Examples of Application of Exergy Analysis for the Evaluation of Ecological Effects in Thermal Processes

Unfavourable influence of human activity on the natural environment can be divided into two groups: depletion of limited non-renewable resources and rejection of harmful substances. The depletion of non-renewable resources should be minimized to keep them for future mankind (sustainable development). Exergy can be applied as measure of the quality of natural resources. The influence of human activities on the depletion of natural resources can be evaluated by means of the calculus of cumulative consumption of exergy of non-renewable natural resources (thermo-ecological cost). The paper presents selected applications of the theory of thermo-ecological cost developed by Szargut.