The McCabe-Thiele method: a centenary tribute to an emblem of chemical engineering and engineering epistemology

Abstract

This essay is a tribute to the McCabe-Thiele method, which was first published 100 years ago in this journal. We argue that the McCabe-Thiele method has become an emblem of chemical engineering, as it establishes a balance that simultaneously enables prediction and understanding, making it also emblematic of engineering epistemology. The McCabe-Thiele method is analyzed here by going through its most important aspects: the historical background, the model assumptions and how these enable predictions and understanding, as well as the question of novelty. We argue that the remarkably long-lasting success of the McCabe-Thiele method is due to how it creates understanding through its graphical approach, and we identify elements of engineering epistemology that make it emblematic in a quite general sense. Finally, we briefly discuss the future role of the McCabe-Thiele method, considering that machine learning will change the way distillations are designed.