14 November, 2021

Sustainability in the Aviation sector


Photo John Mcarthur / unsplash


The aviation industry is the safest mode of transportation in the world. Since its origin, the aviation sector has been constantly growing by delivering unrivalled speed and safety. The first sustained flight was accomplished in the United States; soon after, the notion of the controlled flight was shared with industrialists, and aircraft manufacture in the United States started. Military and cargo transportation were the first applications of aeroplanes. In the United States, the aviation industry began in the second decade of the twentieth century.


However, expansion was sluggish, and aircraft industries remained limited until the United States Federal Government began to meet the demands generated by World War I. Aeroplanes demonstrated their strength and dominance by performing successfully during World War II, and they were swiftly adopted by several commercial organisations. Aeroplanes size increased, as did the amount of cargo and people carried, and with the adoption of gas turbine engines in aircraft, air travel expanded beyond continents. With growth in passenger demand, the number of flights each day grew, and the quantity of pollution began to climb. Regulations were adopted by regulatory agencies operating within the law to increase sustainability by reducing pollution from aviation activities.




Types of pollution 


Noise Pollution 

Aircraft noise may affect residents who live near airports. For years, the sector has attempted to reduce noise, with remarkable success: noise levels have been reduced by half in the previous 10 years. Each new aircraft generation is anticipated to have a noise footprint that is at least 15% lower than prior generations. The largest cause of noise pollution from airports is aircraft; however, additional noises generated by airports include equipment noise produced by ground vehicles and electrical generators.


An individual aircraft's Effective Perceived Noise Level at takeoff and landing defines its loudness (EPNL). It is evaluated when the aircraft is initially placed into operation and is used to track noise improvement over time. The earlier generation Boeing 737-400, for example, would have a higher noise level than the newer generation Boeing 737 Max 8. In 2013, the International Civil Aviation Organization ICAO, the United Nations' intergovernmental aviation organisation, implemented Chapter 14, a new noise reduction standard. According to the regulation, modern aircraft models must be at least seven decibels quieter than those constructed to the previous Chapter 4 standard. This assures that future aircraft will be equipped with the most advanced noise-cancelling equipment. ICAO also believes that between 1998 and 2004, the number of people globally exposed to aeroplane noise reduced by 35%. Sustainable aviation is the goal of aviation world where UK is looking to achieve net-zero emissions, so these practices are now part of aviation courses


The amount of air passing through the engines, the surface area of the engine's fan blades, the engine's placement on the airframe, and even the number and size of flaps that aid in wing shape alterations have all been thoroughly investigated. Aircraft designers, manufacturers, and regulatory authorities worked together to tackle aviation noise pollution. After identifying separate sources of noise pollution, designers looked into several factors that contribute to the overall noise produced by flights. To combat noise pollution, aircraft designers, manufacturers, and regulatory agencies came together. Designers examined several aspects that contribute to the overall noise produced by aeroplanes after finding distinct causes of noise pollution. The majority of the noise comes from aircraft engines, but general aerodynamics was also a significant concern. Aircraft engines produce most of the noise while overall aerodynamics was also a major concern. To boost aerodynamic efficiency, designers and manufacturers made several improvements to the overall design. Hot exhaust gases and the movement of turbines and compressor blades on a rotating shaft can cause noise and vibrations in jet engines. Modern engines are extremely fuel-efficient and quiet, and the entire design has improved significantly. High bypass engines decrease noise pollution bypassing the majority of the cold air via the bypass and just a tiny part into the core for combustion. Because the violent mixing of hot and cold gases causes a significant percentage of noise pollution, this approach aids in decreasing the overall sound of the gas turbine engine.


Regulating where planes fly during takeoff and landing dramatically minimises noise pollution. The location and utilization of runways is critical; for example, to limit noise pollution, planes flying at night may fly over oceans or rivers. Air traffic control plots out flight patterns that avoid the most densely populated regions. Jetliners can now precisely follow predefined tracks thanks to recent breakthroughs in navigation performance. With the support of air navigation service providers and airport managers, airlines and pilots can use noise reduction techniques such as reduced power take-off, repositioned landing thresholds, and continual descending landings.


