Semi-analytical solutions for cubic autocatalytic reaction-diffusion equations; the effect of a precursor chemical

Semi-analytical solutions for a cubic autocatalytic reaction, with linear decay and a precursor chemical, are considered. The model is coupled with diffusion and considered in a one-dimensional reactor. In this model the reactant is supplied by two mechanisms, diffusion via the cell boundaries and decay of an abundant precursor chemical present in the reactor. The Galerkin method is used to approximate the spatial structure of the reactant and autocatalyst concentrations in the reactor. Ordinary differential equations are then obtained as an approximation to the governing partial differential equations and analyzed to obtain semi-analytical results for the reaction-diffusion cell. Singularity theory and a local stability analysis are used to determine the regions of parameter space in which the different types of bifurcation diagrams and Hopf bifurcations occur. The effect of the precursor chemical concentration is examined in detail and some novel behaviours are identified.