To know whether a specific product, synthesis or process is greener or even more sustainable metrics are needed. Sustainability assessment tools are desired by numerous stakeholders. Commonly applied methods like e.g. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Material Flow Accounting (MFA) are focused on substance and process characteristics.
Our on-going work, e.g., together with the Federal Ministry for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology, Austria, Dr. Jakl, investigate how a broader thermodynamic-based approach (dissipation of matter e.g., metal and other chemical elements and building blocks of products); change of complexity) can significantly contribute to sustainability assessment frameworks by providing information missing in other approaches.
However, energy demands and loss of energy (“dissipative heat”) as well as loss of constituents of more complex products such as electronics, alloys, or plastics but also environmental pollution in general is inevitable because of the laws of thermodynamics.
Entropy change is important here. It is also linked to the recycling and the complexity of chemical products. Research on entropy as a measure of sustainability change has been done for several years now. However, these studies do not include overarching issues such as thermodynamic aspects beyond energy e.g., products complexity, dissipation of resources and limits of recycling among others.
Our on-going work, e.g., together with the Federal Ministry for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology, Austria, Dr. Jakl, investigate how a broader thermodynamic-based approach (dissipation of matter e.g., metal and other chemical elements and building blocks of products); change of complexity) can significantly contribute to sustainability assessment frameworks by providing information missing in other approaches.
