Virtual Applications Using a Web Platform to Teach Chemical Engineering: The Distillation Case

The question we will address here is how to integrate computational tools, namely the more modern and interactive ones, in the teaching of Chemical Engineers by means of the World Wide Web. The case study presented concerns the development of a web application for the simulation of multicomponent distillation columns running at steady state condition using the MATLAB WebServer. The application allows a remote user to login into a web site, choose several operating parameters and perform on-line simulations. In short, we believe that the introduction of this new perspective of teaching chemical engineering can result in ample benefits, leading students to a better and wider understanding of the processes involved.