CSTR simulator — continuous stirred-tank reactor

A continuous stirred-tank reactor is a continuously fed, perfectly mixed vessel operating at steady state, so the exit stream has the same composition as the reactor contents. This page solves the steady-state mole balance for your custom reaction and shows how exit conversion responds to temperature and volumetric flow rate.

The steady-state balance C₀ − C = k·τ·Cⁿ is solved for the exit concentration, where the residence time τ = V/q. For second-order kinetics this gives the closed form C = 2C₀ / (1 + √(1 + 4k·τ·C₀)); the two-species rate law is solved by bisection instead, which is robust where an analytical root does not exist.

Residence time, rate constant and exit conversion update live as you drag the temperature and flow-rate sliders. The 3D tank renders the feed and product streams as flowing particles at the actual volumetric flow rate, with liquid colour tracking conversion.

This simulator needs JavaScript and WebGL to run. Enable JavaScript to use the interactive charts and 3D reactor views.