Chemical Reaction Engineering Blog Posts
Better Brewing: Modeling Beer Fermentation
What’s brewing? Explore how modeling and simulation can be used to study the beer fermentation process, identifying ways to optimize its efficiency and serve up a better-tasting glass of suds.
Thermochemical Conversion of Biomass Through Pyrolysis of Wood
Pyrolysis converts biomass into products such as solid charcoal, which can further be refined into hydrogen. Here, read about modeling pyrolysis with the help of parameter estimation.
The Use of COMSOL Multiphysics® in the Food Industry
Food for thought: Explore how previously failed products and the use of multiphysics simulation inspire innovation in the food industry.
A Practical Sedimentation App for Toxicology Analysis
Sedimentation is widely used in toxicology, biochemistry, and biomedicine. You can study how gravity affects this physical phenomenon with simulation.
Visualizing the Emergence of Turing Patterns with Simulation
Turing patterns are often found in nature. The conditions behind the emergence of these patterns can be studied with chemical modeling.
Extracting DNA: From Pumpkins to Mammoths
Here, we go over how to recover DNA from a pumpkin using a simple experiment, as well as how scientists made a recent breakthrough in DNA extraction research.
The History and Science Behind Vinyl Records
As vinyl records explode in popularity, we take a look back at the history of records, as well as the interesting science behind how they are produced — and how they play music.
How to Model Metabolic Reaction Networks with COMSOL®
Certain ice creams, puddings, and candies have an extremely vivid yellow color that comes from vitamin B2. The manufacturing of this supplement is one example of a metabolic reaction network…
Modeling a Rapid Detection Test in COMSOL Multiphysics®
Curious about how exactly the rapid detection tests for COVID-19 work? Get a comprehensive explanation here, as well as 3 example models in COMSOL Multiphysics®. (Part 2 of 2)
An Introduction to the Physics of Rapid Detection Tests
Rapid detection tests based on lateral flow assay (LFA), also called immunochromatographic tests, can be thought of as quite advanced, yet very robust, microlaboratories. (Part 1 of 2)
The Science Behind Cooking Caramel
Whether you’re adding it to brownies, crème brûlée, or an ice cream sundae, cooking caramel is a precarious task: One wrong move and it could burn and taste bitter or recrystallize and harden.
The Growing Use of Simulation in Pharmaceutical Development
Did you know that the development cycle of a drug can take years and cost millions of dollars? Simulation is 1 way to make pharmaceutical development processes faster and more cost effective.
Exploring the 4 Basic Modes of Electrophoresis
Zone electrophoresis, moving-boundary electrophoresis, isotachophoresis, and isoelectric focusing. In most cases, the physics of new electrophoretic methods can be related back to these 4 modes.
6 Ways Engineers Are Using Simulation to Help the Environment
Energy-efficient buildings and appliances. Safe nuclear waste storage. Well-preserved freshwater lakes. These are just a few examples of how simulation is being used to help the environment.
Material Characterization by Means of Simulation
Carbon-based materials, such as synthetic specialty graphites, are found in many industries, including solar, semiconductor, car manufacturing, ceramics, and metallurgy.
Developing a Silicon MEMS Chip for On-Demand DNA Synthesis
The development of genome editing tools like CRISPR-Cas9 has increased the demand for DNA synthesis technology. Researchers are creating a DNA synthesis platform to broaden horizons in the field.
How to Simulate Control Systems Using the PID Controller Add-In
A PID controller can be used in a variety of industries. This blog post demonstrates how a PID controller add-in can be easily incorporated in two simulation examples.
Optimizing PID Controller Performance with COMSOL Multiphysics®
PID controllers involve three components that must work together simultaneously, and it can be challenging to get each of them just right. That’s where process control simulation comes in.
Understanding the Drug Reaction Kinetics of Nerve Guides via Modeling
Ever had a pinched nerve? Nerve guides repair this type of damaged nerve cell tissue. To design safe and reliable nerve guides, we can use simulation to understand their drug reaction kinetics.
Digital Twins and Model-Based Battery Design
By combining high-fidelity multiphysics models with lightweight models and measured data, engineers can create digital twins to understand, predict, optimize, and control real-world systems.
How to Model Ion-Exchange Membranes and Donnan Potentials
Get an introduction to the theory behind the Nernst-Planck-Poisson equations, Donnan potentials, and how to model ion-exchange membranes in batteries and fuel cells.
How to Model Sparging in COMSOL Multiphysics®
Sparging, the process of bubbling a gas into a liquid, is seen most notably in carbonation, such as for soda and seltzer water. This mass transfer process can be modeled in COMSOL Multiphysics®.
Optimizing Thermal Processes in Carbon Manufacturing with Simulation
A guest blogger from SGL Carbon GmbH demonstrates how his organization uses heat transfer simulation to optimize thermal processes in carbon manufacturing.
Modeling a Tubular Reactor for Optimized Polymer Manufacturing
Chemical engineers can model tubular reactors to optimize them for specific manufacturing and production processes, such as for the polymerization of polyester, as this example shows.