Article,
Economics and the second law: An engineering view and methodology
International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 25 (6): 743 - 751 (1982)
DOI: 10.1016/0017-9310(82)90086-2
Abstract
An operationally convenient methodology is presented for pricing the penalties of thermodynamic irreversibilites occurring in equipment processes.Starting with a recognition of the individual internal and relevant external irreversibilities thermodynamic arguments are used to formulate both entropy and energy measures in terms of operating conditions. The energy measures lead to economic pricing relating to system energy expenditure and sometimes system energy rating penalties. The analysis loop is closed by considerations relating to the reduction of the individual irreversibilities in terms of trade-off factors.The usual available energy or `exergy' analysis provides an answer to the overall costs of the collective internal irreversibilities. Depending on the system definition, relevant `external' irreversibilities may be excluded. The lack of detail does not allow the development of trade-off factors and, moreover, inhibits judgments as to the relevance of an energy rating penalty in addition to an energy expenditure penalty.
