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Using the language of sets to describe nested systems in emergy evaluations
Abstract
The language of set theory has been recently used to describe the emergy evaluation of a process. In this paper this mathematical language is used as a guide to evaluate the emergy of nested systems. We analyze a territorial system on multiple scales as an example of hierarchically nested systems. In this regard, we consider two levels of organization of a territorial system with particular attention to defining the relationships between the flows at each level and between the levels. Our method is designed to make quantifying the interactions among levels easier and more accurate.
... This work is a practical application of the model proposed by Morandi et al. (2013Morandi et al. ( , 2014 concerning emergy evaluation by means of set theory. This approach is able to make an emergy evaluation of nested systems without any double counting. ...
... The nested system under study ( Fig. 1) is constituted by Tuscany (a sub-system of Italy), Italy (the system of interest) and the European Union (the larger system). An emergy evaluation of this system is performed by applying the mathematical model based on the language of sets Morandi, 2012;Morandi et al., 2013Morandi et al., , 2014 and the results of this analysis are given for each level of organization presented both as a single system and as a level in a hierarchically organized system. ...
... By using the union among sets (instead of the sum of the flows) it is impossible to have a sum greater than the source emergy and any problem of double counting is avoided. Moreover, as demonstrated by Morandi et al. (2013Morandi et al. ( , 2014, this model can be used to evaluate the emergy of hierarchically nested systems: in particular for nested territorial systems, it is easy to risk a double counting, especially when we consider imported flows. For example, considering EU27, if we sum the emergy flows supporting every countries (i.e., EU27s subsystems) a very relevant double counting is made since also the emergy flows exchanged among EU27 countries would be included. ...
What is the role of a system's size in an emergy evaluation, when we have to evaluate nested systems? To answer this question, we consider a simple nested system with three levels of organization and then examine the relationships among the emergy flows at each level and among the indicators derived from these flows. As an example of nested systems with three levels of organization, we consider a nested territorial system that is European Union–Italy–Tuscany. In particular, this system is analyzed as Italy within the European Union and Tuscany within Italy. The emergy evaluation of each hierarchical pair of system levels is presented using a new method based on set theory and, moreover, each level is analyzed as an independent system. This “double analysis” is necessary because the emergy indicators obtained for each level, are analyzed and compared to show the differences that appear when the system under study is considered as part of the larger system that contains it. In this work, data analysis shows that the set of imported flows changes its cardinality when changing the level in the hierarchically organization. In particular, with respect to EU27 and Italy, it emerges that Tuscany has a very high Environmental Loading Ratio (ELR), while EU27 has the lower value both for the Emergy Investment Ratio (EIR) and for the Emergy Yeld Ratio (EYR). It means that in Tuscany there is a big pressure on ecosystems from non-renewable flows while, in general, the EU27 might be a good place for future economic investments.
... Although the mathematical framework of emergy and its relationship with thermodynamics remain debated (e.g. Amponsah et al., 2011;Bastianoni et al., 2011Bastianoni et al., , 2007Brown and Herendeen, 1996;Lazzaretto, 2009;Le Corre and Truffet, 2012;Li et al., 2010;Morandi et al., 2013;Patterson, 2012;Sciubba and Ulgiati, 2005;Tiruta-Barna and Benetto, 2013), hybrid emergy-LCA models were proposed, either using emergy as an indicator for resources in LCA (Ingwersen, 2011;Raugei et al., 2012;Rugani et al., 2011Rugani et al., , 2013Zhang et al., 2010), or using detailed datasets from LCA to enhance the resolution of emergy evaluations (Arbault et al., , 2014Marvuglia et al., 2013a; and to calculate Unit Emergy Values (UEVs), i.e. emergy per product unit. Commonly adopted but less discussed achievements of the emergy evaluation framework are emergy-based indicators. ...
