Exergy-based methods for the optimization of energy systems

Exergy-based analyses provide valuable information about how to maximize efficiency and minimize costs and environmental impacts. Advanced exergy-based methods further reveal how, and to what extent, a component of a complex plant affects the operation, costs and environmental impacts of other components and the operation and costs of the overall plant. These approaches reveal the real potential for improvement that can lead to plant optimization. Such results save engineering time and shed light onto the path of iterative optimization steps needed for optimizing the overall system.

Although exergy-based methods are a very valuable tool for the evaluation and optimization of complex energy systems, they suffer from some shortcomings that hinder their wider use. These shortcomings include the complexity of the application of the methods and uncertainty of specific theoretical aspects of the methods.

This work includes the further development and application of conventional and advanced exergy-based methods. This involves the development of code in open-source programming languages for the realization of exergy-based analyses and their automization for easy application to complex structures.

I am currently developing a method to combine social environmental impacts (externalities) of energy conversion systems with exergy-based methods to develop a multicriteria tool for the more complete evaluation of energy systems.