The Kalina cycle is a binary mixture power generation system optimised for a range of waste heat recovery applications, which has received considerable attention as an energy efficient power generation cycle well suited to Indian climatic conditions. The Kalina cycle makes use of a binary mixture system which utilises ammonia–water mixture as a working fluid. First law and second law analysis were examined on two different Kalina cycle configurations (low temperature and medium temperature Kalina systems). The low temperature series heaters Kalina cycle system is driven with renewable energy source, while medium temperature is generally used for hot stream of energy from boiling water nuclear reactor or pressurised water nuclear reactor. The specific work output, energy, exergy and relative efficiencies have been optimized with the parameters considered. Separator temperature and turbine concentration (separator inlet concentration, x3 for Medium temperature Kalina cycle system (MTKCS) and separator vapour concentration, x11 for Low temperature Kalina cycle system (LTKCS)) are treated as common parameters between the two Kalina cycle systems. The optimum separator temperature for low temperature Kalina cycle systems with series heat exchangers and medium temperature Kalina cycle systems is in the ranges 110–150°C and 70–100°C, respectively, and the turbine concentration between 0.85–0.97 and 0.77–0.86. The highest exergy efficiency observed in the study (82%) occurred for the MTKCS, which exhibits lower exergy losses than the LTKCS, due to its more efficient energy recovery. The results identify that Kalina cycle systems can well adapt for medium temperature applications. © The Author(s) 2019.