Predicting kinetic dependences and closing the balance: Wei and Prater revisited

The chemical system of monomolecular reactions among n species, first analysed in the classical paper by Wei and Prater (1962) was revisited. It was shown that using symmetry relationships, based on all the equilibrium constants and n(n−1)/2 known dependences, all remaining kinetic dependences can be calculated. A new method of closing the mass balance for such a complex chemical system was developed, using only measurements of one or a few species, and based on symmetry relations. A new method of testing completeness of a kinetic description was proposed, using the properties of the trace sum of components, i.e., the sum of all concentration dependences, each of which is started from maximal initial concentration.