Exergy as a global energy sustainability indicator. A review of the state of the art

Abstract This paper looks at the suitability of using exergy as an indicator for energy sustainability studies, by reviewing the relevant literature and describing and assessing the different uses that have been proposed for it as a global energy sustainability indicator. Exergy is a thermodynamic property that links the first and the second thermodynamic principles as well as connects a system under study with the environment where it belongs. Since the first principle of thermodynamics measures quantity of energy and the second measures irreversibilities, i.e. quality of energy, having a single thermodynamic indicator which is able to deal with both issues at the same time means a great advance in energy sustainability studies. Our review shows that using exergy for weak sustainability studies presents some problems, but still offers a worthy contribution to this field, more valuable than pure economic analyses. Strong sustainability assessments featuring exergy show more drawbacks and complications, but can also play a key role in a sustainability framework designed in order to obtain sustainable policies which are able to maintain homeostatic relations between the system under study and its environment, thus complementing traditional economic approaches which are mainly focused on the economic and social poles of sustainability.

[1]  Antonio Valero,et al.  Structural theory and thermoeconomic diagnosis: Part I. On malfunction and dysfunction analysis , 2002 .

[2]  Amalia Zucaro,et al.  Multi-method and Multi-scale Analysis of Energy and Resource Conversion and Use , 2010 .

[3]  Richard A. Gaggioli,et al.  Efficiency and costing : second law analysis of processes , 1983 .

[4]  Funtowicz Silvio.  Post-Normal Science , 2020, Encyclopedia of Creativity, Invention, Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

[5]  Yehia M. El-Sayed,et al.  The Thermoeconomics of Energy Conversions , 2003 .

[6]  E. Neumayer.  Weak Versus Strong Sustainability: Exploring The Limits Of Two Opposing Paradigms , 2010 .

[7]  Weston A. Hermann.  Quantifying global exergy resources , 2006 .

[8]  Herman E. Daly,et al.  Allocation, distribution, and scale: towards an economics that is efficient, just, and sustainable , 1992 .

[9]  S. Faucheux,et al.  Decision-making under environmental uncertainty , 1995 .

[10]  D. Morris,et al.  Standard chemical exergy of some elements and compounds on the planet earth , 1986 .

[11]  Rene Cornelissen,et al.  The value of the exergetic life cycle assessment besides the LCA , 2002 .

[12]  Kathleen L. Abdalla.  Introduction: Using energy indicators to achieve sustainable development goals , 2005 .

[13]  J. Szargut,et al.  Calculation of the standard chemical exergy of some elements and their compounds, based upon sea water as the datum level substance , 1985 .

[14]  Sabine U. O'Hara,et al.  Discursive ethics in ecosystems valuation and environmental policy , 1996 .

[15]  B. Bakshi,et al.  Promise and problems of emergy analysis , 2004 .

[16]  H. Simon,et al.  Bounded rationality in social science: Today and tomorrow , 2000 .

[17]  Kyrke Gaudreau.  Exergy analysis and resource accounting , 2009 .

[18]  Manfred A. Max-Neef.  Foundations of transdisciplinarity , 2005 .

[19]  R. Gordon.  Rigor and Relevance in a Changing Institutional Setting , 1976 .

[20]  Jose M. Marin,et al.  Contribution to the calculation of chemical exergy in industrial processes (electrolyte solutions) , 1986 .

[21]  Jan Szargut,et al.  International progress in second law analysis , 1980 .

[22]  Giuseppe Munda,et al.  A NAIADE based approach for sustainability benchmarking , 2006 .

[23]  D W Pennington,et al.  Life cycle assessment: Part 1: Framework, goal and scope definition, inventory analysis, and applications , 2004 .

[24]  John C. V. Pezzey,et al.  Sustainability Constraints versus "Optimality" versus Intertemporal Concern, and Axioms versus Data , 1997 .

[25]  M. Rosen.  INDICATORS FOR THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF WASTE EMISSIONS: COMPARISON OF EXERGY AND OTHER INDICATORS , 2009 .

[26]  R. Levett.  Sustainability indicators—integrating quality of life and environmental protection , 1998 .

[27]  Adam P. Simpson,et al.  An exergy-based framework for evaluating environmental impact , 2011 .

[28]  Howard T. Odum,et al.  Environmental Accounting: Emergy and Environmental Decision Making , 1995 .

[29]  Giuseppe Munda,et al.  Social multi-criteria evaluation: Methodological foundations and operational consequences , 2004, Eur. J. Oper. Res..

[30]  G. Munda.  “Measuring Sustainability”: A Multi-Criterion Framework , 2005 .

[31]  Jan Szargut,et al.  Chemical exergies of the elements , 1989 .