Air Pollution 


Globally, flights created 915 million tonnes of CO2 in 2019. On a global level, humans produced around 43 billion tonnes of CO2. Airports are important business centres, with thousands of employees and travellers passing through on a daily basis. Despite the fact that aircraft movements are a big part of airport operations, road emissions from cars, trucks, and buses have a bigger influence on local air quality than aviation emissions.


The chemical pollutants that cause the most concern surrounding airports include nitrogen oxides, organic compounds, carbon monoxide CO, and fine particles. Lesser emissions such as sulphur dioxide SO2, hydroxyl radicals, nitrous and nitric acids will require additional investigation, although their influence is currently considered to be minor. 


Aircraft emissions are lowered by more than half, and noise pollution is reduced by the same amount. The aircraft engine is also a major contributor of air pollution. Strict rules from the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) compelled the sector to modernise and move toward a more sustainable future. The whole aviation sector is focused on enhancing the quality of air travel, with the goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 in the United Kingdom.


Air pollution from both aeronautical and non-aeronautical sources is continuously monitored. Some of the world's busiest airports have made initiatives to minimise carbon emissions and other forms of greenhouse gas pollution.


Even more, emissions are reduced at airports that provide steady electrical ground power and pre-conditioned air supplies at terminal gates. Auxiliary power units can be turned off at terminal gates, reducing fuel use and emissions. More straight taxiways and keeping planes at the gate until departure slots are authorised can reduce taxiing and holding times, reducing traffic congestion in general. 


Another important step toward the aviation industry's green future is the development of sustainable aviation fuel. It's created from renewable resources and has a chemical make-up that's quite similar to traditional fossil jet fuel. When compared to the conventional jet fuel it replaces, using SAF reduces greenhouse gas emissions during the fuel's lifetime. Cooking oil and other non-palm waste oils from animals or plants, as well as solid waste from households and businesses, such as packaging, paper, textiles, and food scraps that would otherwise be disposed of in landfills or burnt, are popular renewable sources. There are other choices for forest debris, such as discarded wood, and agricultural wastes, such as fast-growing plants and algae. Jet fuel has a high energy density for its weight, and it is because of this that commercial flights are feasible. Because there are now no other viable choices for transporting big groups of people over long distances, aircraft relies on this type of fuel. A roundtrip flight between London and San Francisco emits around 1 tonne of CO2e every economy ticket. With the aviation sector expected to quadruple in size to over 8 billion people by 2050, reducing carbon emissions is vital. and SAF is one method to do it. 


Water Pollution 


The impact of airport operations on quality of water has received attention as legislators investigate beyond the more apparent causes of water pollution, such as stormwater runoff. Airports have been liable to the Clean Water Act's regulations for over a decade, and they typically include huge areas of hard surfaces and host operations that can generate discharges of potential contaminants, but the application of these rules to the unique operating environment of airports is still being refined.


The importance and occasional conflict between sustaining the environment and ensuring the safety of passengers has emerged in the context of water quality. Many airports are located on or adjacent to large bodies of water, which, along with associated marshes, may have environmental impacts. Deicing and anti-icing agents, which are used to ensure safe operations in freezing temperatures or other conditions where ice may form on aircraft surfaces, may have environmental impacts.


Sustainable water management is critical for airports because they require large amounts of water to support their infrastructure and operations. Airports also generate a significant amount of surface and wastewater. The volume of water they use is equivalent to that consumed by mid-size cities such as London Heathrow and Paris Charles de Gaulle's Champs Elysees.


To decrease water use, airports must manage their activities and operations. They must also safeguard surface and underground water supplies. A variety of water-related projects have been adopted at several airports. This involves conserving water, repurposing water, and flushing toilets with rainwater.


Over the course of a year, a study of an airport in Turkey proposed the usage of artificial grass. The ramifications of this, particularly the impact on drainage and wildlife, would require additional examination. Understanding the contaminants produced by airport activities is necessary to use groundwater. Given that many airports are located along the shore, there is also the option of using saltwater.




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