Abstract:

As the starting point of the thermodynamic theories of irreversible processes, local equihbrium assumption is usually believed to be applicable to most physicochemical processes under usual conditions. Based on the Boltzmann equation and the stochastic theory of fluctuations, such apphcabihty of local equilibrium assumption to reaction-diffusion processes is studied. It is found that for reaction-diffusion processes involving nonlinear chemical kinetics the results obtained from the stochastic theory are inconsistent to the local equilibrium assumption.

Key words: Local equilibrium assumption, Reaction-diffusion processes, Boltzmann equation, Fluctuations, Stochastic theory