IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/energy/v88y2015icp2-8.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

An exergoecological analysis of the mineral economy in Spain

Author

Listed:
  • Calvo, Guiomar
  • Valero, Alicia
  • Valero, Antonio
  • Carpintero, Óscar

Abstract

This paper shows how exergy can be used to assess the mineral balance of a country and at the same time assess its mineral resource sustainability. The advantage of using such an approach is that the quality of the resources is taken into account, as opposed to the conventional procedure that uses tonnage as a yardstick. The exergoecology method evaluates mineral resources as the exergy required to replace them from a complete dispersed state to the conditions they were originally found with the best available technologies. The country chosen as a case study is Spain and serves as a representative example of the mineral situation in Europe. The general trend observed is that imports are increasing and domestic production is decreasing. The minerals with higher exergy replacement costs are mainly those imported, including fossil fuels and scarce minerals. In 2005, the domestic production of minerals was higher than the imports but since imports were mainly of scarce minerals, the exergy loss associated with such imports was higher compared to domestic production. As it happens to most European nations, Spain is a very dependent country regarding the supply of fossil fuels but not as much in the case of non-fuel minerals.

Suggested Citation

  • Calvo, Guiomar & Valero, Alicia & Valero, Antonio & Carpintero, Óscar, 2015. "An exergoecological analysis of the mineral economy in Spain," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 2-8.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:88:y:2015:i:c:p:2-8
    DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2015.01.083
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360544215001073
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.energy.2015.01.083?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Gonzalez-Martinez, Ana Citlalic & Schandl, Heinz, 2008. "The biophysical perspective of a middle income economy: Material flows in Mexico," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(1-2), pages 317-327, December.
    2. Valero, Alicia & Valero, Antonio & Gómez, Javier B., 2011. "The crepuscular planet. A model for the exhausted continental crust," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(1), pages 694-707.
    3. Alicia Valero & Antonio Valero, 2013. "From Grave to Cradle," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 17(1), pages 43-52, February.
    4. Fedesarrollo, 1995. "Anexo estadístico," Coyuntura Económica, Fedesarrollo, December.
    5. Weisz, Helga & Krausmann, Fridolin & Amann, Christof & Eisenmenger, Nina & Erb, Karl-Heinz & Hubacek, Klaus & Fischer-Kowalski, Marina, 2006. "The physical economy of the European Union: Cross-country comparison and determinants of material consumption," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(4), pages 676-698, July.
    6. Heinz Schandl & Nina Eisenmenger, 2006. "Regional Patterns in Global Resource Extraction," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 10(4), pages 133-147, October.
    7. Valero, Antonio & Agudelo, Andrés & Valero, Alicia, 2011. "The crepuscular planet. A model for the exhausted atmosphere and hydrosphere," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(6), pages 3745-3753.
    8. Steinberger, Julia K. & Krausmann, Fridolin & Eisenmenger, Nina, 2010. "Global patterns of materials use: A socioeconomic and geophysical analysis," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(5), pages 1148-1158, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Palacios, Jose-Luis & Calvo, Guiomar & Valero, Alicia & Valero, Antonio, 2018. "The cost of mineral depletion in Latin America: An exergoecology view," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 117-124.
    2. Whiting, Kai & Carmona, Luis Gabriel & Sousa, Tânia, 2017. "A review of the use of exergy to evaluate the sustainability of fossil fuels and non-fuel mineral depletion," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 202-211.
    3. Kai Whiting & Luis Gabriel Carmona & Angeles Carrasco & Tânia Sousa, 2017. "Exergy Replacement Cost of Fossil Fuels: Closing the Carbon Cycle," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-21, July.
    4. Li, Tianjiao & Wang, Anjian & Xing, Wanli & Li, Ying & Zhou, Yanjing, 2019. "Assessing mineral extraction and trade in China from 1992 to 2015: A comparison of material flow analysis and exergoecological approach," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 1-1.
    5. Guiomar Calvo & Alicia Valero & Luis Gabriel Carmona & Kai Whiting, 2015. "Physical Assessment of the Mineral Capital of a Nation: The Case of an Importing and an Exporting Country," Resources, MDPI, vol. 4(4), pages 1-14, November.
