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Computer Science
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00 (2017)
(2017) 000–000
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Procedia Computer Science 109C (2017) 833–840

The 7th International Conference on Sustainable Energy Information Technology

(SEIT 2017)

Energetic Investigation of Organic Rankine Cycles (ORCs) for the

Exploitation of Low-Temperature Geothermal Sources
– A possible application in Slovakia
Angelo Algieriaa*, Juraj Šebobb
a
a University
University of
of Calabria,
Calabria, Via
Via P.
P. Bucci
Bucci –– Cubo
Cubo 46C,
46C, Arcavacata
Arcavacata (CS)
(CS) 87036,
87036, Italy
Italy
b
bTechnical University of Košice, Letna 9, Košice 04200, Slovakia
Technical University of Košice, Letna 9, Košice 04200, Slovakia

Abstract
Abstract

The
The paper
paper aims
aims at at analysing
analysing thethe energetic
energetic performances
performances of of Organic
Organic Rankine
Rankine Cycles
Cycles (ORCs)
(ORCs) for for the
the exploitation
exploitation ofof low
low
temperature
temperature heatheat sources.
sources. Specifically,
Specifically, the the attention
attention has
has been
been focused
focused onon low-enthalpy
low-enthalpy geothermal energy for
geothermal energy for small-scale
small-scale
applications.
applications. ToTo this
this purpose
purpose aa thermodynamic
thermodynamic model model has
has been
been developed
developed and
and aa parametric
parametric investigation
investigation has
has been performed
been performed
considering
considering different
different organic
organic fluids
fluids (isobutane,
(isobutane, isopentane,
isopentane, and
and R245ca).
R245ca). Saturated
Saturated conditions
conditions at at the
the expander
expander inlet
inlet have
have been
been
adopted
adopted and
and the
the effect
effect of
of the
the internal
internal regenerator
regenerator onon the
the system
system performances
performances hashas been
been evaluated.
evaluated.
The
The investigation
investigation highlights
highlights the
the large
large impact
impact of
of the
the evaporation
evaporation temperature
temperature onon the
the ORC
ORC behaviour
behaviour and
and the
the positive
positive influence
influence of
of
the
the internal regenerator at the highest temperatures. Conversely, the effect of the internal heat exchanger reduces when
internal regenerator at the highest temperatures. Conversely, the effect of the internal heat exchanger reduces when the
the
evaporation
evaporation temperature
temperature decreases.
decreases.
Furthermore,
Furthermore, aa possible
possible application
application in in the
the Košice
Košice Basin
Basin (Slovakia)
(Slovakia) has
has been
been analysed.
analysed. TheThe investigation
investigation demonstrates
demonstrates that
that the
the
organic
organic Rankine
Rankine cycle
cycle represents
represents an an interesting
interesting option
option for
for efficient
efficient valorisation
valorisation of of low-enthalpy
low-enthalpy geothermal
geothermal resources
resources and
and
electricity
electricity production
production inin small-scale
small-scale applications.
applications.
©
© 2016
2016 The
The Authors.
Authors. Published
Published by by Elsevier
Elsevier B.V.
B.V.
1877-0509
Peer-review ©under
2017 responsibility
The Authors. Published
of the by Elsevier
Conference B.V. Chairs.
Program
Peer-review under responsibility of the Conference
Peer-review under responsibility of the Conference Program Program Chairs.
Chairs.

Keywords:
Keywords: Organic
Organic Rankine
Rankine cycle,
cycle, geothermal
geothermal source,
source, low
low temperature,
temperature, small-scale
small-scale applications,
applications, energetic
energetic performances.
performances.

*
* Corresponding
Corresponding author.
author. Tel.:
Tel.: +39-0984-494665;
+39-0984-494665; fax:
fax: +39-0984-494673.
+39-0984-494673.
E-mail
E-mail address:
address: a.algieri@unical.it
a.algieri@unical.it

1877-0509
1877-0509 ©© 2016
2016 The
The Authors.
Authors. Published
Published by
by Elsevier
Elsevier B.V.
B.V.
Peer-review
Peer-review under
under responsibility
responsibility of
of the
the Conference
Conference Program
Program Chairs.
Chairs.

