Thermodynamics for Sustainability

Catalog description

As energy plays a fundamental role in the system sustainability framework, it is essential that students and practitioners have an understanding of the laws of thermodynamics which govern the processes of energy usage and conversion. This course investigates the differences between energy and exergy analysis, where the latter includes not only the quantities of energy exchanged, but also the quality of the energy relative to some reference state. After establishing the fundamentals of exergy analysis, this concept is applied to practical sustainability problems associated with sustainable development, industrial systems and energy policy. Specific examples are also explored, including thermal storage and fuel cell systems, and life cycle assessment.