Commodore
Sujeet Samaddar, NM (Retd)
Air transportation has, in the last few decades, grown at a scorching pace. Experts believe the worldwide passenger traffic will grow by an average of 5.1 % and the cargo traffic will grow by an average 5.6 % per year until 2030. To meet this increasing demand about 33,500 aircraft would be introduced over the next 20 years, thus doubling the existing aircraft fleet in this period. Given the production and demand numbers from Russia, East European Countries and China have not been factored in most Western/European calculations and studies, potentially the global aircraft fleet may double a few years earlier if these aircraft are also counted in. That is a very large number of flying machines in our world.
The growth of the aviation sector brings considerable benefits in terms of connectivity, and communications which in turn improve commerce and business. But its adverse social and environmental impacts cannot be overlooked. Public concern is on the rise on the unfettered growth of aviation and its impact on GHG emissions, noise pollution, use of Rare Earths, scarce materials, societal resources, land use, fuel bills, and the environment. Whilst a large number of aircraft are being built there are also a large number of aircraft being retired from service.
The estimates for the number of Aircraft that would be retired in the same period varies significantly. Aircraft manufacturers estimate that up to 44 percent of the global fleet will reach end-of- life in the next two decades, amounting to more than 13,000 commercial, military and private aircraft. Aircraft Fleet Recycling Association (AFRA) estimates that, by 2030, 12,000 aircraft could be retired. Avolon’s World Fleet Forecast predicts 13,000 aircraft while Flight Global’s estimations touch 17,000. Bombardier believes that 5,000 aircraft in the 60 to 150-seat categories will retire by 2034.
The exercise to determine the End of Life of commercial aircraft is not so difficult. Usually, an aircraft is designed, developed and produced with a calendar life span of about 35 years or a fatigue life span of about 85-100,000 flight hours with periodic recertification of air worthiness basis the mandatory D Checks etc. whichever is earlier. At the end of this defined period it is uneconomical or unsafe to operate the aircraft and therefore should be retired or paid off. Whilst a detailed calculation at this stage in not feasible, a prudent estimate could be that about 800 - 1000 aircraft would be available for scrapping per year. This does not include helicopters, private jets and military aircraft. For India, from a military perspective, the Mig 27 aircraft fleet of about 150 aircraft has been de-commissioned over the last few years, the AVRO replacement program will result in scrapping of about 60 aircraft, various Helicopter replacement programs of the Navy would see about 100 aircrfat being retired sooner than later. Even so, the commercial segment alone throws up a large number of aircraft that would be scrapped. Further, being a luxury industry, it’s turnaround for livery and cabin interiors, requirement of ever lighter and stronger alloys, quieter and more fuel efficient engines, better on board electronics, etc are pushing various systems into early obsolescence of aircraft equipment and systems which all finally feed into the recycling industry. With these growing numbers of retired aircraft, increased environmental awareness and rising interest of civil society, industry, pollution and environmental agencies and authorities the recycling of end-of-life aircraft is becoming increasingly important.
However, being few and far between out of sight and therefore out of mind, the end-of-life treatment of aircraft was neglected for a long time. Growing concern about its impact on industry, environment and society is triggering this sector towards gaining social and economic recognition. End of Life aircraft, after their final flight, find themselves stored randomly besides airports or in deserts around the globe and allowed to decay due wind and weather, misuse, theft and pilferage reduce the intrinsic residual value of aircraft parts and materials, which can feed back into future production and contribute towards materials conservation.
Recycling end of life aircraft comprise a series of sequential and simultaneous operations which need to be well planned to derive its full latent potential. The key challenge is in collecting, segregating and sorting various type of alloys and materials as each part is made of a specific metallurgical composition. Bundling them all together will completely devalue the scrap. The problem is not easy as there are hundreds of different types of alloys and materials available in End of Life aircraft, and this number continually increases, based on economic and technological developments in metallurgy and material science.
The Boeing supported AFRA has led the initiative to inform educate and communicate the best practices in Aircraft Recycling in the United States. It was established in 2006 to ensure the sustainable management of end-of-life aircraft engines and airframes. In Europe, Airbus put together the PAMELA project (Process for Advanced Management of End-of-Life Aircraft) for developing a business template and process for recycling of aircraft.
The Recycling process has been defined under the PAMELA project which has broken down the aircraft recycling process into three steps. Decommissioning is the First step which includes cleaning, draining of fuel and fluids, removal of pyros and cartridges, batteries, and various safety procedures followed up with detailed record keeping. The second step is disassembling, which is defined as a “systematic physical separation of a product into its constituent parts, components or other groupings”. An efficient disassembly requires a disassembly planning sequence and requires an intimate knowledge about the specific aircraft type, such as it design, structure, material and part composition. This helps to optimise the material recovery. Re-usable and re-sellable parts and equipment on the basis of demands in the spare parts market are segregated, selected, catalogued and thereafter offered for sale as pre-owned spares. As the aircraft is progressively dismantled different tools such as water jet cutters, grinders, shears are brought into play and a variety of technical talents are brought into play. Next, the materials are grouped by metal composition and potential customer segments and requirements of the recovery channels. Finally, the treatment process ends with the comprehensive and systematic deconstruction of the aircraft.
The worldwide demand for aerospace grade materials continues to increase. The production of new aircraft parts requires raw materials, capital, energy and labour. Through recycling or reuse, a great amount of material and parts can be recovered, recycled, re-used after refurbishment and consequently primary and natural resources can be saved.
Therefore, as the foregoing analysis reveals both the supply and demand side of the business equation for aircraft recycling seems to be balanced. However, the lack of interest in developing this vertical of the Recycling Industry is surprising. This may be due to several reasons. Firstly, it is not readily realised in the recycling community that End-of-life aircraft contain a lot of valuable materials and parts that can be recycled and hence its latent value should be recovered for pure economic benefits.
