COCO Simulator
AmsterCHEM
COCO is a chemical flowsheet simulation environment: you connect unit operations — separators, heat exchangers, reactors, pumps and compressors — and get fully solved mass and energy balances. It is built around the CAPE-OPEN standard, so thermodynamic models and unit operations from other vendors can be plugged in.
It ships with a database of hundreds of pure components and a thermodynamic package, and integrates with ChemSep for distillation and extraction column design. Together they cover much of what a student or process engineer needs.
What is missing: Windows only, and the interface is functional rather than polished. Alongside DWSIM, also in this directory, there are two genuine free alternatives to the commercial simulators.
Download
COCO is distributed free from the official site, for Windows. No paid licence is needed.
Frequently asked questions
Does COCO replace Aspen HYSYS?
For basic steady-state process simulation and teaching, largely yes. For large and dynamic processes the commercial tools are still broader.
What are the alternatives?
DWSIM is an open-source process simulator with a friendly interface. Full comparison: Free Aspen HYSYS alternatives.
Ratings & Reviews
| Licence type | Completely Free |
|---|---|
| Licence terms | Entirely free software for academic and professional use, at no cost and with no time limit. Not open source. |
| Platforms | Windows |
| Engineering field | Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering |
| Tool type | Engineering Calculators, Simulation & FEA |
| Vendor site | www.cocosimulator.org |
This link goes to the vendor site. EngiFree hosts no installers and distributes no cracked versions.
Last verified: 2026-09-07
