Welcome
I will be adding content to this site during the fall of 2026. It is not useable as a self-study course at this point in time. The “Assignments by Topics” section may be useful to students who are studying reaction engineering.
Reaction Engineering Basics (REB) is an integrated educational resource designed to provide students with a solid, introductory foundation in the principles and applications of reaction engineering and to provide instructors with tools and ideas for teaching them. It is divided into three parts: REB, The Book; REB, The Course; and REB, The Design. This website is the home of REB, The Course.
REB, The Course is a free, online, self-study course comparable to reaction engineering courses in undergraduate chemical engineering programs. It is based on REB, The Book, which is also available for free and can be accessed using the link banner above. REB is not affiliated with any institution, and REB, The Course is not offered for credit. It is intended to be used by students and instructors at any institution, and it is designed to be flexible enough to be used in a variety of ways. For example, students can use it for self-study or to supplement materials in a reaction engineering course they are taking at a college or university, and instructors can use it as a supplement to their existing courses or as the basis for a new course.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to
- Use the component knowledge and skills they have acquired during the course to fulfill the other learning objectives on this list.
- Postulate an empirical, mechanistic or theoretical rate expression for a given reaction.
- Using kinetics data from an ideal reactor, estimate values for rate expression parameters, assess the accuracy of the rate expression, and evaluate its suitability.
- Formulate steady-state and/or transient models of ideal batch, semi-batch, and continuous flow stirred tank reactors and plug flow reactors, use them to predict the response of, optimize, or design a reactor, and qualitatively rationalize or explain the results on a physical/chemical basis.
- Formulate steady-state models of simple CSTR and/or PFR systems that may include multiple reactors, stream splits, stream mixing and heat exchangers, use them to predict the response of, optimize or design a system of that type, and qualitatively rationalize or explain the results on a physical/chemical basis.
- Formulate steady-state zoned reactor models, segregated-flow reactor models (including, when necessary, numerical approximation of the age function using experimental stimulus/response data) and steady-state axial dispersion reactor models and use them to predict reactor response.
The Instructor
REB, The Course is taught by Dr. Carl Lund, a professor of chemical and biological engineering at the University at Buffalo. Dr. Lund has been teaching reaction engineering for over 40 years and has a passion for engineering education, particularly in the area of pedagogy for problem-solving courses as described in REB, The Design. He is the author of REB, The Book, and the designer, developer, and teacher of REB, The Course. Dr. Lund is a SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor and has been recognized for his teaching with several awards, including the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching and the ASEE St. Lawrence Section Outstanding Teaching Award. He is also a Fellow of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE). He earned his Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the University of Wisconsin, and his B. S. from Purdue University.
This website is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0).