The Thermoeconomic Environment Cost Indicator (i ex-TEE ) as a One-Dimensional Measure of Resource Sustainability

Sobhy Khedr, Melchiorre Casisi and Mauro Reini
Additional contact information
Sobhy Khedr: Department of Engineering and Architecture, University of Trieste, 34127 Trieste, Italy
Melchiorre Casisi: Polytechnic Department of Engineering and Architecture, University of Udine, 33100 Udine, Italy
Mauro Reini: Department of Engineering and Architecture, University of Trieste, 34127 Trieste, Italy

Energies, 2022, vol. 15, issue 6, 1-14

Abstract: This paper presents a conceptual development of sustainability evaluation, through an exergy-based indicator, by using the new concept of the Thermoeconomic Environment (TEE). The exergy-based accounting methods here considered as a background are Extended Exergy Accounting (EEA), which can be used to quantify the exergy cost of externalities like labor, monetary inputs, and pollutants, and Cumulative Exergy Consumption (CExC), which can be used to quantify the consumption of primary resources embodied in a final product or service. The new concept of bioresource stock replacement cost is presented, highlighting how the framework of the TEE offers an option for evaluating the exergy cost of products of biological systems. This sustainability indicator is defined based on the exergy cost of all resources directly and indirectly consumed by the system, the equivalent exergy cost of all externalities implied in the production process and the exergy cost of the final product.

Keywords: resource sustainability; exergy; exergy cost accounting; exergy cost of biological resources (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/15/6/2260/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/15/6/2260/ (text/html)

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:gam:jeners:v:15:y:2022:i:6:p:2260-:d:775132

Access Statistics for this article

Energies is currently edited by Ms. Agatha Cao

More articles in Energies from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().