British Polymer Journal 23 (1990) 185-1 86

Book Reviews

Biological and synthetic membranes Edited by D. Allan Butterfield, Alan R. Liss Inc., New York, 1989. pp. xiii + 520, price US$96.00. ISBN 0-8451-5142-8

This volume reports an International Symposium held in Lexington, Kentucky in October 1988. It is intended to provide up-to-date information and comment on both biological and synthetic membranes with the object of increasing understand- ing of both areas, in a multidisciplinary approach to the synergistic relationship between both types of membranes.

The science of membranes includes:

-the structure and chemistry of biological membranes and their components, transport processes, and transmcmbrane signalling(a form of information transfer) in living systems;

-alterations in membrane structure, chemistry, and function during disease;

-synthesis, structure, and chemistry of synthetic membranes, and their properties, including separation of solutes (ranging in size from small molecules and ions, to large molecules, such as proteins) by reverse osmosis and ultrafiltration;

-application studies in drug-delivery and biosensor systems; -separation of gaseous mixtures, organic molecules, and by

synthetic membranes containing biofunctional groups.

In four sections, some 46 contributions are presented in camera-ready form, covering many of these topics, including:

-spectroscopic studies of membrane structure and function; -synthetic and biological membrane design; -drug-delivery systems; -membrane transport; -biomedical investigations of membrane structure and

function.

Particular topics of interest which may be noted are:

-measurement of lithium ion transport across human erythrocyte membranes by 'Li NMR spectroscopy (this presents the possibility of a method for the determination of the mode of action of lithium in the treatment of schizophrenia);

-production of asymmetric membranes from polymethyl methacrylate/xylene by the thermal inversion method;

-0ptimisation of transport and biological response with epithelial barriers;

-correlation of the transport properties of biological and synthetic membranes with their structure;

-study of normal and diseased erythrocyte membranes using electron paramagnetic resonance techniques.

In summary, the contents of this book will principally be of interest to physiologists, but there are many aspects of

membrane science and technology which can well involve polymer scientists in several different specialities.

C. A. Finch

The vibrational spectroscopy of polymers D. I . Bower and W. F. Maddams, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1989. pp. xiii + 326, price f50.00/US$89.50. ISBN 0-521-24633-4

This is a timely and useful account of the theory and practice of infrared and Raman spectroscopy as applied to the physical and chemical characterization of synthetic polymers. The book is written for the reader who may be unacquainted with the elements of polymer science or with spectroscopic theory and practice, and accordingly develops both of these from a fairly elementary level. Initial chapters describe the principles of polymer structure, and outline infrared and Raman instrumen- tation. A substantial section of the book develops the required vibrational theory, firstly for small molecules and then in relation to polymer chains and crystals. There is an introduction to line and factor groups and their isomorphism with point groups, and an analysis of vibrations and selection rules for infinite and finite chains, helical structures, and various types of defect structure, and discussion of the effects of adjacent chains. These principles are extensively illustrated with examples from the literature. Several important and well characterized polymers (polyethylene, polytetrafluoroethylene, poly(viny1 chloride), poly(viny1idene chloride), polystyrene, and poly(ethy1ene terephthalate)) are reviewed rather fully, but, altogether, over 50 individual polymers and copolymers receive some attention, at least at the level of group frequency assignments. The final chapter, on polymer microstructure, gives an excellent insight into the role played by vibrational spectroscopy in unravelling some of the more subtle aspects of polymer structure.

The book is not a compilation of spectral data nor is it primarily a handbook for the analyst, though it contains some 30 figures of complete or partial spectra and a suficiency of references to primary sources. It is, rather, an exposition of structural principles, aimed at the research worker coming new to the field of polymer spectroscopy. In this it succeeds and can be warmly recommended, although several spelling mistakes detract from the authority of the text.

D. N. Waters

Adhesives from renewable resources: ACS Symposium Series No. 385 Edited by R. W. Hemingway and A. H. Conner, American Chemical Society, Washington, 1989. pp. ix + 510, price $99.95 (US/Canada)/$l19.95 (Export). ISBN 0-8412-1562-6

185 British Polymer Journal (23) (1990) 0 1990 SCI. Printed in Great Britain

I86 Rook reviews

In spite of its considerable length, this text is severely limited in its approach. The importance of materials from renewable resources is well worth study, in a world where petrochemical sources are finite. However, this collection of papers is also limited, since it is largely Concerned with adhesives which can (or could) be obtained as by-products from the forest products industry. This industry is, ofcourse, a major user of adhesives, so i t is perceived that the ‘ideal source of material for an adhesive would bc readily available from materials found near wood processing plants’. The 34 chapters in the volume describe research on adhesive polymers derived from carbohydrates, lignins, tannins, terpenes and proteins (these are presumably not of forest product origin-since they are mainly soya-bean or milk casein-based). In practice, many of the materials discussed can be considered as sources of impure mixtures of phenolics, with some potential as components of crosslinking systems. Apart from this field, studies on mollusc-derived adhesive proteins, from marine and from microbial sources, are described.