... Despite much has been made afterwards to formalize the emergy concept and expand its acceptance (e.g. Bastianoni et al., 2011;Ulgiati, 2011, 2010;Ju and Chen, 2011;Morandi et al., 2013;Tiruta-Barna and Benetto, 2013), emergy is not yet broadly employed in environmental sustainability assessment practices, likely because of the (perceived) lack of transparency in calculation procedures and the difficulty in understanding its meaning (Herva et al., 2011). We are convinced that adopting a lifecycle perspective in emergy evaluation, with a consequent adoption of higher level of reproducibility and accurateness, and using operational tools that deliver clear indications to decision-makers, would help in disseminating the concept and use of emergy among industries and a broader number of stakeholders. ...
... Three major input sources in a basic emergy analysis diagram (Em, Total system emergy; F, purchased emergy; R, renewable; and N, nonrenewable)[41]. ...
Sustainable buildings tend to maximize power and information rather than efficiency. The multidimensional concepts and tools provided by systems ecology and thermodynamics aid the understanding of building performance and sustainability as part of the global and complex thermodynamic phenomena in living systems—energy is not concentrated, but it flows, increasing the flow rate of useful energy. From such an extended macroscopic perspective, this paper addresses holistic eco-systemic criteria of building performance evaluation, focusing on emergy (spelled with an "m") and information—the two critical indices of extensive and intensive analysis. Emergy aggregates the utmost and upstream energetic impacts, whereas information evaluates the structural pattern of the energy-flow distribution. These indices are theoretically correlated under the principles of ecological energy transformation and are often practically compatible. To clarify the definitions and appropriate scientific contexts of the new indices for environmental building studies, we review information theory, ecological theorems, and a few pioneering studies. Emergy and information have a great potential for advanced environmental building analysis, but building-scale implementation of emergy, information, and system principles remains a scientific challenge. The findings call for further research into the improvement of building-specific emergy/information data and reliable evidence of the analogy between building and open living systems.
... In this sense, several studies have been stimulated that propose original developments of the analysis methodology and of its mathematics, among which particularly important are the contributions by Giannantoni (2001) and Tilley (2010). Further approaches are those proposing matrix-based methods (Li et al., 2010), set theory (Bastianoni et al., 2011, Campbell et al., 2013, Morandi et al., 2014 or the use of ternary diagrams (Giannetti et al., 2006). ...
Starting with Environment Power and Society in 1971, to the Prosperous Way Down proposal thirty years later, most of Howard T. Odum’s fundamental titles address explicitly the potential of emergy as a general epistemological tool. But despite the growing number of studies and scholars who use emergy-based analyses, this philosophical potential remains somewhat underestimated and underexplored, however confined within the “emergy community”. As a matter of fact, Emergy talks us about deep aspects of the reality as a whole. Concepts like energy quality, donor-side view, as well as principles like the maximum (em)power, open a window to a variety of different disciplines and fields, in the holistic framework of an integrated and “universal” culture. Several emergy scholars have been aware of this need, and have worked to export emergetic concepts outside the realm of science. But now the factual inability of decision-makers to take on local and global concerns is urgently demanding for further efforts by the scientific community, aimed at providing tools that are analytically reliable and at the same time able to frame the problems within a systemic, holistic awareness, of which emergy is likely to represent one of the most profound ideas. In this contribution, we first provide a short overview of the epistemological aspects of emergy analysis concepts. Then, we discuss about the potential of emergy as an effective bridge to reconcile different “cultures” within the same integrated picture. Epistemology, Language, Axiomatics are -besides Emergy- some of the virtual keywords of this contribution.
... The set of emergy that enters a system in one time step does not overlap with the set that enters the same system one time step later (or before). Furthermore, the same approach proposed for evaluating nested territorial systems (Morandi et al., 2013) could be applied in this case for the temporal dimension. In an appropriate (longer) time scale we can synthesize the emergy embodied in the structure and the emergy required for its function in a unified emergy budget, but in the shorter time scale they represent temporally independent emergy sources. ...
... Next, the raw data values for each year are converted to energy or mass and then multiplied by the appropriate UEV. A new emergy analysis method that was developed after this study avoids double-counting in the evaluation by making the process of specifying inputs mathematically explicit through using the union function from set theory (Morandi et al., 2013Morandi et al., , 2014). A contribution of this study is the use of a more complete evaluation of the emergy supplied to the U.S. economy in the minerals consumed. ...
