Contact Information:

• Jeremy Garritano, Acting Head, Chemistry Library (jgarrita@purdue.edu)
  • Phone: (765) 496-7279
  • Office: WTHR 309
  • PowerPoint Presentation from class
    
    
• Chemistry Library home page (WTHR)
  
  
• Engineering Library home page (POTR)
  • Course reserves can be checked out for 2 hours at a time

We have access to two major encyclopedias related to chemical engineering. Start here for concepts you are unfamiliar with, then move on to the handbooks below. Both of these resources are excellent for finding general process or flow diagrams for major chemicals and commodities - petroleum, chocolate, polymers, etc.

• Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology
• Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry

Knovel - Has e-books in Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, including Plant Design and Operation and data on many chemical properties of compounds. Knovel also contains interactive graphs and diagrams. Hint: Simply search for the name of the compound and the property you are looking for, such as benzene and "boiling point." Notable titles include:

• Perry's Chemical Engineers' Handbook (8th ed.) NEW!
• Chemical Process and Design Handbook
• Handbook of Chemical Engineering Calculations (3rd ed.)
• Piping Handbook (7th ed.)
• Pump Handbook (3rd ed.)

Other Resources for Chemical and Thermophysical Properties:

• DIPPR - is a renowned source of Evaluated Process Design Data of physical, thermodynamic, and transport properties for industrially important chemicals used in chemical process and equipment design.
• NIST/TRC Web Thermo Tables - Provides online access to the"TRC Thermodynamic Tables - Hydrocarbons" and "TRC Thermodynamic Tables - Non-Hydrocarbons". Almost 900,000 data points for over 7,700 compounds are provided, including thermodynamic data such as critical properties, heat capacities, vapor pressures and more.
• Thermophysical Properties of Matter Database (TPMD) - contains thermophysical properties of over 5,000 materials with approximately 50,000 data curves.
• There are also a number of print resources within the Chemistry Library that you might find useful, including the NIST-JANAF tables (Ref. 541.360212 J251 1998.) and the DECHEMA Chemistry Data Series.

ChemLibNetBase - is another collection of handbooks, though the focus is primarily on Chemistry. However, three notable title includes:

• Chemical Process Engineering: Design and Economics
• Chemical Reactor Design
• Process Engineering Economics
• plus a number of titles dealing with chemical and physical properties of polymers
  
  

Plant Design and Economics for Chemical Engineers (by Peters, Timmerhaus, and West; 5th ed.) is on reserve at the Engineering Library. There is also economic and design information in the other books on reserve or through the handbooks at Knovel.

Pricing information is very difficult to find. However, a number of pricing indicators and reports are available in the following publications. The print versions can be browsed in the Engineering Library (current issues are shelved alphabetically; older issues by call number):

• Chemical Engineering (660.5 C392) - The last page of every issue contains information on various economic indicators such as the Chemical Engineering Plant Cost Index (CEPCI), Current Business Indicators, and the Marshall and Swift Equipment Cost Index. This information cannot be accessed online: view a Sample.
• Chemical Week (660.5 C42) - Has a "Product Focus" every issue along with a "cw Price Report" that monitors the prices of a little over a dozen chemicals. The "Price Report" can be browsed online or in print, the "Product Focus" is only available in print: view a sample.
• ENR (620.5 En37) - Has monthly "Construction Economics" feature that focuses on the cost of construction and building materials. This information cannot be accessed online: view a Sample.
• ICIS Chemical Business (latest year only) - Each issue has a "Chemical Profile" and "Key Indicators" for a handful of commodity chemicals. This information cannot be accessed online: view a Sample.

There is also a guide on searching for specific information on specific companies or industries.

Having trouble finding something? Contact Jeremy.

• SciFinder Scholar - Search for articles, conference proceedings and patents from the chemical and chemical engineering literature. Can also search by chemical structure. (1907-present).
• Compendex - Search for articles and conference proceedings from all fields of engineering. (1884-present).
• Web of Science - A comprehensive search of all major journals in science, engineering, and technology. (1900-present).

To find the full-text article, use the "Find it @ Purdue" button in the databases or use our e-journal finder. If we do not own the journal, you can use interlibrary loan to request a free copy from another university.

Why should you cite your sources?

• Shows you have done your research
• Lends credibilty and support to your research and recommendations
• Allows others to reproduce your research process
• Acknowledges others' contributions
  
  

Be as specific as you can: cite specific pages if possible; cite a particular chapter instead of the whole book, especially if chapter are written by different authors, etc.

There are thousands of different styles available for you to cite your sources. So while you can choose practically any style that is appropriate, it is important to stick to the style and remain consistent.

To help you create citations, you can use EasyBib (free service) or EndNote (more advanced, available in ITaP labs).

Details of two styles you might use are found at the Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) website. You will need to scroll to the bottom of the page and chose the Reference List options to see how to site a book, journal article, web site, etc.

• MLA Formatting and Style Guide
• APA Formatting and Style Guide