1877-0509 © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Peer-review under responsibility of the Conference Program Chairs.
10.1016/j.procs.2017.05.348
834 Angelo Algieri et al. / Procedia Computer Science 109C (2017) 833–840
2 A. Algieri, J. Šebo / Procedia Computer Science 00 (2017) 000–000

Nomenclature

h specific enthalpy
η efficiency
P power output
Q thermal power
T temperature

1. Introduction

Nowadays, the Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) represents an attractive technology both for small-scale power
production and for the exploitation of low-temperature heat sources1-3. In fact, ORC system shows higher efficiency,
flexibility, and safety when compared with traditional energy systems. Furthermore, ORC guarantees low
maintenance requirements, fast start-up and stop procedures and efficient partial load operations4-6.
The main differences between conventional and organic Rankine cycles lie in the adoption of an organic fluid,
and the selection of the working fluid is essential to optimise the system performances. To this purpose, the heat
source temperature influences significantly the choice of the proper fluids and the definition of the suitable operating
conditions7-9.
Specifically, the possibility to exploit waste heat and low-temperature sources is fundamental to overcome the
energy “trilemma” of affordability, supply security, and environmental protection10-11. In this context, the
exploitation of low-enthalpy geothermal wells represents an interesting opportunity for energy production,
particularly for small-scale applications and base load generation. It is noteworthy to notice, in fact, that most
geothermal installations present an electric power larger than 200 kWel, whereas few applications on small-scale
ORCs are present, due to higher investment costs and lower electric efficiencies.
The present work aims to investigate the energetic performances of small-scale Organic Rankine Cycles for the
exploitation of low-temperature geothermal energy. A parametric analysis has been carried out and the influence of
the operating conditions and ORC configuration on system behaviour has been estimated. To this purpose, three
organic fluids have been adopted and the effect of the internal regeneration has been investigated.
Finally, the possible application of the ORC technology in Slovakia has been analysed. The country offers 171
geothermal wells, with a total water mass flow rate equal to about 2500 l/s12-13. Currently, geothermal energy is used
for heating purposes (i.e. aqua parks, swimming pools, district heating, greenhouses, etc.), while electricity
generation is absent in the country14. The installation of a 5 MWel geothermal power plant is planned by 202014.

2. Methodology

2.1. Thermodynamic model

The main components of an Organic Rankine Cycle are a pump system, an evaporator, a turbine/expander, and a
condenser (Figure 1a). The organic working fluid is fed by the pump system to the evaporator (1-2 process), where
the fluid is preheated (2-3) and then vaporised (3-4). The fluid flows into the turbine where it is expanded to the
condensing pressure (5-6) and, finally, it is condensed to saturated liquid (6-1). An internal heat exchanger (IHE)
can be used to recover the thermal energy at the expander outlet (6-7) and preheat the compressed liquid before the
evaporation process occurs (2-9) in order to improve the system efficiency. Figure 1b shows the cycle in the T-s
diagram for a typical dry organic fluid with saturated conditions at the turbine inlet.
A thermodynamic model has been developed to evaluate the performances of low-temperature Organic Rankine
Cycles15-17. The model is integrated with the REFPROP database18 to define the properties of the organic fluids. A
steady state condition has been assumed, while pressure drops and heat losses in system components have been
neglected.
Thermal efficiency and net specific work have been used as performance indicators.
 Angelo Algieri et al. / Procedia Computer Science 109C (2017) 833–840 835
A. Algieri, J. Šebo / Procedia Computer Science 00 (2017) 000–000 3

a) b)
Fig. 1. Typical layout (a) and T-s diagram for an Organic Rankine Cycle with internal heat exchange. Saturated cycle. C: Condenser, Ec:
Economyser, Ev: Evaporator, T: Turbine/Expander, G: Electric Generator, IHE: Internal heat exchanger.

