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Exergoeconomics and
Exergoenvironmental Analysis
George Tsatsaronis
15.1 Introduction
The objective evaluation and the improvement of an energy-conversion system from
the viewpoints of thermodynamics, economics, and environmental impact require a
deep understanding of
1. the real thermodynamic inefficiencies and the processes that caused them,
2. the costs associated with equipment and thermodynamic inefficiencies as well
as the connection between these two important factors, and
3. possible measures that would improve the efficiency and the cost effectiveness
and would reduce the environmental impact of the system being studied.
Exergoeconomics and exergoenvironmental evaluation provide methods for obtaining this information. Because an exergoenvironmental analysis and evaluation are
conducted in complete analogy to the exergoeconomic ones, in the following sections more emphasis is placed on exergoeconomics, which has been significantly
developed. Exergoeconomics consists of an exergy analysis, an economic analysis,
and an exergoeconomic evaluation.
The term exergoeconomics was coined by the author in 1984 [1] to clearly characterize a combination of exergy analysis with economic analysis, when in this combination the exergy-costing principle (Subsection 15.4.1) is used. In this way, a distinction
can be made between exergoeconomic methods and applications on one side and
other numerous applications on the other side, in which results from a thermodynamic analysis (sometimes including an exergy analysis) and an economic analysis
are presented (under the term thermoeconomic analysis) but without applying the
exergy-costing principle. The case in which the exergy-costing principle is not used
is in general of less interest to scientists and engineers and belongs to the broader
field of thermoeconomics, which is defined as any possible combination or coexistence of a thermodynamic analysis with an economic one, and thus also includes
exergoeconomics. It should be mentioned that, before 1984, all authors were using
the term thermoeconomics to indicate what we call today exergoeconomics. Even
after 1984, and still today, some authors continue to use the term thermoeconomics
(even when the exergy-costing principle is used) instead of the more precise term,
exergoeconomics. This practice, however, contributes to some confusion in the field.
377
378
The term exergoenvironmental analysis was coined in 2006 by L. Meyer and the
author to characterize the new approach and to avoid confusion with other already
existing terms and approaches.
(15.1a)
PH
Esys = m esys
+ eCH + eKN + ePT .
(15.1b)
or
In the preceding equation, m is the mass of the system and e refers to the mass
specific exergy.
PH
The rate of physical exergy E j associated with the jth material stream is
PH
E j = me
PH
j h0 ) T0 (s j s0 )].
j = m[(h
(15.2)
379
Here m
is the mass flow rate and e, h, and s denote the specific exergy, enthalpy,
and entropy, respectively, of the material stream. The subscript 0 refers to the
property values of the same mass flow rate at temperature T0 and pressure p0 of the
environment.
The physical exergy of a working fluid can be further split into its thermal (e T )
and mechanical (e M ) exergy components. This splitting may improve the accuracy
of calculations and facilitates an exergoeconomic optimization:
ePH
j = [(h j h j,X) T0 (s j s j,X)] p=const + [(h j,X h j,0 ) T0 (s j,X s j,0 )]T0 =const .
|
{z
} |
{z
}
eT
eM
(15.3)
In the preceding equation, the point X is defined at the given pressure p and the
temperature T0 of the environment.
The chemical exergy is defined as the maximum useful work obtainable as the
system, being at temperature T0 and pressure p0 , is brought into chemical equilibrium with the environment. Thus, for calculating the chemical exergy, not only the
temperature and pressure but also the chemical composition of the environment has
to be specified. Because our natural environment is not in equilibrium, there is a
need to model an exergy-reference environment [35]. The use of tabulated standard
chemical exergy values for substances contained in the environment at standard conditions (Tref = 298.15 K, pref = 1.013 bar) facilitates the calculation of exergy values.
The effect of small variations in the values of T0 and p0 on the chemical exergy of
reference substances might be neglected in practical applications.
The chemical exergy of an ideal mixture of N ideal gases is
e CH
mixture
ideal gases
N
X
0
xl e lCH + RT
l=1
N
X
xl ln (xl ) .
(15.4)
l=1
Here e lCH is the standard molar chemical exergy of the lth substance, and xl is
the mole fraction of the lth substance in the system at T0 .
