ORC Waste Heat Recovery System The Rankine Cycle makes use of the phase change characteristics of fluids in the same manner as refrigeration and air conditioning systems. Cycle consists of 4 steps: Pump / Evaporate / Expand / Condense. Then repeat.

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, passed through an expansion device (turbine, screw, scroll, or other expander), and then through a condenser heat exchanger where it is finally re-condensed.

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.

An organic Rankine cycle (ORC), is fundamentally the same as a steam Rankine cycle; however, it uses a lower boiling point organic fluid to better match its operation to lower temperature heat sources. ORC systems can achieve better efficiencies than steam turbines for smaller systems (less than a few MW_e).