An Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) system is a closed thermodynamic cycle used for power production from low to medium-high temperature heat sources ranging from 80 to 400°C and for small-medium applications at any temperature level.

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.

... The ORC is similar to the conventional SRC but it uses an organic fluid (such as Freon) instead of water (steam) as a working fluid.

The ORC turbogenerator uses medium-to-high-temperature thermal oil to preheat and vaporize a suitable organic working fluid in the evaporator (4>5). The organic fluid vapor rotates the turbine (5>6), which is directly coupled to the electric generator, resulting in clean, reliable electric power.