How does the ORC work?
The ORC’s action
The Organic Rankine Cycle works as a steam turbine installation using an organic matter instead of water as working fluid. This is because it suits the low temperatures and the scale size of the installation better.
Vapour - liquid – electricity
The working fluid is expanded in a turbine in the form of overheated vapour under high pressure. The pressure then drops and power is delivered to the High Speed Generator that supplies the electricity to the mains through a transformer (at 50 Hz, 400 V, 3 phases). A small percentage of the labour is used by the Main Feed Pump, which is mounted to the same axel as the turbine and the generator. The expanded vapour still has usable heat that is supplied to the cold working fluid in the recuperator (heat exchanger). Afterwards the vapour is condensed in the condenser and the fluid is pressurized to the required high pressure in the separately driven Pre-feed Pump and Main Feed Pump. The liquid is then warmed in the already mentioned recuperator and then vaporized and overheated in the Boiler. The Boiler is heated by the (remnant) heat that the ORC converts to electricity.
Highly efficient parts
The heat source can be a motor’s exhaust pipe, waste heat from an industrial process or the burning of bio fuel, flare gas or other (waste) matter. The power of the Tri-O-Gen ORC is the combination of the turbine, generator and pump on one axel. Partly due to the 28.000 rpm these parts have an extremely high efficiency.
Low maintenance
The construction does not require any axel transition due to which everything can be sealed hermetically. The working fluid is used for lubrication through a fork from the Pre-feed Pump. The vapour that is created is used to cool the generator. This system makes gears, lubricant and cooling oil superfluous. The exhaust fumes never come into direct contact with the working fluid so there is no pollution or contamination. You are guaranteed a very efficient installation with a long failure free lifespan.
