Chemical Engineering Lab

Residence Time (τ):5.0s

Chemical Engineering — Reactor Design

Chemical engineering reactor design involves balancing reaction kinetics, heat transfer, and mass flow to achieve target product yields safely. This simulation covers both the continuously stirred tank reactor (CSTR) and plug-flow reactor (PFR), the two workhorses of industrial chemistry. Adjusting operating conditions reveals how residence time and temperature influence conversion.

What you can do in this simulation

Choose between CSTR and PFR reactor configurations and compare conversions
Set inlet concentration, volumetric flow rate, and reactor volume
Input first- or second-order reaction kinetics with Arrhenius temperature dependence
Plot concentration and temperature profiles along the reactor length for PFR
Observe steady-state multiplicity and ignition-extinction behavior in CSTR

Concepts covered

conversion · residence time · CSTR · PFR · Arrhenius kinetics · heat of reaction

Related simulations

Browse all Engineering simulations →

Free to use in your browser — no signup required. Found a bug or have an idea to make it better? Tell us.

Please wait

Loading engineering simulations

The requested content is still loading.

Finished experimenting?

Save one completion to this browser's signed guest ledger, or directly to your account when signed in.