A Non-Equilibrium Thermodynamics-Based View of the Kinetics of Autocatalytic Reactions – a Simple Illustrative Example

Autocatalytic reactions are in a certain contrast with the linear algebra of reaction stoichiometry, on whose basis rate equations respecting the permanence of atoms are constructed. These mathematical models of chemical reactions are termed conservative.Using a non-equilibrium thermodynamics-based theory of chemical kinetics, this paper demonstrates how to properly introduce an autocatalytic step into a (conservative) rate equation. Further, rate equations based on chemical potentials or affinities are derived, and conditions for the consistency of rate equations with entropic inequality (the second law of thermodynamics) are illustrated.