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 ...

ORC is the Rankine process, where instead of the water some organic compound is used as a flowing medium (toluene, isobutene, isopentane or silicon fluids). ORC is one way to generate electricity and heat in lower temperatures. Heat from evaporation of organic fluid is less than that of water.

Organic Rankine cycle (ORC) machines are used to convert low-temperature heat resources into power. Examples include systems making use of waste heat in a cogeneration system, low temperature geothermal electricity generation, solar ponds, and potentially OTEC.

ORC: How it works The provider of the heat can be natural, such as in the case of geothermal energy, or waste heat from any number of industrial waste heat sources. In this way, the ORC design makes it possible to sustainably take advantage of existing heat energy that would otherwise be lost into the atmosphere.