Lumping nonlinear kinetics: Apparent overall order of reaction

The analysis of Astarita and Ocone (1988) of the lumping of nonlinear kinetics in continuous mixtures offers a framework for examining the apparent overall behavior of a multicomponent mixture given the underlying intrinsic kinetics. Specific solutions of the governing equations are given for some special cases of underlying intrinsic kinetics. It is shown that the apparent overall order of reaction may be both larger and smaller than the underlying one, depending on the initial concentration distribution and on the distribution of kinetic parameters.