Waste Heat
or low temperature Geothermal Heat to Electrical Generation

The technology offered by Hot Power Inc. is not new.

However, with the rising cost of energy, increasing environmental awareness, and recent technology developments, the profitable use of this technology is now here. The program we offer at Hot Power Inc. is waste heat utilization, from recapture and recycle to electrical generation using Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) electricity generation technology. ORC electricity generation is the ideal Renewable Energy concept.  It takes existing, usually waste heat and – through a rather simple process – generates electricity. Let’s look at the key differences between ORC technology and a typical steam turbine.

A typical steam turbine generation plant (the backbone of electricity generation around the world) works by boiling water, which produces steam. The expansion of the medium as it moves from liquid (water) to steam (gas), creates pressure which is directed through a pipe which turns a turbine to produce electricity.  This is what coal, gas and nuclear power plants do; the significant difference being which fuel is used to boil the water.

An ORC system works on precisely the same principle. The key difference is that the fluid used is a neutral organic compound that boils at a lower temperature than water and functions in a closed system.  A waste heat generator consumes nothing of value and exhausts only electricity.

From the existing heat source, the organic liquid is heated to its boiling point and turned into a gas (steam). The inherent expansion creates pressure that turns the turbine, producing electricity.  The gas (steam) is then cooled, re-condensed back to its liquid form and recirculated to be re-heated and re-expanded.  All of this occurs in a completely closed system.

The only by-product from a waste heat ORC system is electricity. The only fuel is your already existing waste heat.