A “measurable” definition of sustainable development based on closed cycles of resources and its application to energy systems |
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Authors: | Fabio Orecchini |
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Institution: | (1) Inter-University Research Centre for Sustainable Development (CIRPS), Faculty of Engineering, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazza del Colosseo, 9, 00184 Rome, Italy |
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Abstract: | Human society consumes resources that it is not able to reproduce. Human activities are still based on “open cycles,” starting
from a condition of natural environmental balance and reaching an environmental imbalance. The challenging scope of scientific
and technological research towards sustainability appears clear if it is based on this analysis: to find development systems
based on “closed cycles” of resources. The challenging objective of realizing closed cycles leads to a definition of sustainability
that indicates the path to sustainable development, as well as stating the general principle. It also provides a key to the
qualitative measurement of sustainability. This means that the sustainability level of a system can be measured by measuring
its capacity to avoid the consumption of resources. Zero consumption is a necessary condition for sustainability, and brings
about as a side effect the highly desired “zero-waste” result. Materials entering the proposed endless scheme pass through
the process of usefulness without losing their capacity to feed the system again after being used. Thus, the concept of “consumption”
itself is replaced by one of “use” when resources are inserted into closed loops capable of feeding human development. The
application of the closed cycle sustainability criterion particularly displays its feasibility, and a theoretical guiding
role, in the energy sector. Energy vectors such as hydrogen and electricity enable the closure of the energy resources loop
by effectively approaching the objective of “zero consumption” (and the side result of “zero waste”) through already demonstrated
technological solutions. |
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Keywords: | Sustainability Sustainable development Closed cycles Natural resources Energy vectors Hydrogen |
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