ORC for Geothermal Power
ORC Geothermal Power
Geothermal energy comes in two grades: high-temperature steam that can drive a conventional turbine, and a far larger volume of lower-temperature brine that cannot. ORC systems were made for the latter, generating electricity from geothermal water that is too cool for steam, which is why the binary-cycle geothermal plant built around ORC is now standard worldwide.
How a Binary Geothermal Plant Works
Hot geothermal brine is pumped from the well and passed through a heat exchanger, where it transfers its heat to an ORC working fluid. That fluid boils, expands through a turbine to generate power, and condenses, while the now-cooled brine is reinjected underground. The geothermal fluid never touches the turbine, which is the “binary” design that gives the cycle its name.
Why ORC Opened Geothermal
By working on low-temperature brine, ORC systems unlocked geothermal sites that lacked the high-temperature steam a conventional plant needs, vastly expanding where geothermal power is viable. The same principle, recovering power from a low-temperature heat source, is exactly what ORC does for waste heat in industrial settings.
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Put Low-Temperature Heat to Work
Klean Industries applies the same ORC power-recovery principle to the low-temperature heat in waste-to-value and thermal processes.
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