Noise by Nate Silver
- The Art of Insight in Science and Engineering by Sanjoy Mahajan
- The Existential Pleasures of Engineering by Samuel Florman
- The Art of Doing Science and Engineering by Richard Hamming
- The Toyota Way by Jeffery Liker
- The Box by Marc Levison
Websites[]
- NIST Standard Reference Data
- Computer Aids for Chemical Engineering
- Learn ChemE
- Reactor Lab
- The Column: Chemical Engineering Newsletter
- Chemical and Process Engineering Community
- Chemical Engineering Reddit
- The Chemical Engineer Magazine
- Chemical Engineering Magazine
- IChemE: Institution of Chemical Engineers
- AIChE: The American Institute of Chemical Engineers
- Archive of Chemical Engineering Media