Transformations are processes by which exergy and carbon are passed from one carrier to another. For example, coal-fired power plants convert exergy in mined coal into the exergy carrier, electricity. The carbon contained in coal is released into the atmosphere, a carrier of carbon. Wind turbines convert wind to electricity and automobile engines convert gasoline to mechanical work. At each transformation, a loss of exergy is incurred due to inherent inefficiencies of energy conversion. The total mass of carbon is conserved throughout the system. Each transformation entry in the database contains relevant metadata such as a detailed description of its role in the global energy system, the names of its input and output carriers, and transformation efficiency based on the aggregate of exergy inputs and outputs.
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Agriculture | Farming. All aspects from primitive gathering of fruits and wood through major indust... |
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Air Conditioning | Air is cooled from ambient conditions to approximately 283K for human comfort and othe... |
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Air Handling | Motors, blowers and fans use electricity to move air around for heating and cooling |
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Aircraft | Conversion of hydrocarbons to propulsive work for airplanes |
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Appliances | Appliances are used by consumers to perform a variety of tasks. Electrical work is co... |
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Atmospheric Absorption | Absorption of solar radiation in the atmosphere. Solar radiation is thermalized down ... |
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Biodiesel Production | Conversion of vegetable, seed and waste-cooking oil to a diesel fuel surrogate. Invol... |
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Biomass-Fired Power Plants | |
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CO2 Dissolution | Transfer of CO2 from the atmosphere to the ocean surface |
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Carbonate Mineral Mining | Mining of non-metallic minerals (mostly for the cement and glass industry) |
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Cement and Glass Production | Processing of non-metallic minerals (calcium oxides and carbonates, silicon oxides, et... |
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Charcoal Production | Partial oxidation of biomass into a coal-like fuel. |
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Chemical Production | Production of plastics, solvents, synthetic materials and other commercial and industr... |
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Coal Conversion | Catch-all for the conversion of coal to liquid fuels (direct and indirect CTL) and coa... |
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Coal Mining | Extraction of coal from the lithosphere |
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Coal-Fired Power Plants | |
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Coalbed Fires | Uncontrolled subterranian oxidation of coal |
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Coastal Wave Breaking | All of the energy in ocean waves is dissipated as those waves break at coastlines. |
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Cooking | Needs Work. This is the converstion whereby various exergy carriers are consumed for t... |
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Dissipation | The exergy embodied in the kinetic energy of air in HVAC systems is destroyed by frict... |
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Dissipation | Exergy is destroyed during and after cooking as the hot gases, equipment and food cool... |
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Distribution Loss | |
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Downwelling | Transformation of energy and chemicals in the upper ocean to energy and chemicals in t... |
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Electronics | End use for electricity where communications, information and entertainment services a... |
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Erosion | Transformation of soil into rivers. |
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Ethanol Production | Currently, most ethanol is produced from biomass feedstocks (primarily corn and sugar ... |
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Evaporation and Transpiration | Solar energy heats water in the oceans and on land. That water evaporates into the at... |
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Extra-Solar Radiation Influx | Needs work. The extra solar radiation area is a bit of a mess. The idea is that radia... |
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Fluid Mixing | Exergy is destroyed where freshwater mixes with saltwater at coastlines. |
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Fluid and Mechanical Friction | The work done on moving vehicles is dissipated by braking friction, rolling resistance... |
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Food Processing | Conversion of raw agricultural feedstocks to commercial food products |
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Forestry and Milling | Conversion of trees to lumber, and conversion of wooded land into land for other (agri... |
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Friction | The exergy associated with work done by humans is destroyed by friction and dissipatio... |
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Friction | The exergy associated with work done by mechanical appliances is eventually destroyed ... |
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Geothermal Cooling | Conduction of heat from the earth's crust to the surface. This is a simple natural ex... |
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Geothermal Heat Influx | Conduction of heat from the earth's interior to the crust. This is the "source" of ma... |
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Geothermal Power Plants | |
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Hydrocarbon Formation | Natural formation of coal, oil, natural gas and methane clathrates from buried biomass... |
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Hydrocarbon Oxidation | Natural oxidation of fossil fuels |
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Hyrdoelectric Power Plants | |
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Landfills | Then end of the line for carbon and exergy containing products, where solid waste that... |
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Lighting | Needs work. All forms of lighting that use exergy carriers (carbon containing or other... |
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Manufacturing | Catch-all for industrial processing that does not include the "big" industries: metals... |
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Metabolism | Transformation of food energy into mechanical work and body heat. |
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Metal Manufacturing | Conversion of metal-ore feedstocks (usually oxides of metals) into iron, steel, alumin... |
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Metal Ore Mining | Extraction of metal ores (usually oxides of iron, aluminum, copper, etc.) from the lit... |
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Metal Oxidation | Needs work. Metal atoms are returned to the lithosphere and the exergy contained in me... |
