Similar to a simple Rankine cycle, a basic organic Rankine cycle (ORC) consists of four processes: increasing pressure of the working fluid through a pump, high temperature heat addition through an evaporator, expansion of the high temperature as well as high pressure fluid through a turbine, and low temperature heat ...

The Organic Rankine Cycle's principle is based on a turbogenerator working as a conventional steam turbine to transform thermal energy into mechanical energy and finally into electric energy through an electrical generator.

A waste heat recovery cycle explained A waste heat recovery system extracts thermal power from the exhaust gas of the industrial plant to feed the ORC module via the intermediate fluid. This fluid, usually oil, pressurized water or steam, transfers heat to the organic fluid in the ORC evaporator, where it vaporizes.

ORC: How it works Where heat pumps use electrical power to create thermal energy for various purposes, an ORC system uses heat energy to generate electricity. In a typical ORC design, a thermal energy source feeds an evaporator to drive an expander or “reverse compressor”, which in turn generates the electricity.