Stoichiometric relations of complex chemical reaction network and stoichiometric number theory: A criterion for preserving overall stoichiometry in reduced mechanisms

The stoichiometric relations of complex reaction networks were discussed with the stoichiometric number theory primarily developed by Horiuti and Nakamura. In the present report, the theory was applied to the stoichiometries in the reaction network of the 11 pseudoelementary reactions of the Belousov–Zhabotinski (BZ) reaction and in a reduced mechanism of the BZ reaction called the amplified Oregonator. Both of the mechanisms were developed by Noyes et al. for analysis of the oscillatory phenomena of the BZ reaction. In the present report, the conclusion was derived from the stoichiometric number theory that the amplified Oregonator was sufficient to describe the stoichiometry of the reaction network of the 11 pseudoelementary reactions. In comparison of our analysis of the stoichiometries in the above two mechanisms, a criterion for the reduced mechanism is also introduced.