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Methane Liquefaction | Cooling and pressurization of methane for storage or transport |
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Methane Regasification | Conversion of liquefied natural gas to ambient temperature natural gas |
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Natural Gas Fired Power Plants | |
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Natural Gas Purification | Natural gas, as extracted from the lithosphere, contains many impurities which are not... |
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Nuclear Fuel Reprocessing | Extraction of fissile and fissionable nuclides from nuclear waste |
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Nuclear Power Plants | |
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Ocean Upwelling | Transformation of sensible energy in the oceans due to rising masses of deep water |
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Ocean Wave Production | Kinetic energy in the wind is transformed into potential and kinetic energy in the sur... |
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Oil and Gas Extraction | Location and extraction of fluid hydrocarbons from the subsurface. Taps into natural ... |
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Oil-Fired Power Plants | |
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Paper Manufacturing | Conversion of forest products (wood) into pulp, paper and cardboard. |
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Petroleum Refining | Conversion of crude oil to petroleum products including gasoline, diesel, kerosine, na... |
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Photosynthesis | Sunlight is converted into energy stored in plants by photosynthesis. Photosynthesis ... |
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Pipeline Pumping Stations | Needs work. Mechanical work is generated at pumping and pressurization stations in the... |
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Plant Decay | Natural oxidation of plant matter back to CO2 |
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Precipitate Friction | The exergy in fresh water is destroyed via fluid friction as the fresh water migrates ... |
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Precipitation | Converts the exergy stored in clouds to the exergy in fresh water on the surface. |
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Pumps | Needs work. Transformation of electricity to (eventually) gravitational potential ener... |
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Radioactive Decay | Natural stocks of uranium decay naturally as the uranium in uranium ore decays and the... |
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Refrigeration | This is the transformation of electricity to cold exergy performed in the mechanism of... |
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River Deltas | Needs work. Where rivers meet oceans, the carrier for carbon is transformed from "rive... |
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River Offgassing | Outgassing of CO2 from rivers |
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Road and Rail Vehicles | Catch-all for automobiles, trucks and trains (probably off-road vehicles such as const... |
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Rock Weathering | Conversion of lithospheric minerals and atmospheric CO2 into dissolved carbonates in r... |
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Sedimentaiton | Consolidation of organic matter from the deep ocean into carbonate rock on the seafloo... |
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Ships | Water-borne transportation of goods and people |
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Solar Influx | This is an input-less transformation that represents the point at which solar radiatio... |
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Solar Power Plants | Includes both solar thermal and PV conversion of solar energy to electricity |
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Solid Earth Tidal Friction | The exergy in solid earth tides is dissipated and thermalized via friction in the eart... |
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Space Heating | Air is warmed (usually in enclosed spaces) by a variety of exergy inputs for human com... |
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Steam Distribution Loss | Distribution of steam from boilers to industrial, commercial and residential users of ... |
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Steam Production | Generation of steam for use as an exergy carrier. Steam is used to drive process equi... |
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Surface Heating | The majority of surface-incident solar and extra-solar exergy is destroyed as the radi... |
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Thermal Dissipation | End of the line for all warm and cool carriers of exergy after end use. |
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Tidal Friction | The majority of ocean tidal exergy is destroyed by the fluid friction in the oceans. |
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Tidal Influx | This is the origin of the carriers that are oceanic and solid-earth tides. |
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Tidal Power Plants | Hydraulic turbines can be used in select locations to extract energy from water as the... |
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Transmission Loss | |
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Turbines | Conversion of energy stored by pumped hydro back to electricity |
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Uranium Enrichment | Conversion of uranium ore to nuclear reactor fuel. Reactor fuel is made of engineered... |
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Uranium Ore Mining | Extraction of uranium ore (often called "yellowcake") from the lithosphere |
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Viscous friction | Exergy is destroyed via viscous friction in oil and gas pipelines. |
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Visible Light Dissipation | Destruction of the exergy emitted by lighting devices as that light is absorbed by the... |
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Volcanoes | Thermal exergy is destroyed and carbon from the subsurface is emitted to the atmospher... |
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Waste Disposal | Needs work. Agregator that converts exergy and carbon containing products into municip... |
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Waste Processing | Conversion of municipal solid waste (garbage and sewage) into methane and electricity.... |
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Water Heating | Generation of warm and hot water for residential, commercial and industrial use. |
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Wave Friction | Needs work. Currently this transformation is turning ocean surface waves into shore wa... |
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Wind Dissipation | A large amount of exergy is destroyed in the various eddies and shear-layers naturally... |
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Wind Friction | As wind interacts with the earth's surface, a lot of exergy is destroyed. |
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Wind Turbines |