Specifically, the thermal efficiency ηth is defined as follows:

Pu
ηth = (1)
Q i

where Pu is the net power output;

Q i is the thermal power transferred to the working fluid.
In particular, the net power output represents the difference between the expander power Pt and the power requested
by the pump Pp:

Pu = Pt − Pp (2)

The thermal power transferred to the working fluid is evaluated as:

Q i = m qi (3)

where the heat transmitted to the organic fluid qi is

qi = h5 − h2 (4)

when the internal heat exchanger is absent, while

qi = h5 − h9 (5)

when the internal regenerator is used. According to the literature8, the efficiency of the internal heat exchanger is
given by

h9 − h2
ηIHE = (6)
h6 − h7
4 A. Algieri, J. Šebo / Procedia Computer Science 00 (2017) 000–000
836 Angelo Algieri et al. / Procedia Computer Science 109C (2017) 833–840

2.2. Geothermal source exploitation

The possible exploitation of low-enthalpy geothermal energy in Slovakia has been investigated taking into
account the interesting availability of geothermal wells in the country. Specifically, the analysis has been focused on
the Košice Basin, where a total water mass flow rate equal to 215 l/s and a maximum temperature of 134°C at about
3200 m in depth are present12. The performances of geothermal ORC systems have been characterised in terms of
electric power and efficiency.
The ORC net electrical power Pel is

Pel = ηem Pu (7)

where the efficiency ηem takes into account the mechanical and electrical losses.
The electric efficiency ηel is evaluated as

Pel
ηel = (8)
Q th

Specifically, the geothermal power Q th has been calculated as follows

(
Q th = m g hg ,in − hg ,out ) (9)

where: m g is the mass flow rate of the geothermal water;

hg
is the enthalpy of the geothermal water at the inlet (in) and outlet (out) section of the heat
exchanger.
It has been assumed that the thermal power is transferred from the geothermal water to the organic fluid within a
heat exchanger, whose efficiency is ηhe

Q i =ηhe Q th (10)

2.3. Operating Conditions

For the energetic analysis isobutane, isopentane, and R245ca have been chosen as organic working fluid, due to
their properties, consistent with low-temperature heat sources19-21. Saturated conditions at the expander entrance
have been imposed. Table 1 summarises the critical pressures and temperatures of the three organic fluids and the
operating conditions adopted during the investigation. In particular, the condensation temperature has been always
set to 30°C, while the evaporation temperature ranges between 70 and 130°C. For isobutane the maximum
evaporation temperature has been reduced to 105°C to avoid the presence of liquid during the expansion phase.
According to the literature, the ORC expander and pump efficiencies have been fixed equal to 0.70 and 0.60,
respectively, the internal heat exchanger efficiency has been set to 0.95, the global efficiency of the heating process
(from the geothermal water to the organic fluid) is 0.90, the electro-mechanical efficiency is 0.95, whereas the
temperature of the vapour at the exit of the internal heat exchanger (T7) has been assumed to be 10 °C higher than
the condensation temperature5,22.
The minimum reinjection temperature of the geothermal water (Tg,out) has been fixed to 70°C to avoid fouling and
scaling phenomena within pipes and system components, as suggested in the literature23. The reference pinch-point
temperature is 10°C. The value has to be increased at low evaporation temperatures to satisfy the requirement on the
minimum reinjection temperature.
The performances of ORC systems have been characterised considering a 1 kg/s of geothermal water at 129°C.
 Angelo Algieri et al. / Procedia Computer Science 109C (2017) 833–840 837
A. Algieri, J. Šebo / Procedia Computer Science 00 (2017) 000–000 5

Table 1. Critical parameters and ORC operating conditions.

