Entropy production and thermal conductivity of a dilute gas

It is known that the thermal conductivity of a dilute gas can be derived by using kinetic theory. We present here a new derivation by starting with two known entropy production principles: the steepest entropy ascent (SEA) principle and the maximum entropy production (MEP) principle. A remarkable feature of the new derivation is that it does not require the specification of the existence of the temperature gradient. The known result is reproduced in a similar form.