Entropy generation as an environmental impact indicator and a sample application to freshwater ecosystems eutrophication

S.E. Diaz-Mendez, J.M.T. Sierra-Grajeda, A. Hernandez-Guerrero and J.M. Rodriguez-Lelis

Energy, 2013, vol. 61, issue C, 234-239

Abstract: Generally speaking, an ecosystem is seen as a complex set, it is composed by different biotic and abiotic parts. Naturally, each part has specifics functions related with mass and energy, those functions have influence between the parts directly and indirectly, and these functions are subjected to the basic laws of thermodynamics. If each part of the ecosystem is taken as thermodynamics system its entropy generation could be evaluated, then the total entropy generation of the ecosystem must be sum of the entropy generation in each part, to be in accordance with the Gouy-Stodola theorem. With this in mind, in this work an environmental indicator, for any kind of ecosystems, can be determined as a function of the ratio of total entropy generation for reference state, for instance a healthy forest; and the entropy generation of new different state of the same ecosystem can take, for instance a deforestation. Thus, thermodynamics concepts are applied to study the eutrophication of freshwater ecosystems; the strategy is based on techniques that integrate assumptions of the methodology of entropy generation inside ecosystems. The results show that if the amount of entropy generation is small respect a reference state; the sustainability of the ecosystem will be greater.

Keywords: Entropy generation; Lost work; Exergy destruction; Sustainability; Environmental impact index (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360544213007937
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:energy:v:61:y:2013:i:c:p:234-239

DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2013.09.042

Access Statistics for this article

Energy is currently edited by Henrik Lund and Mark J. Kaiser

More articles in Energy from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().