Department of Electronics and Information Systems, Ghent University, Building S-8, Krijgslaan 281, B-9000 Gent, Belgium
Gregory Yablonsky
Department of Energy, Environmental and Chemical Engineering, McKelvey School of Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, 1 Brookings Dr., St. Louis, MO 63130, USA
Yiming Xi
Department of Energy, Environmental and Chemical Engineering, McKelvey School of Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, 1 Brookings Dr., St. Louis, MO 63130, USA
Guy Marin
Laboratory for Chemical Technology, Ghent University, Technologiepark 914, B-9052 Gent, Belgium
In this paper, two main ideas of chemical kinetics are distinguished, i.e., a hierarchy and commensuration. A new class of chemical kinetic models is proposed and defined, i.e., egalitarian kinetic models (EKM). Contrary to hierarchical kinetic models (HKM), for the models of the EKM class, all kinetic coefficients are equal. Analysis of EKM models for some complex chemical reactions is performed for sequences of irreversible reactions. Analytic expressions for acyclic and cyclic mechanisms of egalitarian kinetics are obtained. Perspectives on the application of egalitarian models for reversible reactions are discussed. All analytical results are illustrated by examples.
