Mapping the kinetic events in a linear two-step irreversible-reversible reaction mechanism

•Maxima, minima, intersections and inflection points are kinetic events studied in batch reactor and CSTR for the mechanism A→B⇄C.•These thoroughly analyzed events can be used as kinetic fingerprint of the mechanism.•Kinetic events are an useful source of information; their characteristic times can be used to resolve kinetic constants.•The kinetic events are hierarchized according to their characteristic times and values in barycentric coordinates.•We found an invariant intersection independent of both initial conditions and features of the mechanism.

Kinetic events (intersections, maxima and coincidences) are mapped in the batch reactor (BR) and the continuously stirred-tank reactor (CSTR). The mechanism A→B⇄C was used as an example. A two-stage study was performed: the analysis of single kinetic events, and the ordering by pairs (coincidences) of these events. As a result, all maps of kinetic events were constructed in barycentric parametric coordinates of kinetic constants. A series of analytical expressions between kinetic coefficients and time characteristics of the events were found, in particular a relationship between the intersection times and the kinetic coefficients.