Educational simulator for multicomponent distillation research and teaching in chemical engineering

An instructive software was developed and programmed as an educational aid for design of distillation tower and tray hydraulics using visual basic language. This user-friendly software can be used as an educational aid for undergraduate Chemical Engineering courses. This tool allows students to study the behavior of the distillation tower and explore the different mass transfer and unit operation features. The students will be able to perform many simulation exercises including the tower overall and interior design and predict the behavior of undesired phenomena such as weeping and flooding. The software environment facilitates students' learning by providing a step-by-step procedure and instructions that are consistent with standard course books. ß

Section: Theorymentioning

confidence: 99%

Development of educational software for undergraduate Chemical Engineering courses

Dabaghian

Movagharnejad

Mohammadi

2016

“…Process simulations have been successfully integrated into chemical engineering textbooks . Regarding the articles, the use of commercial and noncommercial process simulators with educational purpose has also been extensively reported . However, the details on how to use the simulator's capabilities for improving the students’ understanding are not always provided.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Achieving a better understanding of binary azeotropic mixtures distillation through Aspen Plus process simulations

Roman

García‐Morales

2019

Mass transfer operations are at the heart of every chemical engineering curriculum, as they are the basis of separation procedures extensively used in the chemical industry. Distillation, which involves mass transfer between vapor and liquid phases, is, by far, the most extended separation practice. However, the presence of azeotropes in most of the mixtures with industrial interest complicates the process analysis due to tedious and complex calculations, even in the simplest case of binary mixtures. Moreover, the need for recycle streams makes convergence and variables specification very difficult as compared with the separation of nonazeotropic mixtures. Initial training in process simulators results fundamentally in high‐quality chemical engineering teaching programs. It yields a better understanding of enhanced distillation and entails the use of professional tools highly demanded by employers. This paper reports how the use of the commercial simulator Aspen Plus can help students explore azeotropic distillation by their own, and thus enables looking into aspects which are beyond the scope of problems solved by hand.

“…Some experiences using Mathcad are found in the literature. It has been implemented to supplement and enhance traditional and learning methods for reinforced concrete design or for the stiffness structural analysis theory of two‐dimensional (2D) framed structured , as well as solving piping systems problems . Interestingly, there are no papers in the literature reporting the use of Mathcad to facilitate the design of reactors involving multiple reactions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using Mathcad to facilitate the design of chemical reactors involving multiple reactions

Cuadri

Martín‐Alfonso

Urbano

2019

The pedagogy of teaching chemical reaction engineering is continually advancing through the use of new computational tools and, therefore, the integration of these new tools into the Chemical Engineering degree is challenging. This paper reports an educational experience dealing with the use of Mathcad software to complement and to facilitate the design of chemical reactors involving multiple reactions. A continuous stirred‐tank reactor taking place series reactions and two reactors (continuous stirred‐tank reactor or plug flow reactor) arranged in series involving parallel reactions were presented as case studies. This experience, which was carried out with the third‐year chemical engineering students enrolled in the chemical reactors course, revealed that Mathcad facilitates the understanding of the theoretical concepts related to multiple reactions and also reduces the complexity of mathematical calculation to a minimum. Thus, the use of this computer tool allows the teacher (a) to delve deeper into more issues related to the design of chemical reactors, and (b) to consider this tool perfectly useful for other courses corresponding to the Chemical Engineering degree.