The authors analyzed the influence of the acidity of a ZSM-5 catalyst on the catalytic transformation of various short-chain olefins (ethylene, propylene and 1-butene). Four ZMS-5 catalysts with different acid strength distributions were studied at different temps. and partial pressures. The results were fitted using a kinetic model based on a network mechanism, which details the products by type (olefins, paraffins and aroms.) and no. of C atoms. Polanyi-type equations, supported on quantum chem. calcns., were used to derive quant. relations between the NH3 adsorption energy, used as a measure of the acidity of a given acid site, and the energetics of the various steps involved in the reaction. Although the qual. aspects of the reactivity differs from olefin to olefin and according to the catalyst's acidity, the model is able to describe both activity and product distribution for all catalysts, reactants and conditions using a single reaction scheme and a single set of kinetic parameters. [on SciFinder(R)]