Another factor that is impeding sustainable end-of-life treatment of aircraft is the deficiency of knowledge and lack of a total lifecycle ‘cradle to grave ‘management approach for the aircraft. We have seen that business growth in the automobile sector saw tectonic changes once software driven Intelligent Systems catalogue pre-owned refurbished parts for sale to users across the world. Aircraft have a similar requirement. Therefore, developing a conceptual framework for total life cycle management of aircraft and the after-market opportunities is essential for achieving true sustainability and closing the recycling loop in the aircraft industry.
Finally, the production of secondary raw material requires significantly less energy than the production of primary raw materials particularly Rare Earths, Titanium and complex Alloys that require substantial investments. Instead a ‘cradle to ladle’ approach by directly feeding into foundries rather than furnaces also offers sizeable economies and cost benefits. Aircraft manufactures must also take note that recycling leads to a reduction of emissions to air, water and soil, reduction of waste, and finally a reduction of land use in landfill sites. Therefore, aircraft manufacturers should integrate with aircraft recyclers to their common advantage.
(photo: circulary.eu)
Aircraft are composed of a number of different materials, equipment, assemblies and parts. The Airbus A380, for instance, has over one million parts. These may be made of carbon and glass fiber composites; cabling wires; plumbing, hydraulics and pneumatics; aluminium, titanium and steel alloys parts and components; foam, textiles and carpet; engines and landing gears; variety of fuel and fluids; substantial amount of electronic devices and various types of power and lighting sources and equipment; and other rubber and neoprene parts. The subsequent processing of aircraft material into alloys requires mechanical, electro-chemical as well as metallurgical processes which are usually undertaken by secondary producers.
The most valuable part of an aircraft is the engine and the power train. At End of Life, the engines are the first thing to be removed and tested for ascertaining if these can go to serve another aircraft either as is or refurbished by a certified agency. Others are scrapped for valuable metals such as titanium, stainless steel etc. Detailed maintenance records are necessary for trading in such critical parts and components. The goal is to optimize material recovery through multiple product use cases. For example, aluminium alloy could be reclaimed and used to produce new aircraft structures made out of the same aluminium alloy. Similarly Nickel and Cobalt, which go into manufacturing diverse products such as aircraft turbines and battery, can be recovered because recycling the turbine blades avoids the need to produce primary nickel and is reused to best efficiency. Between 40% and 50% of the weight of most dismantled aircraft finds its way back to the parts distribution pipeline.
The safe and responsible recycling of commercial aircraft is one of the main challenges facing the global aviation industry. With around 12,000 commercial aircraft to be decommissioned over the next 20 years, manufacturers and operators are working towards the development of the 100% recyclable aircraft system. Currently, 80-85% of an aircraft is recycled against about 50% only a few years ago. AFRA aims at increasing this number to 90% by the end of the decade as technologies develop to recycle Carbon Fibre, Plastics, Smart Alloys etc. Some aircraft OEMs are already working towards aircraft designs that would permit 100% recycling and in future could possibly include the dismantling procedure to maximise material recovery. However, to derive the full value of recycling aircraft a certain level of technical competency, tooling, occupational health and safety issues need to be addressed. In this arena, recyclers can smell the money. However, whilst the opportunity abounds some minor challenges cannot be brushed off.
(photo: circulary.eu)
First is the availability of a suitable airfield or recycling area. Fortunately in India, that is not a big challenge as several airfields are available for use. Transportation is another issue. So long as the aircraft can fly into the dismantling airport it is workable. But obtaining end of life aircraft from distant airports, deserts etc can be a daunting expenditure. Thirdly, the right skill set is required. Fourth, an appropriate Regulatory and Compliance framework, along the lines of the Vehicle Scrapping Policy under issue by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and the Ship Recycling Policy issued by the Ministry of Shipping, as part of the nations consolidated industrial policy, together with an appropriate regulator is necessary to energise this sector. Perhaps the Director General of Civil Aviation could be entrusted this responsibility along the same lines as the treatment of end of life vehicles and ships.
The European Commission is very active to introduce the principle of Extended Producer Responsibility into legislation for aircraft manufacturers and their supply chain. For example, the European Directive 2000/53/EC on treatment of end-of-life vehicles was inspired by the principle of EPR and is now followed worldwide. Similarly, in 2009, the IMO adopted the International Convention for Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ship, to which India is a signatory since December 2019. Though the handling of end-of-life aircraft has not been legally regulated yet but the day is clearly not far.
Finally, a more sophisticated market needs to be created for the recycling of aircraft parts but such a market will get generated once the business gets traction.
In conclusion, the recycling of aircraft has come into greater prominence only in recent years, due in large part to the increase in the number of aircraft which are reaching the end of their working life and becoming publicly visible. Discarded aircraft provides a large source of valuable material. Landfilling/Letting to rot naturally is hardly the efficient solution to the treatment of end of life aircraft any more. With expanding numbers of retired aircraft, increasing environmental awareness and growing interest of societies and authorities, the handling of end-of-life aircraft is becoming ever more important and inescapable necessity. It also presents a new business opportunity for enterprising entrepreneurs and established entities.
(photo: circulary.eu)
India has very potential to become one of the world’s largest aero recycler as it has achieved excellence in the Ship Recycling sector and has also taken steps in automotive recycling. Logically, aircraft recycling is the next step. This requires apex level policy intervention, setting up procedures, establishing appropriate standards and a regulatory and compliance mechanism for the promotion of the industry leading to high technology jobs, larger revenues, cleaner environment and a more sustainable aerospace industry. India should target at least a 10% market share of the multi-billion dollar aircraft recycling market – which is reasonable and eminently doable in the next few years.