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Cellulose acetate/silica (CA/SIL) nanocomposites are prepared by electrospinning and investigated as multifunctional ingredients in eco‐friendly semisolid lubricant formulations. The structuring ability of these electrospun composites in castor oil and the antifriction and antiwear properties are examined through rheological and tribological experiments. The multifunctionality of CA/SIL composites arises from a balance between the silica content and the formation of nanofiber‐dominated structures. The linear viscoelasticity functions in the oleo‐dispersions increase by several orders of magnitude with both the spinning solution concentration and the CA:SIL ratio. However, the rheological response primarily depends on the morphology of the nanofiber mat obtained, specifically nanofiber diameter and the presence of beads. In contrast, the silica content significantly impacts the tribological performance of the oleo‐dispersions regardless of nanofiber morphology. For similar nanoarchitectures and rheological responses, the friction coefficient is reduced from 0.227 to 0.108 by incorporating silica in a 10:1 CA:SIL ratio, compared with the SIL‐free electrospun CA nanofibers, while wear is completely prevented. Increasing the composite concentration from 5 to 12.5 wt. % enhances wear protection and the gel strength of oleo‐dispersions, for example, the plateau modulus rises from 800 to 42,000 Pa using a composite with a 10:1 CA:SIL ratio. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pedagogy of teaching chemical reaction engineering is continually advancing through the use of new computational tools and, therefore, the integration of these new tools into the Chemical Engineering degree is challenging. This paper reports an educational experience dealing with the use of Mathcad software to complement and to facilitate the design of chemical reactors involving multiple reactions. A continuous stirred‐tank reactor taking place series reactions and two reactors (continuous stirred‐tank reactor or plug flow reactor) arranged in series involving parallel reactions were presented as case studies. This experience, which was carried out with the third‐year chemical engineering students enrolled in the chemical reactors course, revealed that Mathcad facilitates the understanding of the theoretical concepts related to multiple reactions and also reduces the complexity of mathematical calculation to a minimum. Thus, the use of this computer tool allows the teacher (a) to delve deeper into more issues related to the design of chemical reactors, and (b) to consider this tool perfectly useful for other courses corresponding to the Chemical Engineering degree. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]