Organic Rankine Cycle 101
Unlike the traditional steam Rankine cycle , the organic Rankine cycle (ORC) uses a high molecular mass organic fluid. It allows heat recovery from low temperature sources such as industrial waste heat, geothermal heat, solar ponds, etc. The low temperature heat is converted into useful work, that can itself be converted into electricity. A prototype was first developed and exhibited in 1961 by Israeli solar engineers Harry Zvi Tabor and Lucien Bronicki . [1] [2] Working principle of the ORC T-s diagram for the ideal/real ORC The working principle of the organic Rankine cycle is the same as that of the Rankine cycle : the working fluid is pumped to a boiler where it is evaporated, passes through a turbine and is finally re-condensed. In the ideal cycle, the expansion is isentropic and the evaporation and condensation processes are isobaric . In the real cycle, the presence of irreversibilities lowers the cycle efficiency . Those irreversibilities mainly occur : During the expansio...