An emergy evaluation of complexity, information and technology, towards maximum power and zero emissions

Ulgiati, Sérgio; Bargigli, Silvia; Raugei, Marco

doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2006.07.008

Cited by 72 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 14 publications

(25 reference statements)

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“…Most importantly, it has to demonstrate that holistic analysis is not just an environmental, sustainable practice, but also has substantial economic gains for the community in the long run [3]. Prevailing systems are those whose designs maximize the productivity at the optimum efficiency [161].…”

Section: Moving Forwardmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sustainable Water Systems for the City of Tomorrow—A Conceptual Framework

Xue

González-Mejía

et al. 2015

Sustainability

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Urban water systems are an example of complex, dynamic human-environment coupled systems which exhibit emergent behaviors that transcend individual scientific disciplines. While previous siloed approaches to water services (i.e., water resources, drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater) have led to great improvements in public health protection, sustainable solutions for a growing global population facing increased resource constraints demand a paradigm shift based on holistic management to maximize the use and recovery of water, energy, nutrients, and materials. The objective of this review paper is to highlight the issues in traditional water systems including water demand and use, centralized configuration, sewer collection systems, characteristics of mixed wastewater, and to explore alternative solutions such as decentralized water systems, fit for purpose and water reuse, OPEN ACCESSSustainability 2015, 7 12072 natural/green infrastructure, vacuum sewer collection systems, and nutrient/energy recovery. This review also emphasizes a system thinking approach for evaluating alternatives that should include sustainability indicators and metrics such as emergy to assess global system efficiency. An example paradigm shift design for urban water system is presented, not as the recommended solution for all environments, but to emphasize the framework of system-level analysis and the need to visualize water services as an organic whole. When water systems are designed to maximize the resources and optimum efficiency, they are more prevailing and sustainable than siloed management because a system is more than the sum of its parts.

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Section: Moving Forwardmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sustainable Water Systems for the City of Tomorrow—A Conceptual Framework

Xue

González-Mejía

et al. 2015

Sustainability

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“…There is no a priori reason to assume that the exergy reference environment and the natural world are reconcilable, and in fact there are many reasons to argue just the opposite. To illustrate this, Table 2 provides a basic contrast between the characteristics of the exergy reference environment as defined by Rosen and Dincer [35] (and elaborated upon by us) compared to a restricted set of characteristics of the natural world [5,[54][55][56][57][58][59][60][61]. It should be immediately clear that the characteristics of the reference environment and the natural environment are diametrically opposed.…”

Section: Discussion: the Limitations Of Standard Reference Environmenmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Characteristics of the Exergy Reference Environment and Its Implications for Sustainability-Based Decision-Making

2012

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In the energy realm there is a pressing need to make decisions in a complex world characterized by biophysical limits. Exergy has been promoted as a preferred means of characterizing the impacts of resource consumption and waste production for the purpose of improving decision-making. This paper provides a unique and critical analysis of universal and comprehensive formulations of the chemical exergy reference environment, for the purpose of better understanding how exergy can inform decision-making. Four related insights emerged from the analysis, notably: (1) standard and universal chemical exergy reference environments necessarily encounter internal inconsistencies and even contradictions in their very formulations; (2) these inconsistencies are a result of incompatibility between the exergy reference environment and natural environment, and the desire to model the exergy reference environment after the natural environment so as to maintain analytical relevance; (3) the topics for which exergy is most appropriate as an analytical tool are not well served by comprehensive reference environments, and (4) the inconsistencies point to a need for deeper reflection of whether it is appropriate to adopt a thermodynamic frame of analysis for situations whose relevant characteristics are non-thermodynamic (e.g., to characterize scarcity). The use of comprehensive reference environments may lead to incorrect recommendations and ultimately reduce its appeal for informing decision-making. Exergy may better inform decision-making by returning to process dependent reference states that model specific processes and situations for the purpose of engineering optimization. OPEN ACCESSEnergies 2012, 5 2198

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“…In theory, emergy methodology can be applied to all systems on Earth. Previous studies have applied emergy methodology to a wide variety of systems, from human-dominated systems [18] to ecosystems [19], as well as the interface of human and natural systems [20], demonstrating emergy methodology's versatility as a tool for system analysis.…”

Section: Emergy and Sustainable Infrastructurementioning

confidence: 99%

Sustainable housing: Emergy evaluation of an off-grid residence

Rothrock

2014

Energy and Buildings

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An emergy evaluation of complexity, information and technology, towards maximum power and zero emissions

Cited by 72 publications

References 14 publications

Sustainable Water Systems for the City of Tomorrow—A Conceptual Framework

Sustainable Water Systems for the City of Tomorrow—A Conceptual Framework

The Characteristics of the Exergy Reference Environment and Its Implications for Sustainability-Based Decision-Making

Sustainable housing: Emergy evaluation of an off-grid residence

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