Isobutane Isopentane R245ca

Critical conditions
Critical temperature [°C] 134.66 187.2 174.42
Critical pressure [bar] 36.29 33.78 39.25
Operating conditions
Condensation temperature [°C] 30 30 30
Condensation pressure [bar] 4.05 1.09 1.22
Evaporation temperature [°C] 70 - 105 70 - 130 70 - 130
Evaporation pressure [bar] 10.87 - 21.78 3.56 - 13.12 4.36 - 17.56

3. Results

An investigation on the energetic performances of Organic Rankine Cycles (ORCs) for the exploitation of low
temperature heat sources has been done. To this purpose, isobutane, isopentane, and R245ca have been chosen as
working fluids. Particularly, the influence of the system configurations and operating conditions on the ORC
behaviour has been analysed.
Figure 2 highlights the system performances in terms of thermal efficiency (a) and net specific work (b). Results
refer to a condensation temperature equal to 30°C. Minimum evaporation temperature has been set to 70°C while
the maximum value has been chosen to avoid the presence of liquid during the expansion phase and it depends on
the slope of the saturated vapour curve in the T-s diagram.
The plot (Figure 2a) illustrates a progressive increase in the thermal efficiency with the evaporation temperature
according to the literature2,24. Similar results are found for isopentane and R245ca whereas isobutane presents lower
cycle efficiency for all the investigated evaporation temperatures. At 70°C the cycle performance is 6.9% for
isobutane and about 7.2% for isopentane and R245ca, whereas efficiencies are always larger than 10% at 105°C.
The maximum value (ηth = 12.6%) is found when isopentane and R245ca are adopted as working fluids and the
evaporation temperature is fixed at 130°C.
The effect of the evaporation temperature on the net specific work is shown in Figure 2b. The higher the thermal
level, the higher the work. It is interesting to notice that the difference between the three fluids upsurges with the
evaporation temperature and significant differences exist although similar thermal efficiencies have been found.

a) b)
Fig. 2. Influence of the evaporation temperature on the ORC thermal efficiency (a) and specific work (b). Simple cycle configuration.
838 Angelo Algieri et al. / Procedia Computer Science 109C (2017) 833–840
6 A. Algieri, J. Šebo / Procedia Computer Science 00 (2017) 000–000

Fig. 3. Influence of the internal heat exchanger (IHE) on the ORC thermal efficiency.

As an example, at 70°C isopentane guarantees a specific work equal to 28.6 kJ/kg while the corresponding value
reduces to 25.2 and 16.3 kJ/kg when isobutane and R245ca are adopted, respectively. At 100°C the net specific
work lies between 26.3 kJ/kg (R245ca) and 46.8 kJ/kg (isopentane).
The pump energy is lower than 5.5 kJ/kg for all the investigated configurations and ranges from 2.3% (isopentane at
70°C) to 11.8% (isobutane at 105°C) of the turbine work.
The influence of the internal heat exchange (IHE) on ORC performances is illustrated in Figure 3. The adoption
of the regenerator produces an interesting increase in the thermal efficiency at the highest evaporation temperatures.
The largest cycle efficiency (14.6%) is registered with isopentane (at 130°C) and similar performances are found
with R245ca (14.0%). Conversely, the absolute increase in the system effectiveness is always lower than 1% when
the evaporation temperature is below 95°C. In these conditions, results suggest to adopt the simple configuration
without internal heat exchanger owing to the lower system complexity and cost. Furthermore, it is worth noting that
the internal regenerator does not affect the ORC specific work.

3.1 Case study: a possible ORC application in the Košice area

The possible exploitation of geothermal sources in ORC systems has been investigated. To this purpose, the
analysis has been focused on the Košice Basin (Slovakia) where different geothermal wells are present. Specifically,
the literature review shows that an interesting potential for small-scale applications exists in the investigated area.
The performances of ORC systems have been characterised considering a 1 kg/s of geothermal fluid at 129°C.
Figure 4a shows the electric efficiency as a function of the evaporation temperature. The plot confirms the large
influence of the thermal level at the expander entrance on the ORC effectiveness and the progressive increase in the
dimensionless parameter with the evaporation temperature. As already observed, better performances have been
detected adopting the internal regenerator, with values larger than 10.9% for isopentane and R245ca (at 115°C).
Performances reduce when the simple configuration is considered and small differences between the different
arrangements and fluids are found at the lowest evaporation temperatures.
A different trend in ORC performances is noticed when the electric power is analysed (Figure 4b). In fact,
maximum values (Pel ≈ 16.7 kWel) are observed at medium-low evaporation temperatures. Particularly, for isobutane
larger electric power is found at 80°C while for isopentane and R245ca the maximum is obtained at 75°C.
A further raise in the evaporation temperature produces, in fact, a progressive decrease in the electric power, despite
the increase in the electric efficiency. Values lower than 10.2 kWel are registered at 105°C and the electric power
drops to 3.1 kWel at 115°C. This is due to the upsurge in the geothermal reinjection temperature with the evaporation
level that produces a decrease in the exploitable geothermal power (the mass flow rate and the temperature of the
geothermal water are fixed), as visible in Figure 5a.
 Angelo Algieri et al. / Procedia Computer Science 109C (2017) 833–840 839
A. Algieri, J. Šebo / Procedia Computer Science 00 (2017) 000–000 7