For solutions of liquids, the chemical exergy can be obtained with the aid of the
activity coefficients l :
CH
=
e solution
N
X
l=1
0
xl e lCH + RT
N
X
xl ln(l xl ).
(15.5)
l=1
(15.6)
The exergy transfer EQ12 is associated with heat transfer Q12 , and the exergy
transfer EW12 is associated with the transfer of energy by work W12 .
380
(15.7)
Hence exergy destruction can be calculated either from the entropy generation
[Eq. (15.7)] by use of an entropy balance or directly from an exergy balance [Eq.
(15.6)]. The term ED,k is equal to zero only in ideal processes.
Thermodynamic processes are governed by the laws of conservation of mass
and energy. These conservation laws state that the total mass and total energy can
be neither created nor destroyed in a process. However, exergy is not generally
conserved but is destroyed by irreversibilities within a system. Furthermore, exergy
is lost when the energy associated with a material or energy stream is rejected to the
environment.
An exergy balance for the kth component at steady-state conditions can be
written as
E F,k = E P,k + E D,k,
(15.8)
where E P,k is the exergy of product (the desired result, expressed in exergy terms,
achieved by the kth component), and E F,k is the exergy of fuel (the exergetic
resources expended in the kth component to generate the exergy of product).
Here it is assumed that the system boundaries used for all exergy balances are
at the temperature T0 of the environment and therefore there are no exergy losses
associated with a component [6]. Exergy losses ( E L) appear only at the level of the
overall system (subscript tot), for which the exergy balance becomes
E F,tot = E P,tot +
n
X
E D,k + E L,tot .
(15.9)
k=1
The following two dimensionless variables are used for the conventional exergetic evaluation of the kth component of a system [3, 6]:
r Exergetic efficiency,
k =
E P,k
E D,k
=1
;
E F,k
E F,k
(15.10)
E D,k
.
E F,tot
(15.11)
r exergy-destruction ratio,
yk =
n
X
E P,tot
E L,tot
=1
yk
.
E F,tot
E F,tot
k=1
(15.12)
For the distinction between productive components, for which an exergetic efficiency is calculated, and dissipative components, for which no meaningful efficiency
can be defined, see [7].
381
TCD
condenser
throttling
valve
secondary
working fluid
secondary
working fluid
9
4
evaporator
TEV
compressor
382
Stream
1
2
3
4
W
0a
6 = 0a
7
8
9
0a
a
Material
stream
(kg/s)
T
( C)
p
(bars)
h
(kJ/kg)
s
(kJ/kg K)
ePH
(kJ/kg)
Ammonia
Ammonia
Ammonia
Ammonia
0.0454
0.0454
0.0454
0.0454
15
115
30
15
2.36
11.67
11.67
2.36
1444
1716
341.6
341.6
5.827
5.934
1.488
1.557
126.3
366.8
296.1
275.8
Ammonia
Water
Water
Air
Air
Air
2.98
2.98
9.94
9.94
1536
83.93
104.8
273.3
268.3
293.4
6.572
0.296
0.367
6.776
6.757
6.847
20
20
25
0
5
20
1
1
1
1
1
1
0
0
0.176
0.719
1.138
0
cPH
(/GJ)
66.69
66.43
66.30
71.35
27.78
0
580.6
0
84.73
0 is the reference point for calculating the exergy value of each material stream.
Table 15.2 shows the exergy rates associated with fuel, product, and exergydestruction as well as the exergetic efficiency and the exergy-destruction ratio for
each component and for the overall refrigeration machine. The results in Table 15.2
indicate that the condenser and the evaporator have the highest exergy-destruction
ratios and the lowest exergetic efficiencies. According to these results, the efforts to
improve the thermodynamic efficiency of the refrigeration machine should focus on
these two components.
E F,k (kW)
E P,k (kW)
E D,k (kW)
k (%)
yk (%)
CM
CD
TV
EV
Overall system
12.340
3.206
7.953
6.778
12.340
10.912
0.525
7.028
4.158
4.158
1.428
2.681
0.925
2.620
7.653
88.43
16.39
88.37
61.35
33.70
11.57
21.73
7.50
21.24
62.0