Adressing Energy Demand and Climate Change through the Second Law of Thermodynamics and LCA towards a Rational Use of Energy in Brazilian Households
This study focuses on a typical Brazilian household through the lens of sustainable development, regarding energy demand and GHG emissions. The analysis encompasses both the direct and indirect energy, exergy consumption, and GHG emissions (quantified by life cycle assessment) associated with the us...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-10-01
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| Series: | Entropy |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1099-4300/24/11/1524 |
| _version_ | 1797468347171864576 |
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| author | Marina Torelli Reis Martins Pereira Monica Carvalho Carlos Eduardo Keutenedjian Mady |
| author_facet | Marina Torelli Reis Martins Pereira Monica Carvalho Carlos Eduardo Keutenedjian Mady |
| author_sort | Marina Torelli Reis Martins Pereira |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This study focuses on a typical Brazilian household through the lens of sustainable development, regarding energy demand and GHG emissions. The analysis encompasses both the direct and indirect energy, exergy consumption, and GHG emissions (quantified by life cycle assessment) associated with the usual routine of a household. The household is modeled as a thermodynamic system to evaluate inputs (food, electricity, fuels for transportation) and outputs (solid and liquid residues). The hypothesis is that each input and output contains CO<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><msub><mrow></mrow><mrow><mn>2</mn><mo>,</mo><mi>e</mi><mi>q</mi></mrow></msub></semantics></math></inline-formula> emissions and exergy derived from its physical-chemical characteristics or production chains. Each household appliance is modeled and tested as a function of external parameters. The contribution of several industries was obtained to the total GHG emissions and exergy flows entering and exiting the household (e.g., fuels for transportation, food, gas, electricity, wastewater treatment, solid waste). It was verified that urban transportation was the flow with the highest GHG and exergy intensity, ranging between 1.49 and 7.53 kgCO<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><msub><mrow></mrow><mrow><mn>2</mn><mo>,</mo><mi>e</mi><mi>q</mi></mrow></msub></semantics></math></inline-formula>/day and achieving 94.7 MJ/day, almost five times higher than the calculated exergy demand due to electricity. The second largest flow in GHG emissions was food due to the characteristics of the production chains, ranging from 1.6 to 4.75 kgCO<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><msub><mrow></mrow><mrow><mn>2</mn><mo>,</mo><mi>e</mi><mi>q</mi></mrow></msub></semantics></math></inline-formula>/day, depending on the adopted diet. On the other hand, the electricity presented low GHG emissions due to the main energy sources used to generate electricity, only 0.52 kgCO<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><msub><mrow></mrow><mrow><mn>2</mn><mo>,</mo><mi>e</mi><mi>q</mi></mrow></msub></semantics></math></inline-formula>/day. Moreover, the chemical exergy of the solid waste was 9.7 MJ/day, and is not irrelevant compared to the other flows, representing an interesting improvement opportunity as it is entirely wasted in the baseline scenario. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T19:05:10Z |
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| id | doaj.art-2271bc01b5e24d3d8501af8b24dd7932 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1099-4300 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T19:05:10Z |
| publishDate | 2022-10-01 |
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| spelling | doaj.art-2271bc01b5e24d3d8501af8b24dd79322023-11-24T04:35:39ZengMDPI AGEntropy1099-43002022-10-012411152410.3390/e24111524Adressing Energy Demand and Climate Change through the Second Law of Thermodynamics and LCA towards a Rational Use of Energy in Brazilian HouseholdsMarina Torelli Reis Martins Pereira0Monica Carvalho1Carlos Eduardo Keutenedjian Mady2School of Mechanical Engineering, University of Campinas, Campinas 13083-970, SP, BrazilDepartment of Renewable Energy Engineering, Federal University of Paraíba, João Pessoa 58051-900, PB, BrazilDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Centro Universitário FEI, São Bernardo do Campo 09850-901, SP, BrazilThis study focuses on a typical Brazilian household through the lens of sustainable development, regarding energy demand and GHG emissions. The analysis encompasses both the direct and indirect energy, exergy consumption, and GHG emissions (quantified by life cycle assessment) associated with the usual routine of a household. The household is modeled as a thermodynamic system to evaluate inputs (food, electricity, fuels for transportation) and outputs (solid and liquid residues). The hypothesis is that each input and output contains CO<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><msub><mrow></mrow><mrow><mn>2</mn><mo>,</mo><mi>e</mi><mi>q</mi></mrow></msub></semantics></math></inline-formula> emissions and exergy derived from its physical-chemical characteristics or production chains. Each household appliance is modeled and tested as a function of external parameters. The contribution of several industries was obtained to the total GHG emissions and exergy flows entering and exiting the household (e.g., fuels for transportation, food, gas, electricity, wastewater treatment, solid waste). It was verified that urban transportation was the flow with the highest GHG and exergy intensity, ranging between 1.49 and 7.53 kgCO<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><msub><mrow></mrow><mrow><mn>2</mn><mo>,</mo><mi>e</mi><mi>q</mi></mrow></msub></semantics></math></inline-formula>/day and achieving 94.7 MJ/day, almost five times higher than the calculated exergy demand due to electricity. The second largest flow in GHG emissions was food due to the characteristics of the production chains, ranging from 1.6 to 4.75 kgCO<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><msub><mrow></mrow><mrow><mn>2</mn><mo>,</mo><mi>e</mi><mi>q</mi></mrow></msub></semantics></math></inline-formula>/day, depending on the adopted diet. On the other hand, the electricity presented low GHG emissions due to the main energy sources used to generate electricity, only 0.52 kgCO<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><msub><mrow></mrow><mrow><mn>2</mn><mo>,</mo><mi>e</mi><mi>q</mi></mrow></msub></semantics></math></inline-formula>/day. Moreover, the chemical exergy of the solid waste was 9.7 MJ/day, and is not irrelevant compared to the other flows, representing an interesting improvement opportunity as it is entirely wasted in the baseline scenario.https://www.mdpi.com/1099-4300/24/11/1524thermodynamicsexergy analysislife cycle assessmentenergyclimate changeSDG 12 |
| spellingShingle | Marina Torelli Reis Martins Pereira Monica Carvalho Carlos Eduardo Keutenedjian Mady Adressing Energy Demand and Climate Change through the Second Law of Thermodynamics and LCA towards a Rational Use of Energy in Brazilian Households Entropy thermodynamics exergy analysis life cycle assessment energy climate change SDG 12 |
| title | Adressing Energy Demand and Climate Change through the Second Law of Thermodynamics and LCA towards a Rational Use of Energy in Brazilian Households |
| title_full | Adressing Energy Demand and Climate Change through the Second Law of Thermodynamics and LCA towards a Rational Use of Energy in Brazilian Households |
| title_fullStr | Adressing Energy Demand and Climate Change through the Second Law of Thermodynamics and LCA towards a Rational Use of Energy in Brazilian Households |
| title_full_unstemmed | Adressing Energy Demand and Climate Change through the Second Law of Thermodynamics and LCA towards a Rational Use of Energy in Brazilian Households |
| title_short | Adressing Energy Demand and Climate Change through the Second Law of Thermodynamics and LCA towards a Rational Use of Energy in Brazilian Households |
| title_sort | adressing energy demand and climate change through the second law of thermodynamics and lca towards a rational use of energy in brazilian households |
| topic | thermodynamics exergy analysis life cycle assessment energy climate change SDG 12 |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1099-4300/24/11/1524 |
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