Reaction kinetics in open reactors and serial transfers between closed reactors

TL;DR

This paper extends kinetic theory and thermodynamics to analyze the out-of-equilibrium dynamics of continuous-flow reactors and serial transfers, revealing their equivalence under certain conditions and implications for molecular evolution experiments.

Contribution

It introduces a unified framework for reaction network dynamics in open and serial transfer reactors, highlighting the role of transfer parameters in molecular evolution.

Findings

CSTR and serial transfer dynamics are equivalent as transfer intervals approach zero.

The framework applies to finite and infinite reaction networks.

Serial transfer parameters influence molecular evolution experiments.

Abstract

Kinetic theory and thermodynamics of reaction networks are extended to the out-of-equilibrium dynamics of continuous-flow stirred tank reactors (CSTR) and serial transfers. On the basis of their stoichiometry matrix, the conservation laws and the cycles of the network are determined for both dynamics. It is shown that the CSTR and serial transfer dynamics are equivalent in the limit where the time interval between the transfers tends to zero proportionally to the ratio of the fractions of fresh to transferred solutions. These results are illustrated with finite cross-catalytic reaction network and an infinite reaction network describing mass exchange between polymers. Serial transfer dynamics is typically used in molecular evolution experiments in the context of research on the origins of life. The present study is shedding a new light on the role played by serial transfer parameters in these experiments.