Understanding the formation of costs and environmental impacts using exergy-based methods

Abstract

We examine the integrated advanced exergetic, exergoeconomic, and exergoenvironmental analyses, which identify the magnitude, location and causes of thermodynamic inefficiencies, costs, and environmental impacts. The analyses evaluate the interactions among the components of the overall system and the real potential for improving a system component. The results from the application of these methods are useful in understanding the operation of energy conversion systems and in developing strategies to improve them. This chapter demonstrates how exergoeconomic and exergoenvironmental analyses provide the user with information related to (a) the formation processes of costs and environmental impacts, and (b) the interactions among thermodynamics, economics, and ecology.