[Editor’s Note: While our group’s screw compressor/expander technology holds a globally leading position, a fact recognized worldwide, our group’s globally leading ORC axial flow turbine expander is less well-known. Kaishan’s ORC axial flow turbine expander began application in the 200 MW SMGP geothermal power plant in Indonesia five years ago, and its ultra-high energy efficiency and reliability have been proven by time and practice. At the request of friends interested in Kaishan, this editorial department is publishing a related introductory article.]
Kaishan modular power plants can utilize any form of geothermal resource, from low-enthalpy geothermal wells to high-enthalpy geothermal wells, and from zero wellhead pressure to high wellhead pressure. Compared to traditional geothermal power plants, the ultra-high efficiency and application flexibility of Kaishan modular power plants increase the thermal efficiency of geothermal wells by at least 30%, raising the availability of geothermal power plants from the traditional 93%-95% to over 99%. An indispensable part of all the series of Kaishan modular power plants is the ORC modular power plant powered by Kaishan axial flow turbine expander. The main power sources of 10 to 24 MW Kaishan axial flow turbine ORC modular power plants should be low-pressure geothermal saturated or wet steam and medium-low temperature geothermal water. The modular power plant can be a single heat source or a mixture of heat sources.
The Kaishan ORC axial-flow turbine expander was developed by Kaishan’s North American R&D Center and manufactured at Kaishan’s LMF plant near Vienna. This axial-flow turbine expander adopts the world’s most advanced design concept and technology for hot-end axial-flow turbines in aero-engines, directly driving the generator at 1500 rpm or 1800 rpm, ensuring extremely high reliability and isentropic efficiency in ORC applications. Compared to the 82% to 85% isentropic efficiency of traditional ORC axial-flow turbines, the Kaishan ORC axial-flow turbine expander achieves an isentropic efficiency of 93.8%, making it a world-leading ultra-high-efficiency turbine expander. The Kaishan ORC axial-flow turbine expander has been installed at the SMGP geothermal power plant in Indonesia, the Sosian geothermal power plant in Kenya, and the OrPower22 geothermal power plant in Kenya, ensuring the reliable and efficient operation of these power plants.
