ABSTRACT
Exergy analysis is an assessment technique for systems and processes that is based on the second law of thermodynamics. Exergy analysis has been increasingly applied over the last several decades largely because of its advantages over energy analysis: more meaningful efficiencies are evaluated because exergy efficiencies are always a measure of the approach to the ideal, and inefficiencies in a process are better pinpointed because exergy analysis quantifies the types, causes, and locations of losses. In this entry, the role of exergy analysis in assessing and improving energy systems is examined. Also, exergy and its use as an analysis technique are briefly described, the range of energy systems that have been assessed with exergy analysis are surveyed, and several example applications of exergy analysis are presented, ranging from simple to complex.
