What question did this study set out to answer?

This research aims to evaluate the thermodynamic performance of geothermal-driven power generation systems.

January 14, 2026Open Access

Energetic and Exergetic Insights into Geothermal Sourced ORC and Supercritical CO2 Systems

Key Points

This research aims to evaluate the thermodynamic performance of geothermal-driven power generation systems.
Analyzed two configurations: an organic Rankine cycle (ORC) and a supercritical CO2 cycle.
Used various working fluids including cyclopentane within the ORC.
Performed energy and exergy analyses using EBSILON® Professional simulation.
Cyclopentane in the ORC showed the best performance with thermal efficiency of 29.58%.
s-CO2 Rankine cycle demonstrated thermal efficiency of 20.29%.
Both systems were economically viable with payback periods of 4.2 years for ORC and 2.26 years for s-CO2.

Abstract

This study investigates the thermodynamic performance of two power-generation systems driven by a geothermal heat resource. The first configuration is an organic Rankine cycle (ORC) employing cyclopentane, R152a, and R1233zd as working fluids, while the second utilizes a supercritical carbon dioxide (s-CO2) Rankine cycle. Detailed energy and exergy analyses for each working fluid were carried out using the EBSILON® Professional simulation. Among the ORC fluids, cyclopentane demonstrated the most favorable performance. In the ORC system, thermal and exergy efficiencies reached up to 29.58% and 70.51%, respectively. However, in the s-CO2 Rankine cycle, thermal and exergy efficiencies were found to be 20.29% and 47.77%, respectively. Also, it was determined that the ORC and s-CO2 Rankine were economically viable for investment, with payback periods of 4.2 years and 2.26 years, respectively.

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