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Reactor Residence-Time Distribution Lab

Inject a tracer into an ideal CSTR, PFR, or N-tanks-in-series reactor cascade and watch the live exit-age histogram converge to the theoretical residence-time distribution E(t).

Chemistry & Materials3DAdvanced60 FPS📱 Mobile-adapted⇄ 2D version

Chemical reactors rarely behave like the textbook ideal — this simulator lets you compare the two limiting cases, the perfectly-mixed CSTR and the zero-mixing PFR, plus the N-tanks-in-series model that bridges them, by watching a real tracer stream flow through a live 3D vessel. Each particle's residence time is recorded into a running histogram that converges toward the reactor's theoretical exit-age distribution E(t), overlaid live on the same axes. Adjust the volumetric flow rate Q to change the mean residence time τ = V/Q, or the number of tanks N to narrow the spread from a wide exponential toward a sharp plug-flow spike, and watch the measured mean and sample count track the underlying math in real time.

⚙ Under the hood

Inject a tracer stream into an ideal CSTR, PFR, or N-tanks-in-series reactor cascade and watch the live exit-age histogram converge to the theoretical residence-time distribution E(t).

chemical engineeringreactor designresidence timeCSTRPFRreaction engineering

3D · Three.js / WebGL renderer · 60 FPS target · runs fully client-side, no install