Exergy – a maximum work potential

Lecture 01
Objectives
• Examine the performance of engineering devices
in light of the second law of thermodynamics.
• Exergy, Dead State, Immediate Surrounding &
Environment
• Surrounding work, Useful Work & Reversible work
• Irreversibility
• Exergy destruction
• Second-law efficiency.
• Develop the exergy balance relation.
• Apply exergy balance to closed systems and
control volumes. 2
Exergy: Work Potential of Energy
The maximum work potential of a given
amount of energy at some specified state
is called exergy, which is also called the
availability or available energy.

Exergy represents the upper limit on the amount of work a

device can deliver without violating any thermodynamic
laws.
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Unavailable energy is the portion of energy that cannot be
converted to work by even a reversible heat engine.
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 Dead state
At the dead state,
the useful work
potential (exergy) of
a system is zero.

A system delivers the maximum possible work as it undergoes

a reversible process from the specified initial state to the state
of its environment, that is, the dead state.
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 The atmosphere contains a tremendous
amount of energy, but no exergy.

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 Exergy is a property of the
system-environment
combination and not of the
system alone

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Immediate Surroundings & Environment

The immediate surroundings of a hot potato

are simply the temperature gradient zone of
the air next to the potato.
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 Surrounding Work and Useful Work

As a closed system expands,

For constant-volume systems,
some work needs to be done
the total actual and useful
to push the atmospheric air
works are identical (Wu = W).
out of the way (Wsurr).

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 There is no useful work transfer associated with
boundary work when the pressure of the system is
maintained constant at atmospheric pressure.
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 Reversible Work
The maximum amount of useful work that
can be produced (or the minimum work that
needs to be supplied) as a system
undergoes a process between the specified
initial and final states.

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 Irreversibility
The difference between
reversible work and actual
useful work is the
irreversibility.

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 Second-Law Efficiency, II

Second-law efficiency is a measure of

the performance of a device relative to
its performance under reversible
conditions.

Two heat engines that have the same

thermal efficiency, but different maximum
thermal efficiencies.
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 Second-law efficiency
of all reversible devices
is 100%.
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 The second-law efficiency
of naturally occurring
processes is zero if none
of the work potential is
recovered.

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Exergy (Work Potential) Associated with Kinetic
and Potential Energy
The exergies of kinetic
and potential energies
are equal to themselves,
and they are entirely
available for work.

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 Exergy Change of a System
The exergy of a specified
mass at a specified state is
the useful work that can be
produced as the mass
undergoes a reversible
process to the state of the
environment.

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 Uo Vo So
= ʃ -dU - ʃPo dV + ʃ TodS
Exergy of a closed system U V S

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Exergy change of a closed system per unit mass

Exergy change of a closed system

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When the properties of a system are not uniform, the exergy of the system
is

The exergy of a cold medium is also

a positive quantity since work can
be produced by transferring heat to
it.
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Exergy of a Flow Stream: Flow (or Stream) Exergy

Flow exergy

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The energy and exergy
contents of

(a) a fixed mass

(b) a fluid stream.

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The Decrease of Exergy Principle and Exergy
Destruction

The exergy of an isolated system during

a process always decreases or, in the
limiting case of a reversible process,
remains constant. In other words, it
never increases and exergy is destroyed
during an actual process. This is known
as the decrease of exergy principle.

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Increase of entropy principle Decrease of exergy principle

• The entropy of a system during a • The exergy of an isolated system

process always increases or during a process always decreases
equal to zero or equal to zero
• Some entropy is generated or • Exergy is destroyed during an
created during an irreversible actual process. This destruction is
process, and this generation is due entirely to the presence of
due entirely to the presence of irreversibilities.
irreversibilities.

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Exergy Destruction

Exergy destroyed represents

the lost work potential and is
The exergy change of a
also called the irreversibility or system can be negative, but
the exergy destruction
lost work. cannot.

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 Exergy Balance

The exergy change of a system during a process is equal to

the difference between the net exergy transfer through the
system boundary and the exergy destroyed within the system
boundaries
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EXERGY TRANSFER BY HEAT, WORK, AND MASS

Exergy by Heat Transfer, Q

Exergy Transfer by Work, W

Exergy Transfer by Mass, m

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 Exergy Balance: Closed System

Qk is the heat transfer through the

boundary at temperature Tk at location
k.
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 Exergy destroyed
outside system
boundaries can be
accounted for by writing
an exergy balance on
the extended system
that includes the system
and its immediate
surroundings.

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EXAMPLES
1. Exergy balance for heat conduction

The exergy balance applied on

the extended system (system +
immediate surroundings) whose
boundary is at the environment
temperature of T0 gives

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 A piston–cylinder device contains
Exergy balance for expansion of steam 0.05 kg of steam at 1 MPa and
300°C.Steam now expands to a
final state of 200 kPa and 150°C,
doing work. Heat losses from the
system to the surroundings are
estimated to be 2 kJ during this
process. Assuming the T0 = 25°C
and P0 =100 kPa
Note that exergy transfer with heat
is zero when the temperature at the
point of transfer is the environment
temperature T0

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3.Exergy balance for an air tank
20C
An insulated rigid tank contains 1 kg of air at 140kPa
and 20°C. A paddle wheel inside the tank is rotated by
1 kg an external power source until the temperature in tank
rises to 60°C. Assume To =20°C.Find rev work input
140 kPa
20C

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EXERGY BALANCE: CONTROL VOLUMES

Exergy is transferred into or

out of a control volume by
mass as well as heat and
work transfer.
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Exergy Balance for Steady-Flow Systems

The exergy transfer to a

steady-flow system is equal
to the exergy transfer from it
plus the exergy destruction
within the system.

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EXAMPLES
1. Exergy analysis of a steam turbine
Steam enters a turbine steadily at 3 MPa and 450°C at a
rate of 8 kg/s and exits at 0.2 MPa and 150°C. The steam
is losing heat to the surrounding air at 100 kPa and 25°C
at a rate of 300 kW, and the KE and PE are negligible.
Find rev power

Note that exergy transfer with heat is zero when the temperature
at the point of transfer is the environment temperature T0

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2. Exergy balance for a charging process

A 200-m3 rigid tank initially contains

atmospheric air at 100 kPa and 300 K and is to
be used as a storage vessel for compressed air
at 1 MPa and 300 K .Compressed air is to be
supplied by a compressor that takes in
atmospheric air at P0 100 kPa and T0 300 K.
Determine the minimum work requirement for
this process.

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Reversible Work, Wrev
The exergy balance relations presented above can be used to determine
the reversible work Wrev by setting the exergy destroyed equal to zero.
The work W in that case becomes the reversible work.

The exergy destroyed is zero only for a reversible process, and reversible
work represents the maximum work output for work- producing devices
such as turbines and the minimum work input for work-consuming devices
such as compressors.
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Second-Law Efficiency of Steady-Flow Devices, II

Turbine

Compressor

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Heat exchanger

Mixing chamber

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 Summary
• Exergy: Work potential of energy
• Surrounding Work and Useful Work
• Reversible work and irreversibility
• Second-law efficiency
• Exergy change of a system
• Exergy transfer by heat, work, and mass
• The decrease of exergy principle and exergy
destruction
• Exergy balance: Closed systems
• Exergy balance: Control volumes
– Exergy balance for steady-flow systems
– Reversible work
– Second-law efficiency of steady-flow devices 42