Exergy mapping of materials Processing: Material separation in a manufacturing case study

This paper offers a problem formulation, experimental procedure for solving the problem, a review of the data collected, and the analysis of work exergy inputs associated with a non-energy-producing, e.g., manufacturing process. The process under study is a metal separation, characteristic for a machining process. Actual exergy rates needed, as well as theoretical minimum exergy requirements for accomplishing the task are discussed. Experimental work involves real time in situ data acquisition for materials processing performed during state-of-the-art CNC machining operation. The specific exergy use of the studied cases is compared with a host of other materials processing to confirm an established correlation between specific exergy and the production rates. This study re-confirms an existence of a correlation between the production rate and the corresponding specific exergy requirement across diverse set of technologies. A counter-intuitive, but firmly established fact, has been re-confirmed, i.e. an advanced manufacturing may feature much higher specific exergy requirements than traditional technologies.