Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) Power Systems

Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) Power Systems: Technologies and Applications provides a systematic and detailed description of organic Rankine cycle technologies and the way they are increasingly of interest for cost-effective sustainable energy generation. Popular applications include cogeneration from biomass and electricity generation from geothermal reservoirs and concentrating solar power installations, as well as waste heat recovery from gas turbines, internal combustion engines and medium- and low-temperature industrial processes. With hundreds of ORC power systems already in operation and the market growing at a fast pace, this is an active and engaging area of scientific research and technical development. 

The book is structured in three main parts: (i) Introduction to ORC Power Systems, Design and Optimization, (ii) ORC Plant Components, and (iii) Fields of Application.

• Provides a thorough introduction to ORC power systems
• Contains detailed chapters on ORC plant components
• Includes a section focusing on ORC design and optimization
• Reviews key applications of ORC technologies, including cogeneration from biomass, electricity generation from geothermal reservoirs and concentrating solar power installations, waste heat recovery from gas turbines, internal combustion engines and medium- and low-temperature industrial processes
• Various chapters are authored by well-known specialists from Academia and ORC manufacturers

Professional engineers working on ORC power systems as well as researchers in academia at postgraduate level onwards with an interest in ORC power systems.

Part 1: Introduction to ORC Power Systems

1. Theoretical basis of the ORC - Ennio Macchi

2. History of ORC systems - Lucien Y. Bronicki

3. Technical options for ORC systems - Marco Astolfi

4. Organic fluids for ORC systems: classification and calculation of thermodynamic and transport properties - Ian Bell, Eric Lemmon

5. Thermal stability of organic fluids for ORC systems - Costante Mario Invernizzi, Davide Bonalumi

6. Dynamic modelling and control of ORC plants - Francesco Casella

7. Thermodynamic and techno-economic optimization of ORC systems - Marco Astolfi, Emanuele Martelli, Leonardo Pierobon

Part 2: ORC plant components and system optimization

8. Fluid-dynamic design of ORC turbines - 　　Giacomo Persico, Matteo Pini

9. Axial flow turbines for ORC plants - Ennio Macchi, Marco Astolfi

10. Radial inflow turbines for ORC plants - Pall Valdimarsson

11. Radial outflow turbines for ORC expanders -　Claudio Spadacini, Dario Rizzi

12. Volumetric expanders for ORC systems - Vincent Lemort

13. Heat exchangers, condensers and other components for ORC plants - Alberto Cavallini

Part 3: Fields of application

14. Geothermal energy exploitation with ORC technologies - Claudio Spadacini, Luca Xodo

15. Biomass-fired ORC combined heat and power (CHP) systems - Alessandro Guercio, Roberto Bini

16. ORC-based concentrating solar power (CSP) plants - Matthew Orosz

17. ORC systems for large-scale waste heat recovery (WHR) to produce electricity - Hua Tian

18. Micro-ORC systems for domestic cogeneration - Roberto Bracco