DEVELOPMENT AND TEST OF A 100KW CLASS ORC POWER-GENERATOR FOR LOW TEMPERATURE GEOTHERMAL APPLICATIONS

asme-orc2015 Tracking Number 73

The major portion of the heat sources is in the lower end of the temperature spectrum. Therefore, the successful utilization of low-grade heat is very essential to energy. The organic Rankine cycles (ORCs) are one of the appropriate technologies to convert low grade heat to power. Korea Institute of Energy Research (KIER) and Jinsol Turbomachinery have jointly developed an ORC power-generator applicable to very low-temperature heat sources. This paper deals with the design, fabrication and test results of the ORC power generator. The ORC system was designed the maximum electric power output of 100kW utilizing geothermal hot water. The ORC has a simple configuration with an evaporator, an expander, a condenser and a pump. The completely hermetic turbo-generator was developed by Jinsol Turbomachinery and applied to the system. The turbo-generator has twin radial inflow turbines connected with high-speed synchronized generator. Two plate heat exchangers are used for evaporator and condenser. The performance test was conducted and the resulted gross electric power output was 91.22kW with cycle efficiency of 7.14%.