Mechanism and analytical methods for carbon emission-exergy flow distribution in heat-electricity integrated energy system.

The carbon emission flow (CEF) is an effective tool for tracking carbon emissions in the integrated energy system (IES). However, there are still several limitations to applying CEF to analyze the potential for carbon reduction in different energy links and their interactions. To address this issue, this study proposes the concept of carbon emission-exergy flow (CEEF) to track the sources of carbon emissions in various energy chains. Additionally, a carbon hub model is developed to increase the transparency of the CEF process in the energy hubs. The study also utilizes information entropy to characterize the thermodynamic exergy destruction of power systems and analyze the impact of renewable energy (RE) uncertainties on carbon emissions. An actual IES in Sichuan, China was selected for case validation and analysis. The comparative calculation results showed that the maximum relative error between the proposed CEEF method and carbon-exergy analysis method in existing studies is only 3.77%. The models and analysis method could effectively and accurately quantify the carbon emission composition of various energy-use nodes and processes in the IES. Furthermore, the study reveals how the RE generation capacity and radiation range affect the low-carbon and stable operation of critical nodes in the power grid. • The carbon emission-exergy concept is introduced in the integrated energy system. • The carbon emission-exergy flow model of the multi-energy network is constructed. • The carbon emission-exergy hub model based on the energy hub is developed. • The information entropy is used to calculate the equivalent thermodynamic exergy loss of the power network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]