Irreversible entropy to account for environmental impacts and sustainability

摘要

The weighting and standardisation of several incomparable physical-chemical quantities lead to great uncertainties in life cycle assessment. Aim of our current research is to establish entropy production as inambiguous parameter for sustainability accounting and, more specifically, for LCA practice. Entropy production is a measure of irreversibility, and can therefore measure the overall changes of the environment caused by any process. The quantity is inherent in every process, it can be calculated directly and unambiguously, and can thus make Life Cycle Assessments comparable without de-tour. The entropy life cycle assessment (Entropy-LCA) is intended to serve as screening instrument focusing on the entire ecological footprint, delivering scientifically consistent and therefore mutually comparable studies. As such, an Entropy-LCA is meaningful on its own, and can also serve as an evaluation and interpretation aid for conventional LCA. An ongoing research project investigates the suitability of entropy production as impact indicator for LCA, with respect to practical feasibility, and to how an Entropy-LCA can be aligned with the current state of knowledge about LCA and entropy accounting. Current research is about data generation, coverage of impacts by entropy generation, and balance limits. The latter includes also the relation of thermodynamic entropy to alternative approaches, including established ecological, social and economic entropy theories and calculations. In this way, we intend to also show ways towards general sustainability and its quantification.