https://doi.org/10.1140/epjst/e2016-60200-8
Regular Article
Efficiency at maximum power for an isothermal chemical engine with particle exchange at varying chemical potential
1 Institute for Theoretical Physics, Celestijnenlaan 200D, KU Leuven, B-3001 Leuven, Belgium
2 Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Okayama University, Okayama 700-8530, Japan
3 Research Institute for Interdisciplinary Science, Okayama University, Okayama 700-8530, Japan
a e-mail: joseph.indekeu@fys.kuleuven.be
Received: 30 June 2016
Revised: 26 August 2016
Published online: 6 March 2017
We calculate the efficiency at maximum power (EMP) of an isothermal chemical cycle in which particle uptake occurs at a fixed chemical potential but particle release takes place at varying chemical potential. We obtain the EMP as a function of Δμ/kT, where Δμ is the difference between the highest and lowest reservoir chemical potentials and T is the absolute temperature. In the linear response limit, Δμ ≪ kT, the EMP tends to the expected universal value 1/2.
© EDP Sciences, Springer-Verlag, 2017
