ANALYSIS OF A MODEL OF CHLORITE-BASED CHAOTIC CHEMICAL OSCILLATORS

A four-variable CSTR model proposed by Rabai and Orban to describe a n umber of chlorite-containing oscillatory reactions produces complex pe riodic oscillations and chaos. Detailed numerical simulations and two- parameter bifurcation diagrams with changing inflow concentrations and rate constants were calculated to reveal the dynamical properties of the model and to compare them with the results of experiments on syste ms containing chlorite- and sulfur-containing reductants such as thios ulfate, thiocyanate, and thiourea. It is suggested that the model requ ires more flexibility in describing the variable stoichiometry of the sulfur-containing reductants and that it may need to account for the r eactivity of chlorine dioxide. Experiments are suggested to establish the values of some of the parameters and to illuminate mechanistic unc ertainties in the model.