A chemical process simulator that runs in your browser
Solve the material balance, energy balance and phase equilibrium of a whole plant — 60+ unit operations, the major thermodynamic packages and automatic recycle convergence — with an AI copilot that builds the flowsheet and explains what failed. Zero install, usage-based pricing.
What a chemical process simulator does
You draw the process; the simulator solves it. Four things have to be right for the answer to be worth anything:
Material & energy balances
Every unit and every stream closes on mass and energy — solved simultaneously across the whole flowsheet, with recycle loops converged automatically instead of by hand.
Phase equilibrium & properties
Rigorous VLE/LLE flash over the major property methods — Peng-Robinson, SRK, NRTL, UNIQUAC, PC-SAFT, electrolyte-NRTL, GERG-2008 and steam/IAPWS — because the thermo model is what makes a simulation right or wrong.
60+ unit operations
Distillation (rigorous MESH, shortcut, rate-based, reactive), absorption and stripping, heat exchangers, reactors, compressors and pumps, crystallizers, membranes, electrolyzers and more.
Steady-state, dynamic & optimization
The same flowsheet solves at a design point, pressure-driven, or through time for start-up and control studies — and can be optimized against an objective without re-authoring the model.
Explore the simulator
The thermodynamics, the unit operations, the validation data and the worked examples — all open to read before you sign up for anything:
Process simulation software
The category pillar — what modern process simulation software looks like.
ExploreFor chemical engineers
The same simulator, framed around the chemical engineer's daily workflow.
ExploreProperty packages
Peng-Robinson, NRTL, SRK, PC-SAFT, electrolytes, GERG-2008…
ExploreUnit operations
60+ unit ops, each with the governing equations it actually solves.
ExploreValidation & accuracy
Property-package results checked against cited literature data.
ExploreExample flowsheets
90+ validated, ready-to-run process models you can open and solve.
ExploreHow this one is different
The physics is the same rigorous physics the incumbents solve. What changes is everything around it:
It opens in a browser
No install, no license server, no workstation to provision — and the solve runs on the server, not your laptop.
The AI builds and debugs the flowsheet
Describe the separation in plain English and it places the units and conditions; when a solve fails, it names the cause and a fix instead of a numeric code.
The math is on the page
Click any unit operation to see the equations being solved — not a black box you have to trust.
You pay for solves, not seats
Usage-based pricing, so every engineer on the team can have access instead of sharing a licence pool.
For an honest side-by-side — including where we do not yet match them — see MaximaLabs vs. Aspen Plus and HYSYS.
Frequently asked questions
What is a chemical process simulator?
A chemical process simulator is software that solves a chemical plant on a computer: you draw the flowsheet — feeds, reactors, columns, exchangers, recycles — and the simulator solves the material balance, the energy balance and the phase equilibrium at every stream, so you get temperatures, pressures, flows, compositions and duties for the whole process. It is how a process is designed, debugged, revamped and optimized before anything is built or changed in the field.
What can a chemical process simulator calculate?
For every stream: flow, temperature, pressure, phase split and composition, plus enthalpy and entropy. For every unit: the duty, work, conversion, separation or pressure drop it implies. From those, the downstream answers engineers actually want — column reflux and stage requirements, exchanger areas, compressor power, utility consumption, emissions and capital and operating cost. MaximaLabs computes all of these in the solver; the AI copilot explains and proposes, but never invents a number.
How do I choose a chemical process simulator?
Check four things in order: (1) does it have the property method your chemistry needs — hydrocarbons, polar/azeotropic systems, electrolytes and acid gas, or steam are genuinely different models; (2) does it have your unit operations at the rigor you need; (3) does it converge recycles reliably, and tell you *why* when it fails; (4) can you get your results out — Python, Excel, an API. Price and install friction come after those, but they are why most teams end up with fewer seats than engineers.
Can I run a chemical process simulator online?
Yes — that is what MaximaLabs is. It runs entirely in the browser, so there is nothing to install, no license server and no workstation to provision; the solve runs on the server and streams results back live. You can share a flowsheet with a link instead of emailing a file, and drive the same models from a Python SDK or an Excel add-in.
How accurate is it, and how is that verified?
Accuracy in a process simulator comes down to the thermodynamics, so we publish the checks rather than asking you to take them on faith: every property package is validated against cited literature data and the results are on the Validation pages, with the dataset source and the deviation shown for each system. Where a model is screening-grade rather than rigorous, we say so on the page for that unit operation.