ABSTRACT
The generalized nonequilibrium theory of chromatography— and its simplified precursors are based on precisely the same picture of nonequilibrium. This qualitative view is given quantitative meaning by first calculating the degree of nonequilibrium in terms of the sorption-desorption rates and the concentration changes accompanying the moving gradients of the zone. The nonequilibrium theory is based on solute concentration and changes in concentration which result from the flow and kinetic processes of chromatography. The nonequilibrium and concentration parameters associated with partition chromatography are in most cases identical to those used in adsorption chromatography. The single molecular events of the random walk description have been replaced by the gross processes of mass transfer in the nonequiiibrium theory. The terms are all related to the transfer of solute between regions having different velocities, and so they are often called the mass transfer terms.