Energy Systems Language models of the resource base for the U.S. economy and of economic exchange were used, respectively, (1) to show how energy consumption and emergy use contribute to real and nominal GDP and (2) to propose a model of coupled flows that explains high correlations of these inputs with measures of market-based economic activity. We examined a 3rd power law model of growth supported by excess resources and found evidence that it has governed U.S. economic growth since 1900, i.e., nominal GDP was best explained by a power function of total emergy use with exponent 2.8. We used a weight of evidence approach to identify relationships among emergy, energy, and money flows in the U.S. from 1900 to 2011. All measures of quality adjusted energy consumption had a relationship with nominal GDP that was best described by a hyperbolic function plus a constant and the relationship between all measures of energy consumption and real GDP was best described by a 2nd order polynomial. The fact that energy consumption per unit of real GDP declined after 1996 as real GDP continued to increase indicates that energy conservation or a shift toward less energy intensive industries has resulted in lower fossil fuel use and reduced CO2 emissions, while maintaining growth in real GDP. Since all energy consumption measures vs. real GDP deviated from a power law relationship after 1996; whereas, total emergy use did not, we concluded that total emergy use captured more of the factors responsible for the increase in real GDP than did energy measures alone, and as a result, total emergy use may be the best measure to quantify the biophysical basis for social and economic activity in the information age. The Emergy to Money Ratio measured as solar emjoules per nominal $ followed a decreasing trend from a high of 1.01E+14 semj/$ in 1902 to 1.56E+12 semj/$ in 2011 with fluctuations in its value corresponding to major periods of inflation and deflation over this time.
... Considering the total emergy of each system (Bastianoni et al., 2011; Morandi et al., 2013), we have that EmðIÞ ¼ Emða; b; gÞ ¼ ...
An evaluation of the investment required to implement a second generation bioethanol production chain is presented in this study. An integrated agro-industrial system can be an appropriate solution to accomplish the European requirement for the partial substitution of bioethanol for gasoline by 2020. A biorefinery system is hypothesized within the Province of Siena (Italy), fed by residual energy and material flows from local productions: straw from agriculture and residual geothermal heat from geothermal electricity generation; the output is calibrated to replace 10% of gasoline consumption within the Provincial area. The physical consistency of the investment required to implement the production process, as well as the benefit of the biofuel-gasoline substitution, have been evaluated by means of the emergy methodology. Emergy is a thermodynamics-based indicator that contributes to identify and measure all the inputs supporting a given system, expressed in a common unit (solar emergy Joules - semj). Results show that the benefit of saving gasoline, in emergy terms, almost doubles the emergy investment to produce biofuel. The case of a biorefinery fed by natural gas instead of local residual geothermal heat is also presented. The Unit Emergy Investment (UEI) of bioethanol produced in a biorefinery that uses residual straw and geothermal heat is 9.16E + 08 semj/g (the case of the Province of Siena); it is 1.84E + 09 semj/g (in case natural gas is used to fuel the process). Finally, the comparison between the UEI of bioethanol evaluated in this study and UEV of bioethanol calculated in other studies is presented.
Due to growing interest in biofuels as alternative renewable energy sources, several recent studies have assessed the sustainability of their production. Emergy is a widely used environmental indicator for this purpose, as it counts exploitation of natural resources and direct and indirect solar energy requirements of biofuel production. Depending on whether a biofuel is first, second or third generation, its production system differs in nature and the indications derived from emergy evaluations vary as well. This article aims to provide guidelines on how to interpret and properly use the results of emergy evaluation of first, second and third generation biofuels. These guidelines are useful for correct emergy assessment of biofuels and clarify the actual meaning of emergy evaluation outcomes.
