The objective of this book is to distil into a single coherent handbook all the essentials of process automation at a depth sufficient for most practical purposes. Previously published books exist in these areas but most are generic and, of those that are applied in nature, few are oriented towards the actual needs of the chemical and process industry. No other book covers the gap between the theory and practice of control systems so comprehensively and at a level suitable for practicing engineers. The handbook focuses on the knowledge needed to cope with the vast majority of process control and automation situations. In doing so, a number of sensible balances have been carefully struck. A thorough grounding is provided for every topic. If more detailed information is required, the reader is referred to more specialised texts in the knowledge that he or she has been provided with a sound platform to ask the right questions and understand the answers.

Jonathan Love has a variety of experience and expertise in the analysis, design, development and operation of instrumentation and control systems as used for the automation of plant in the chemical, process and oil industries. His early academic career involved lectureships at Huddersfield, Leeds and Sheffield Universities. He is currently in the School of Chemical Engineering and Advanced Materials at Newcastle University where he is Director of the Integrated Graduate Development Scheme (IGDS) in Process Automation. His industrial experience consists of periods working as a commissioning engineer for Akzo Nobel (formerly Courtaulds Ltd) and as a control engineer for Honeywell Process Solutions (formerly KBC Process Automation). He is currently Principal Automation Consultant for BP Exploration and Production.