Efficient and Effective Instruction in Process Simulation Across the Chemical Engineering Curriculum

One challenge to incorporating process simulation instructional activities into the chemical engineering curriculum is the placement of said activities. Placed too early in the curriculum, one might worry that students become overly reliant on the software, failing to truly understand the fundamentals of mass and energy balance calculations and of equipment rating/sizing calculations. Placed too late in the curriculum, one might worry that students don’t have extensive experience with the software to effectively use it as a tool in the senior design courses. Inclusion of process simulation only in the senior design courses also results in a lost opportunity for students to connect calculations/results from process simulators directly to the underlying fundamentals. This paper focuses on activities readily integrated into the chemical engineering thermodynamics, separations and reactor design courses. How does one integrate process simulation exercises into these courses, without sacrificing current instructional content? What avenues of approach allow the students to gain confidence and experience with the process simulation software in these courses, so that they are well versed in its use when they begin the senior design sequence? Approaches and activities are presented so that others can readily adapt them to the process simulation program in use at their institutions.