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Applying exergy analysis to rainwater harvesting systems to assess resource efficiency

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  • Vargas-Parra, M. Violeta
  • Villalba, Gara
  • Gabarrell, Xavier

Abstract

In our continued effort in reducing resource consumption, greener technologies such as rainwater harvesting could be very useful in diminishing our dependence on desalinated or treated water and the associated energy requirements. This paper applies exergy analysis and exergetic efficiency to evaluate the performance of eight different scenarios of urban rainwater harvesting systems in the Mediterranean-climate Metropolitan Area of Barcelona where water is a scarce resource. A life cycle approach is taken, where the production, use, and end-of-life stages of these rainwater harvesting systems are quantified in terms of energy and material requirements in order to produce 1m3 of rainwater per year for laundry purposes. The results show that the highest exergy input is associated with the energy uses, namely the transport of the materials to construct the rainwater harvesting systems. The scenario with the highest exergetic efficiency considers a 24 household building with a 21m3 rainwater storage tank installed below roof. Exergy requirements could be minimized by material substitution, minimizing weight or distance traveled.

Suggested Citation

  • Vargas-Parra, M. Violeta & Villalba, Gara & Gabarrell, Xavier, 2013. "Applying exergy analysis to rainwater harvesting systems to assess resource efficiency," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 50-59.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:recore:v:72:y:2013:i:c:p:50-59
    DOI: 10.1016/j.resconrec.2012.12.008
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    1. Youssef Kassem & Hüseyin Gökçekuş & Aşkın Kiraz & Abdalla Hamada Abdelnaby Abdelnaby, 2025. "Integrating Rainwater Harvesting and Solar Energy Systems for Sustainable Water and Energy Management in Low Rainfall Agricultural Region: A Case Study from Gönyeli, Northern Cyprus," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(18), pages 1-42, September.
    2. Stec, Agnieszka & Kordana, Sabina, 2015. "Analysis of profitability of rainwater harvesting, gray water recycling and drain water heat recovery systems," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 105(PA), pages 84-94.
    3. Ali, Shahbaz & Sang, Yan-Fang & Pilla, Francesco & Singh, Vijay P. & Dilawar, Adil, 2025. "Implementing urban rainwater harvesting systems: Multiple potential performances, barriers, challenges, solutions, and future perspectives," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 218(C).
    4. Yu Zhang & Haifei Sha & Xiufeng Wu & Shiqiang Wu & Jiangyu Dai & Bin Xu & Lei Yu & Qianqian Yang, 2022. "A risk-based decision model for rainwater resource supply in forward contracts," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 36(6), pages 1919-1936, April.

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