Over the past two decades, scientific discoveries have altered how forest management is viewed, including the understanding of late-successional or old-growth forest communities. Some accept that old-growth forests should be managed, but the process of identification and management of these forests has proven to be very difficult. This review examines literature on old growth and old-growth management from a broad North American base with a focus on the special issues associated with high-frequency forest disturbance regimes. The purpose of this paper is to: examine the various old-growth definitions and management approaches; review the importance of old-growth management and conservation; and draw conclusions and make recommendations based on the information reviewed. Old-growth definitions were divided into three categories: conceptual functional, conceptual structural, and quantitative working. The relative merits and challenges of each category are discussed using examples from different forest types across North America, but the focus is on northern fire-dependent forest ecosystems. The authors recom- mend the establishment of landscape-level objectives for old-growth retention that include: approaching management from an ecological perspective; recognizing the importance of varied natural disturbance patterns; increasing funds for detailed inventories (especially in more contentious or ecologically sensitive areas); developing a regional old-growth attribute scoring theme or index; using a top-down approach to old-growth management; and developing a monitoring plan to determine the effectiveness of established objectives.
The human carrying capacity for a region at a specified standard of living depends on the economic and environmental resources of the region and the exchange of resources across regional boundaries. The length of time that a human population living at a given standard can be sustained depends on the rates of use and renewal of the resource base. All environmental, economic, and social resources are produced as a result of energy transformations; therefore, the energy required for their production can be specified and evaluated in common terms by converting their energy values into emergy. Emergy is defined as the available energy of one kind, previously used up directly and indirectly to make a product or service. Its unit is the emjoule. Emergy values and indices are used to evaluate the resource base for Maine, a politically defined region, and to estimate its human carrying capacity at the 1980 standard of living and for possible future resource bases. Emergy indices for Maine are compared with similar indices for Florida, Texas, and the United States to demonstrate variations in human carrying capacity and sustainability among different regions. The 1980 standard of living for Maine, Florida, Texas, and the Nation as measured by emergy use per person fell within a relatively narrow range of 3.4E16 to 4.3E16 solar emjoules y-1. The human carrying capacity for a region is considered within a pulsing paradigm for sustainability and within the constraints provided by a renewable resource base. For example, in the short-term the developed human carrying capacity for Maine is largely determined by the fuel emergy inflow relative to renewable emergy resources. If purchased emergy inflows relative to Maine''s renewable emergy increase to the average ratio for a developed country around 1980, the population living in Maine at 1980 standards could increase to 2.9 million or 2.6 times Maine''s 1980 population. In contrast, the human carrying capacity based on Maine''s renewable resources alone was 0.37 million people at the 1980 standard of living or 33% of the 1980 population.
Maximizing emergy flow is the new statement (Odum, 1988a, 1991) of Lotka's maximum power principle (1992a, b): self-organizing systems which maximize emergy flow and reinforce production are sustainable, the others are displaced by those with better reinforcement of their productive basis. An emergy analysis of the Italian system of economy and nature was performed in order to study its sustainability and emergy use. Indices of thermodynamic and economic vitality of Italy were evaluated and a comparison with indices of other developed and developing countries was performed.
Emergy is an important concept that has originated several effects in ecology, systems ecology and sustainability science. Its communication, however, has always presented several problems, since it does not follow the same rules of conservation as other energy-based approaches. Attempts have been made to clarify emergy by means of more formal/mathematical approaches, but the problem persists. In this paper, we have introduced a view of emergy and of its algebra based on ingenuous set theory. By means of this simple tool, emergy can be defined as the set of solar exergy that is directly and indirectly necessary to make a product. The operation that correctly sums the emergy “carried” by the inputs to a process is the union. This definition and the operation of union are able to account for all the rules of emergy algebra.
The language of set theory can be utilized to represent the emergy involved in all processes. In this paper we use set theory in an emergy evaluation to ensure an accurate representation of the inputs to territorial systems. We consider a generic territorial system and we describe how the emergy related to every flow in these systems can be uniquely determined through the operation of the union of sets. The aim of this paper is to propose a new way to evaluate the main emergy flows entering a system using set theory, which is a general scheme applicable to every system. Because this paper represents the first step in an emergy evaluation of hierarchically - organized systems, we consider a territorial system as an example, because in it we will always have at least two levels of organization. In this regard we consider the relationships between flows to and from as well as within the system and the respective flows of one of its subsystems in the process providing a definition using the mathematics of sets both for the flows and for the relationships between the respective flows that occur at the different scales.
