Developing a techno-economic model to evaluate the cost performance of a zeolite 13X-based space heating system

Abstract Residential space heating contributes to greenhouse gas emissions because of natural gas combustion. One way to lower these emissions is to replace the natural gas space heating system with a zeolite 13X-based system. However, the economic feasibility of such a system is critical. There is limited information on the application and economic feasibility of a zeolite 13X-based heating system. In this study, we developed a data-intensive, bottom-up model to evaluate the life cycle cost of a zeolite 13X-based space heating system. We considered a traditional 16 kW space heating capacity for the zeolite-13X adsorbent and photovoltaic solar collector. The life cycle cost of the zeolite 13X-based system is 6 cents/kWh, a value comparable to traditional space heating systems like an electric boiler and natural gas-fired boilers. The uncertainty analysis shows that the system cost ranges from 5.4 cents to 6.1 cents/kWh. The overall cost is sensitive to the length-to-diameter ratio of the adsorbent vessel, zeolite pellet diameter, and solar collector potential. Improving these parameters would reduce the cost of the studied system. The scale factor for the capital cost of the zeolite 13X system was developed and it was estimated to be 0.76, which indicates that as the capacity of the system increases, the capital cost per unit output goes down. Overall, adsorbent storage connected to solar collectors for a space heating system is an economically competitive alternative technology to decarbonize the residential sector in cold climate regions.