the characteristics of the exergy reference environment and its implications for sustainability-based decision-making(火用)的特点,参考环境及其对sustainability-based决策的影响.pdf

Energies 2012, 5, 2197-2213; doi:10.3390/en5072197 OPEN ACCESS energies ISSN 1996-1073 /journal/energies Article The Characteristics of the Exergy Reference Environment and Its Implications for Sustainability-Based Decision-Making Kyrke Gaudreau 1,*, Roydon A. Fraser 2 and Stephen Murphy 1 1 Environment and Resource Studies, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada; E-Mail: sd2murph@uwaterloo.ca 2 Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada; E-Mail: rafraser@uwaterloo.ca * Author to whom correspondence should be addressed; E-Mail: kgaudrea@uwaterloo.ca; Tel.: +1-519-781-7829. Received: 4 May 2012; in revised form: 25 June 2012 / Accepted: 3 July 2012 / Published: 5 July 2012 Abstract: 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