Crucial to the method of emergy synthesis are the main driving emergy flows of the geobiosphere to which all other flows are referenced. They form the baseline for the construction of tables of Unit Emergy Values (UEVs) to be used in emergy evaluations. We provide here an updated calculation of the geobiosphere emergy baseline and UEVs for tidal and geothermal flows. First, we recalculate the flows using more recent values that have resulted from satellite measurements and generally better measurement techniques. Second, we have recalculated these global flows according to their available energy content (exergy) in order to be consistent with Odum's (1996) definition of emergy. Finally, we have reinterpreted the interaction of geothermal energy with biosphere processes thus changing the relationship between geothermal energy and the emergy baseline. In this analysis we also acknowledge the significant uncertainties related to most estimates of global data. In all, these modifications to the methodology have resulted in changes in the transformities for tidal momentum and geothermal energy and a minor change in the emergy baseline from 15.8E24 seJ/J to 15.2E24 seJ/J. As in all fields of science basic constants and standards are not really constant but change according to new knowledge. This is especially true of earth and ecological sciences where a large uncertainty is also to be found. As a consequence, while these are the most updated values today, they may change as better understanding is gained and uncertainties are reduced.
This paper presents an application of an environmental accounting method, namely emergy evaluation, developed for the monitoring and assessment of environmental resource use by local communities in the Abruzzo Region (Italy). Once quantified and classified according to their origin (renewable or non-renewable, local or external), emergy flows were elaborated through a geographic information system (GIS) that allowed us to represent their spatial distribution throughout the region. Outcomes took the form of patterns in which different emergy intensities, namely empower (unit: seJ yr(-1)), were represented through a graduated grey-scale and visualized on a cartographic basis. The concentration of emergy flows, depending on the activity of local communities, showed variable levels of environmental load in different areas. In particular, spatial zones with homogeneous values of empower density (unit: seJ yr(-1) km(-2))--high, medium and low--were detected in order to identify areas with a similar "thermodynamic" nature, emergy being a thermodynamics based function. This allowed for the representation, at a glance, of a kind of geography that mirrors the behavior of a population settled in an area as additional information for investigating the effects of the use of urban structures and functions and improving our understanding of regional systems. A combined use of emergy evaluation and GIS could thus provide a complementary view of a territorial system and inform policy makers for planning specific strategies of future development.
The book is written as a text with part 1 devoted to processes of soil genesis for which a course in chemistry is regarded as a prerequisite. Part 2 is concerned with soil and ecosystem sequences dealing with the factors in turn; time; parent material; topography; climate; and biotic. The introductory chapter discusses the place of soil within the ecosystem and the classification of soil profiles. -K.Clayton
This research is part of the SPIn-Eco project for the Province of Siena, Italy, and applies an environmental accounting method to a region with reference to its population, human activities, natural cycles, infrastructures and other settings. This study asserts that the consumption of resources due to the human economy is a source of great concern because of the load it places on the biosphere. Environmental resources locally used, whether directly or indirectly, from both renewable energy fluxes and storage of materials and energies, are investigated. In this paper emergy analysis is presented and applied to the Province of Siena and to each of its municipalities, in order to evaluate the main flows of energy and materials that supply the territorial system, including human subsystems, with reference to their actual environmental cost. Therefore, the behaviour of the whole system and the interactions between natural and human agents were studied; in other words, the attitudes of the territorial systems toward resource use as revealed by their patterns of emergy consumption were observed. Once expressed in units of the same form of energy through the emergy evaluation, categories of resource consumption and systems of varying scales and organization are compared. Furthermore, indexes of environmental performance based on emergy are calculated. Flows of energy and materials are assessed, and their intensities, which vary throughout the area of the Province, are then visualized on maps.
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