Thermodynamics of chemical free energy generation in off-axis hydrothermal vent systems and its consequences for compartmentalization and the emergence of life

In this paper we demonstrate how chemical free energy can be produced by a geological process. We provide a thermodynamic framework in which to assess how life emerged at the off-axis hydrothermal vent system; the RNA - clays system has been investigated from the entropic point of view, showing that the stabilization of the system in a state further away from equilibrium state, by an inorganic heterogeneous compartmetalization phenomena, is able to produce chemical free energy useful for RNA self - replication.