Diffusive flows and entropy production in a plane-parallel layer for the ideal solution approximation

Abstract

Equations for the evaluation of the diffusive flow and the entropy production in a plane-parallel layer with the osmotic boundary condition are obtained for the case of the diffusive process in the binary ideal solutions within the irreversible thermodynamics. It is shown that the dependence of the diffusion coefficient on the field variables leads to the considerable difference between the obtained results for the diffusive flow and the entropy production and those obtained in the common approach with the constant diffusion coefficient. The experimental data for the facilitated diffusion in the biological systems are qualitatively described within the general diffusion theory with no artificial correction terms being added even for the case of considering only the entropy effects.