Engineering educators have been developing different approaches to supplement scientific background and further develop the ability for autonomous and critical thinking in students. In 2009, the University of Coimbra has made available on-line a virtual platform with a wide scope, directed towards Chemical Engineering education. The platform is divided into four different educational topics: Unit Operations and Separations, Chemical Reaction, Process Systems Engineering and Biological Processes. These sections include simulators, applications, and case studies to help understanding chemical/biochemical processes and improve their autonomy.This paper presents an assessment of the use of that platform by two different groups of students in the school years of 2015/2016 and 2018/2019: a group from the 3rd-year of Chemical Engineering, and another one from a Project Design course (2nd cycle, MSc of Chemical Engineering). A case study addressing the synthesis of phthalic anhydride by o-xylene oxidation on a fixed-bed catalytic reactor is also given to show the use of existing simulators in LABVIRTUAL.
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