title: Minimum entropy production in photosynthesis.
abstract: In this paper a flux-coupling model of photosynthesis is presented. By requiring minimum entropy production, it is found that the photosynthetic efficiency is essentially given by the square root of D/lambda. D and lambda are the diffusion coefficient and thermal conductivity of the rate-limiting processes in the chloroplast, respectively. For experimental values of D and lambda, the efficiency is found to be 2.4-7.5%, with a likely value of 6.1%, whereas C4-plants are known to have an efficiency of 6.2%. We conclude that the process of photosynthesis is in quantitative agreement with the principle of minimum entropy production.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Physics and Astronomy, Utrecht University, The Netherlands. C.D.Andriesse@phys.uu.nl
authors.forename: C D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Andriesse
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Hollestelle
mesh_terms: D004058:Diffusion; D019277:Entropy; D007700:Kinetics; D008956:Models, Chemical; D010788:Photosynthesis