Exergetic Life-cycle Analysis

Life-cycle assessment (LCA) has been developed in the last decades. A comprehensive framework has been established to enable the execution of the analysis. In this framework the concept of exergy or similar thermodynamic concepts have not yet been introduced. It is shown in this paper that for sustainable development the depletion of exergy reservoirs and the exergetic emission to the environment have to be minimised. To accomplish this it is proposed to extend the LCA with an Exergetic Life-cycle Analysis (ELCA). The method of how to perform an ELCA is presented. In the paper the concept of a zero-exergy or a reduced exergy emission plant is introduced. It is shown that in the case of a zero-exergy emission plant the LCA can completely be replaced by an ELCA. An extension to the method of ELCA is presented in which emissions are translated in terms of exergy. As a case study the comparison between the disposable polystyrene cup and the porcelain mug has been made. It is shown that the extended ELCA is a valuable approach because it gives a good indication of the effort in terms of natural resources needed to prevent emissions.