[32]  Herman E. Daly.  Georgescu-Roegen versus Solow/Stiglitz , 1997 .

[33]  R. Solow.  The Economics of Resources or the Resources of Economics , 2008 .

[34]  Rene Cornelissen,et al.  Thermodynamics and sustainable development , 1997 .

[35]  Enrico Sciubba,et al.  A brief Commented History of Exergy From the Beginnings to 2004 , 2007 .

[36]  Miguel A. Lozano,et al.  Theory of the exergetic cost , 1993 .

[37]  A. I. Jalal,et al.  Indicators for sustainable energy development: An initiative by the International Atomic Energy Agency , 2005 .

[38]  Naim Afgan,et al.  Energy system assessment with sustainability indicators , 2000 .

[39]  Roydon Andrew Fraser,et al.  Resource Accounting and Waste Impact: Limitations of Exergy as a Sustainability Tool , 2010 .

[40]  Robert U. Ayres,et al.  The second law, the fourth law, recycling and limits to growth , 1999 .

[41]  Elisabeth C. Odum,et al.  The prosperous way down , 2001 .

[42]  Antonio Valero,et al.  Structural theory and thermoeconomic diagnosis: Part II: Application to an actual power plant , 2002 .

[43]  Ralph Baierlein,et al.  The elusive chemical potential , 2001 .

[44]  M. T Brown,et al.  Embodied energy analysis and EMERGY analysis: a comparative view , 1996 .

[45]  Niels Bohr,et al.  Discussion with Einstein on Epistemological Problems in Atomic Physics , 1996 .

[46]  Naim Afgan,et al.  Sustainable Energy Development , 1998 .

[47]  Christoph Böhringer,et al.  Measuring the Immeasurable: A Survey of Sustainability Indices , 2007 .

[48]  P. Boulanger.  the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. Surveys , 2022 .

[49]  P. J. Petit,et al.  Second law analysis, for pinpointing the true inefficiencies in fuel conversion systems , 1976 .

[50]  Peter Atkins.  The Second Law , 1984 .

[51]  Richard A. Gaggioli,et al.  Second law analysis for process and energy engineering , 1983 .

[52]  R. Clausius.  The Mechanical Theory Of Heat , 1879 .

[53]  M. J. Moran,et al.  Thermal design and optimization , 1995 .

[54]  Roydon Andrew Fraser,et al.  The Tenuous Use of Exergy as a Measure of Resource Value or Waste Impact , 2009 .

[55]  Ambuj D. Sagar,et al.  Bioenergy and sustainable development , 2007 .

[56]  J. Martínez-Alier,et al.  Weak Comparability of Values as a Foundation for Ecological Economics , 1998 .

[57]  M. J. Moran,et al.  Fundamentals of Engineering Thermodynamics , 2014 .

[58]  Antonio Valero,et al.  Exergy Evaluation of the Mineral Capital on Earth: Influence of the Reference Environment , 2005 .

[59]  John M. Hartwick,et al.  Intergenerational equity and the investing of rents from exhaustible resources , 2017 .

[60]  Marc A. Rosen,et al.  A concise review of exergy-based economic methods , 2008 .

[61]  Friedrich Hinterberger,et al.  Material flows vs. 'natural capital': What makes an economy sustainable? , 1997 .

[62]  A. Stodola,et al.  Steam and gas turbines : with a supplement on the prospects of the thermal prime mover: vol. 1 / by A. Stodola; autorized translation from the sixh German edition by Louis C. Loewenstein , 1927 .

[63]  N. Georgescu-Roegen.  The Entropy Law and the Economic Process , 1973 .

[64]  H. Welsch,et al.  Meaningful environmental indices: a social choice approach , 2004 .

[65]  Bhavik R Bakshi,et al.  Expanding exergy analysis to account for ecosystem products and services. , 2004, Environmental science & technology.

[66]  Jan Szargut,et al.  Exergy Analysis of Thermal, Chemical, and Metallurgical Processes , 1988 .

[67]  Goran Wall,et al.  On exergy and sustainable developmentPart 2: Indicators and methods , 2001 .

[68]  Antonio Valero.  Exergy accounting: Capabilities and drawbacks , 2006 .

[69]  Mei Gong,et al.  On exergy and sustainable development—Part 1: Conditions and concepts , 2001 .

[70]  Ibrahim Dincer,et al.  Energy, Entropy and Exergy Concepts and Their Roles in Thermal Engineering , 2001, Entropy.

[71]  M. Tolba,et al.  Our fragile world : challenges and opportunities for sustainable development , 2001 .

[72]  Enrico Sciubba,et al.  From Engineering Economics to Extended Exergy Accounting: A Possible Path from Monetary to Resource‐Based Costing , 2004 .