Applying exergy analysis to rainwater harvesting systems to assess resource efficiency

M. Violeta Vargas-Parra, Gara Villalba and Xavier Gabarrell

Resources, Conservation & Recycling, 2013, vol. 72, issue C, 50-59

Abstract: In our continued effort in reducing resource consumption, greener technologies such as rainwater harvesting could be very useful in diminishing our dependence on desalinated or treated water and the associated energy requirements. This paper applies exergy analysis and exergetic efficiency to evaluate the performance of eight different scenarios of urban rainwater harvesting systems in the Mediterranean-climate Metropolitan Area of Barcelona where water is a scarce resource. A life cycle approach is taken, where the production, use, and end-of-life stages of these rainwater harvesting systems are quantified in terms of energy and material requirements in order to produce 1m3 of rainwater per year for laundry purposes. The results show that the highest exergy input is associated with the energy uses, namely the transport of the materials to construct the rainwater harvesting systems. The scenario with the highest exergetic efficiency considers a 24 household building with a 21m3 rainwater storage tank installed below roof. Exergy requirements could be minimized by material substitution, minimizing weight or distance traveled.

Keywords: Exergy analysis; Rainwater harvesting; Exergetic efficiency; Environmental impact; Resource consumption (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:recore:v:72:y:2013:i:c:p:50-59

DOI: 10.1016/j.resconrec.2012.12.008

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