Second order consecutive irreversible reaction as shown in the bellow figure, were carried out in a constant volume isothermal batch reactor with different initial feed compositions. Reactor temperature was same in all the cases. In experiments where the ratio of concentration of B to that of A in the initial feed was less than 0.5, the concentration of B increased first, reached a maximum and then declined with time. However, for all experiments where this concentration ratio was 0.5 or above, concentration of B decreased monotonically with time right from the beginning. What is the ratio of the two rate constants (k1/k2) ?

Question

Accepted Answer

1/4. The observed change in B's concentration depends on the initial ratio of [B]/[A] relative to 0.5. This suggests a specific relationship between the rate constants k1 and k2.