    6. Jia, Hongxiang & Li, Tianjiao & Wang, Anjian & Liu, Guwang & Guo, Xiaoqian, 2021. "Decoupling analysis of economic growth and mineral resources consumption in China from 1992 to 2017: A comparison between tonnage and exergy perspective," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    7. Valero, Alicia & Valero, Antonio & Calvo, Guiomar & Ortego, Abel & Ascaso, Sonia & Palacios, Jose-Luis, 2018. "Global material requirements for the energy transition. An exergy flow analysis of decarbonisation pathways," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 159(C), pages 1175-1184.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Guiomar Calvo & Alicia Valero & Luis Gabriel Carmona & Kai Whiting, 2015. "Physical Assessment of the Mineral Capital of a Nation: The Case of an Importing and an Exporting Country," Resources, MDPI, vol. 4(4), pages 1-14, November.
    2. Abel Ortego & Alicia Valero & Antonio Valero & Eliette Restrepo, 2018. "Vehicles and Critical Raw Materials: A Sustainability Assessment Using Thermodynamic Rarity," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 22(5), pages 1005-1015, October.
    3. West, James & Schandl, Heinz, 2013. "Material use and material efficiency in Latin America and the Caribbean," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 19-27.
    4. Steinberger, Julia K. & Krausmann, Fridolin & Eisenmenger, Nina, 2010. "Global patterns of materials use: A socioeconomic and geophysical analysis," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(5), pages 1148-1158, March.
    5. Antonio Valero & Alicia Valero, 2015. "Thermodynamic Rarity and the Loss of Mineral Wealth," Energies, MDPI, vol. 8(2), pages 1-16, January.
    6. Stanek, Wojciech & Czarnowska, Lucyna, 2018. "Thermo-ecological cost – Szargut's proposal on exergy and ecology connection," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 165(PB), pages 1050-1059.
    7. Krausmann, Fridolin & Gingrich, Simone & Eisenmenger, Nina & Erb, Karl-Heinz & Haberl, Helmut & Fischer-Kowalski, Marina, 2009. "Growth in global materials use, GDP and population during the 20th century," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(10), pages 2696-2705, August.
    8. Gonzalez-Martinez, Ana Citlalic & Schandl, Heinz, 2008. "The biophysical perspective of a middle income economy: Material flows in Mexico," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(1-2), pages 317-327, December.
    9. Julia K Steinberger & Fridolin Krausmann & Michael Getzner & Heinz Schandl & Jim West, 2013. "Development and Dematerialization: An International Study," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 8(10), pages 1-11, October.
    10. Tobias Wendler, 2019. "About the Relationship Between Green Technology and Material Usage," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 74(3), pages 1383-1423, November.
    11. Behrens, Arno & Giljum, Stefan & Kovanda, Jan & Niza, Samuel, 2007. "The material basis of the global economy: Worldwide patterns of natural resource extraction and their implications for sustainable resource use policies," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 64(2), pages 444-453, December.
    12. Jamali-Zghal, N. & Le Corre, O. & Lacarrière, B., 2014. "Mineral resource assessment: Compliance between emergy and exergy respecting Odum's hierarchy concept," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 272(C), pages 208-219.
    13. Valero, Alicia & Valero, Antonio & Calvo, Guiomar, 2015. "Using thermodynamics to improve the resource efficiency indicator GDP/DMC," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 110-117.
    14. Krausmann, Fridolin & Erb, Karl-Heinz & Gingrich, Simone & Lauk, Christian & Haberl, Helmut, 2008. "Global patterns of socioeconomic biomass flows in the year 2000: A comprehensive assessment of supply, consumption and constraints," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(3), pages 471-487, April.
    15. Valero, Alicia & Valero, Antonio & Vieillard, Philippe, 2012. "The thermodynamic properties of the upper continental crust: Exergy, Gibbs free energy and enthalpy," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 41(1), pages 121-127.
    16. Gabriel Carmona, Luis & Whiting, Kai & Valero, Alicia & Valero, Antonio, 2015. "Colombian mineral resources: An analysis from a Thermodynamic Second Law perspective," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 23-28.
    17. Juan Antonio Duro & Alejandro Perez‐Laborda & Markus Löw & Sarah Matej & Barbara Plank & Fridolin Krausmann & Dominik Wiedenhofer & Helmut Haberl, 2024. "Spatial patterns of built structures co‐determine nations’ level of resource demand," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 28(2), pages 289-302, April.
    18. Nina Eisenmenger & Jesús Ramos Martín & Heinz Schandl, 2007. "Análisis del metabolismo energético y de materiales de Brasil, Chile y Venezuela," Revista Iberoamericana de Economía Ecológica, Red Iberoamericana de Economía Ecológica, vol. 6, pages 17-39.
    19. Heinz Schandl & Franzi Poldy & Graham M. Turner & Thomas G. Measham & Daniel H. Walker & Nina Eisenmenger, 2008. "Australia's Resource Use Trajectories," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 12(5-6), pages 669-685, October.
    20. Pina, André & Ferrão, Paulo & Ferreira, Daniela & Santos, Luís & Monit, Michal & Rodrigues, João F.D. & Niza, Samuel, 2016. "The physical structure of urban economies — Comparative assessment," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 113(PB), pages 220-229.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:88:y:2015:i:c:p:2-8. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/energy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.