Title: Exergy and sustainability

Authors: Lydia Stougie; Hedzer J. Van Der Kooi

Addresses: Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management, Delft University of Technology, P.O. Box 5015, 2600 GA Delft, The Netherlands ' Faculty of Architecture, Delft University of Technology, P.O. Box 5046, 2600 GA Delft, The Netherlands

Abstract: A thorough qualitative investigation of the relation between exergy losses and the environmental aspect of sustainability has been conducted. It is concluded that almost all environmental effects can be taken into account by studying the waste of feedstocks and energy, and the emission and dispersion of pollutants. On the basis of the results of two case studies, i.e., the production of aluminium and polystyrene, it can be made plausible that exergy losses and environmental impact are related. It is concluded that exergy loss is at least a qualitative measure that can be used in environmental policy making regarding technological processes.

Keywords: exergy losses; sustainability; environmental impact; qualitative investigation; environmental policy making; aluminium; polystyrene; sustainable development; feedstock waste; energy waste; pollutant emissions; pollutant dispersion.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEX.2012.050259

International Journal of Exergy, 2012 Vol.11 No.4, pp.508 - 517

Published online: 13 Nov 2012 *

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