Evaluation of aeronautical emissions: A case study of an airport at the city of Rio de Janeiro

Abstract

Due to the growth of air transport over the decades, and consequently atmospheric emissions, it has become necessary to establish studies and standards to measure the levels of pollutants emitted by aeronautical engines. The aim of this work is to quantify and compare the emissions of carbon monoxide (CO), hydrocarbons (HC) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) from the Airbus A319, 115 series, during its operations at Santos Dumont Airport, located at city of Rio de Janeiro from January to December 2015. To do so, use statistical data from the Brazilian National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC) and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) database. The results showed that the pollutants emissions change depending on the aircraft's flight phase and engine regime, which influence the engine temperature and combustion of kerosene aviation. In this way, it was observed that the NOx levels in the climb-out phase - in which the aircraft, after take-off, rises to an unobstructed level of safety - remained approximately 51 and 68 % higher in relation to the take-off and landing phases, respectively. In terms of CO, the emissions of the approach phase were approximately 92 and 96 % higher in relation to the climb-out and take-off phases, respectively. The same can be observed for the HC emissions, which, during the approach, reached values 37 and 75 % higher, in relation to the climb-out and take-off phases, respectively.