Does an irreversible chemical cycle support equilibrium?

Abstract: The impossibility of attaining equilibrium for cyclic chemical reaction networks with irreversible steps is apparently due to a divergent entropy production rate. A deeper reason seems to be the violation of the detailed balance condition. In this work, we discuss how the standard theoretical framework can be adapted to include irreversible cycles, avoiding the divergence. With properly redefined force terms, such systems are also seen to reach and sustain equilibria that are characterized by the vanishing of the entropy production rate, though detailed balance is not maintained. Equivalence of the present formulation with Onsager's original prescription is established for both reversible and irreversible cycles, with a few adjustments in the latter case. Further justification of the attainment of true equilibrium is provided with the help of the minimum entropy production principle. All the results are generalized for an irreversible cycle comprising of N number of species.