1. To provide a thorough exposition for balance equation concepts
2. To develop a systematic framework for the analysis of flowsheet information and specifications
3. To present systematic approaches for solution of flowsheet balance problems
In most ChE curricula, this integrated view of process systems is not revised until the process control and design courses in the senior year. All of the other courses, essentially fill in the detail with regard to the various unit operations "boxes" that the student sees in the first course. Thus, just as the design course is often described as the captstone course, the first course is can in fact be termed the cornerstone course for the process systems perspective.