a) b)
Fig. 4. Influence of the evaporation temperature on the electric efficiency (a) and power (b). Simple cycle and IHE configurations.

It is worthy to notice that the minimum reinjection temperature has been fixed to 70°C to avoid scaling and fouling
problems in heat exchangers and pipes at low evaporation temperature, as suggested in the literature23. In these
cases, pinch-points larger than 10°C are necessary in the heat exchanger.
Furthermore, the increase in the temperature at the expander inlet is responsible for a decrease in the organic fluid
mass flow rate (Figure 5b) and, consequently, in ORC electric power. Specifically, mass flow rates range between
0.55 kg/s (isopentane) and 0.99 kg/s (R245ca) at 70°C, while the corresponding values lie between 0.06 and 0.11
kg/s at 115°C. A change in the curve slope is observed for the three fluids due to the variation in the pinch-point
temperature and small differences between the mass flow rates of the simple and IHE configurations are observed
when the reinjection temperature is fixed at 70°C. Specifically, the adoption of the internal regeneration guarantees
slightly higher mass flow.

a) b)
Fig. 5. Effect of the evaporation temperature on the geothermal power (a) and mass flow rate of organic fluid (b). Simple and IHE configurations.

4. Conclusions

The present work has investigated the energetic performances of Organic Rankine Cycles (ORCs) for the
exploitation of low temperature heat sources. To this purpose, saturated conditions at the expander inlet have been
8840 AngeloJ.Algieri
A. Algieri, et al. / Procedia
Šebo / Procedia Computer
Computer ScienceScience 109C
00 (2017) (2017) 833–840
000–000

imposed and the influence of the evaporation temperature on the system behaviour has been evaluated.
Three organic fluids have been considered for the analysis (isobutane, isopentane, and R45ca) and the impact of the
internal regeneration on the ORC performances has been studied.
The investigation demonstrates the significant influence of the evaporation temperature on ORC thermal efficiency
and specific work. When the evaporation temperature increases, a progressive raise in the system performances is
found due to the larger energy content at the expander entrance. Similar efficiency (about 7%) has been detected for
all the investigated configurations at 70°C and values larger than 10% have been registered at 105°C. The
corresponding specific work lies in the range of 16.3-28.6 kJ/kg at 70°C and 27.7-49.5 kJ/kg at 105°C. The highest
performances in terms of specific work (62.2 kJ/kg) and thermal efficiency (14.6% with the internal heat exchanger)
are found at 130°C adopting isopentane. It is interesting to notice that the internal regeneration has a positive
influence on the system efficiency, but the effect shrinks when the evaporation temperature decreases.
Finally, the possible application of ORC systems for the exploitation of geothermal sources has been evaluated.
To this purpose, the analysis has focused on the Košice Basin (Slovakia) where several geothermal wells are
present. The work highlights that low-enthalpy geothermal ORC systems appear a very interesting solution for
small-scale applications. In particular, when the geothermal flow rate and temperature are fixed at 1 kg/s and 129°C,
respectively, a net electric power higher than 16 kWel is found for all the investigated organic fluids. Medium-low
evaporation temperatures (75-80°C) have to be imposed to maximise the electric power.

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