Lactose reaction with bromine

An autocatalytic reaction is one in which the reaction rate is proportional to a product concentration raised to a positive exponent. Some of the first articles in the literature of chemical kinetics deal with reactions of this type. For example, in 1857, Baeyer (12) reported that the reaction of bromine with lactose was autocatalytic. The hydrolyses of several esters also fit into the autocatalytic category, since the acids formed by reaction give rise to hydrogen ions that serve as catalysts for subsequent reaction. Among the most significant autocatalytic reactions are the fermentation reactions that involve the action of a microorganism on an organic feedstock. 

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