Environmentally Responsible Airframe Disposal
Maximising material recovery through effective recycling
When an aircraft reaches end of life (EOL), the owner faces a decision of how to responsibly dispose of the aircraft. Maximising the final return on the asset, while minimising environmental issues are naturally the chief concerns.
In current industry practice, once engines, major components and scrap metal have been salvaged, around 30% of the aircraft remains which cannot be recycled or re-used. This waste is largely made up of plastics (galleys, overhead bins, seat foam etc) and composite material (cowls, reversers, flight surfaces) and must be either sent to landfill or crushed, neither of which are cost effective or environmentally friendly options.
EVS have defined an alternate end of life solution to reduce the un-recyclable waste of the part out process to below 10%. This is achieved through a combination of extending our own material recovery program and embracing pyrolysis technologies. In addition to meeting best recovery practice for components and metals, this allows all plastics and composites to be recycled in a carbon negative process. Better still the output is gas and char which can be converted into renewable energy!
Material Recovery
EVS has been operating a material recovery program for components over the past 2 years which has provided a welcome source of revenue for participating customers as well as recycling valuable component piece parts as feedstock. Details can be found on the material recovery page of our site. Extending the program to include engine and airframe components recovered in aircraft dismantling was a natural progression. The intelligent recycling piece parts in this manner minimises the amount metal ultimately sent to scrap merchants for re-processing.
Pyrolysis
Pyrolysis is the thermo-chemical decomposition of organic material. Until now adoption of this technology in Aerospace has been slow, due to the significant processing required to make the oil by-product of pyrolysis suitable for re-use as fuel. EVS’s partners have overcome these issues, and with the input of aircraft plastics and composites can produce a high calorific fuel gas suitable for power generation without any reprocessing.
This is a carbon negative process producing zero emissions which produces as a by-product gas suitable for energy which gas has 3 times less CO2 per Kg when burned than coal. Research suggests suggest that each ton of waste (depending on composition) can produce up to 1.2MW of thermal energy.
For further information, please download our airframe disposal brochure (also available here in low resolution) or contact us at solutions@evsgroup.aero