Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC)

Dear Colleagues,

In recent years, research into small and medium sized producers of energy has focused on traditional and “old” applications like plants based on the Rankine cycle whose innovative idea is linked to the type of fluid used, namely, organic fluids.

The ORC (Organic Rankine Cycle) uses organic fluids other than water, such as hydrocarbons, HCFCS, polysiloxanes, from high molecular weight and low temperature phase change, to produce energy from heat at medium-low temperatures. In order to optimize the performance of the thermodynamic cycle, the choice of fluid has to be made according to the temperature of the heat source.

Such plants are often coupled with solar panels, heat sources based on geothermal energy, biomass and heat recovery from industrial processes. Moreover, they are often used for co-generation, where thermal energy is available in the form of hot water at a temperature of 60–90 °C.

Regarding plant costs, the total cost of a plant, including boiler, shroud, links, etc., is between 3500 and 6400 €/kW installed, while the cost of a turbo generator can be estimated at only around 900–1600 €/kW when installed.

In addition, lately, given the recent focus on energy saving and the use of new sources of energy, such as renewable energy, a renewed interest in the topic has been noted.

This has convinced the Energies Editor and Guest Editor to promote a special Issue on the topic that can be of interest to research into this technology, which will be one of the main feasible solutions to short, medium and long-term energy systems optimization and for waste heat recovery technology.

Dr. Roberto Capata
Guest Editor

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