In this considerable mass of information, there are very few systems described which begin to approach the performance of petrochetnically-derived polymers in adhesives, although several possible diluent methods for existing product-types are proposed. Such formulations reduce the requirements for pctrochcmicals, at some cxpcnsc of product performancc. In the chapters with some historical approach there is some reliance on obscure literature sources, and old (and inadequate) patents, completely ignoring some basic adhesive types, such as collagen- originated products, and some types of ceramics. In most contributions, there is little discussion of adhesive performancc and relation to accepted national or international standards for test methods or products.

The volume, as ii whole, shows little appreciation of the commercial or technical realities of applications of adhesive technology: there are, however, some mildly interesting discussions of aspects of the chemistry of certain natural polymers, but these are negligible in relation to the amount of research effort (and the costs of the reTearch grants) which must have been employed to obtain the information presented.

C. Aspell

Polymer reaction engineering Edited by K.-H. Rcichert and W. Geiseler, VCH Verlagsgesell- schaft m.b.H., Weinheim, FRG, 1989. pp. i i i + 437, price DM 136/f48.75. ISBN 3-527-2801 5-4

This volume contains papers presented at the 3rd International Workshop on Polymer Reaction Engineering in Berlin in Septem- ber 1989. The term ‘reaction engineering’, as used in this volume, is, perhaps, worth a word of explanation--to readers of this Journal, it means ‘applied polymer kinetics, mainly discussing large scale reactions, with an emphasis on computer simulations, computer-aided design, and control of polymerisation pro- cesses’. There is little mention of aspects of mechanical engineering, although some measurement and control techni- ques are noted.

The bulk of the contents are some 36 contributions, including review lectures, original papers, and posters as presented, in camera-ready form. All are in English, although many contributions are of German origin. These are best considered as

a collection of highly expert papers which could (and probably should, for bibliographic convenience) be published in a scientific journal devoted to polymer chemistry. There is a major group of papers on emulsion polymerisation theory and (to a lesser extent) practice, including aspects of inverse emulsion polymerisation theory and practice, with a discussion of the importance of emulsifier systems. Apart from this group, several other important contributions may be mentioned, including those on cross-linking kinetics in free-radical copolymerisation, ethylene polymerisation by Ziegler-Natta systems, and grafting of ethylene polymers, several different mathematical modelling systems for different types of polymerisation and copolymeris- ation, and aspects of the theory of polymerisation reactor design.

This volume will be of great interest to any reader concerned with current theory and practice of polymerisation. It is adequately produced, and not expensive by present standards. However, the indexes are poor.

C. A. Finch

Surfactant-based mobility control: Progress in miscible-flood enhanced oil recovery, ACS Symposium Series No. 373 Edited by D. H. Smith, American Chemical Society, Wash- ington, 1988. pp. ix + 449, price $94.95 (US/Canada)/$l13.95 (Export). ISBN 0-8412-1491-3

There is no doubt of the potential economic importance of enhanced oil recovery ( E O R b t h e techniques for extracting additional crude oil from wells by physical or chemical methods. However, there are two key questions-When?-which depends on the economics of the world oil extraction industry, and its politics-and How?- which indicates consideration of the respective merits of the several EOR methods proposed. In one of these methods gases are injected into oil-bearing formations, but do not come into contact or mix with the oil. In one technique used to achieve mobility control, surfactants are used to achieve this contact by creating dispersions of the injection and reservoir fluids.

This book, the first on the subject, summarises present knowledge of surfactant-based mobility control. It describes, in the first section, the present ‘state-of-the-art’ of enhanced oil recovery, and discusses the need for dispersion-based mobility control, and the key factors in choice of systems for particular reservoir types. The second section discusses phase behaviour, surfactant design, and adsorption systems in high pressure systems, liquid crystals in microemulsions, structure-property relationships for surfactant design, and foam stability. The third section discusses mechanisms and theory of dispersion flow, including the mobility of foams in porous media, such as oil- bearing rock formations. The final section includes accounts of dispersion floods under laboratory and field conditions, mainly using carbon dioxide flooding.

In spite (or, perhaps, because) of its theme, this is a largely theoretical discussion of an important topic. It is essential reading for physical chemists and engineers concerned with oil recovery processes: others interested in large-scale applications of surfactants will also find much of value in several sections which describe the performance of these materials under adverse conditions.

C. A. Finch

BRITISH POLYMER JOURNAL VOL. 23, NOS 1 & 2,1990