National Academies Press: OpenBook

Research Needs Associated with Particulate Emissions at Airports (2008)

Chapter: Chapter 8 - Proposed Research Agenda and Problem Statements

« Previous: Chapter 7 - Needed Research
Page 22
Suggested Citation:"Chapter 8 - Proposed Research Agenda and Problem Statements." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2008. Research Needs Associated with Particulate Emissions at Airports. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/14160.
×
Page 22
Page 23
Suggested Citation:"Chapter 8 - Proposed Research Agenda and Problem Statements." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2008. Research Needs Associated with Particulate Emissions at Airports. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/14160.
×
Page 23
Page 24
Suggested Citation:"Chapter 8 - Proposed Research Agenda and Problem Statements." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2008. Research Needs Associated with Particulate Emissions at Airports. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/14160.
×
Page 24
Page 25
Suggested Citation:"Chapter 8 - Proposed Research Agenda and Problem Statements." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2008. Research Needs Associated with Particulate Emissions at Airports. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/14160.
×
Page 25

Below is the uncorrected machine-read text of this chapter, intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text of each book. Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.

22 Concern about particulate matter (PM) emissions from air- craft engines and other emission sources at airports is increas- ing as demand for air travel grows. Without better information about PM emissions, airports will face increasing barriers to expansion. This paper has provided a detailed assessment of current knowledge on PM emissions and has identified the gaps that exist in our knowledge of airport-related PM. With this in mind and an understanding of other research initiatives that address this interest area, two problem statements and a synthesis report are proposed for future ACRP funding that address the following three high-priority research needs. 1. Characterizing PM emissions of GSE, APUs, tires, and brakes for source apportionment is our first priority pro- posal. These emissions remain either unknown, or at best, poorly characterized and represent a unique focal point for ACRP. Reliance on any existing estimates of such emissions to predict emissions inventories for future airport activities is likely to result in significant overesti- mations, which may impose unnecessary restrictions on needed expansion. 2. Developing an understanding of the atmospheric evolu- tion of aviation PM is our second priority project pro- posal. One distinguishing feature of aviation emissions is the significant presence of volatile particle precursors that condense on preexisting particles or nucleate new PM, forming nanometer-sized particles as hot exhaust gases cool. Information regarding the evolution of these particles, especially in the near field, is required to assess airport impacts on airport workers, passengers, and the local community. The mechanisms and time-scales of these processes are poorly understood, however, as are the contributions from the various sources. To address this lack of understanding, a study of the atmospheric evolution of PM emissions—coupling operational fac- tors with source emissions in the near and far field—is needed. 3. Reviewing airport emissions data for source chemical markers or fingerprints is proposed as a synthesis proj- ect. PM emissions from various airport sources combine as they move off the airport and it is difficult to isolate individual emission sources, for example, when evaluat- ing the impact of airport operations on nearby commu- nities. It would be a significant benefit to airports if there were characteristic markers or “fingerprints” that were unique to individual sources. Some airport emission sources have been studied individually and others are proposed in our top priority project. These studies will produce data such as particle size number, mass, and composition that can serve as a resource for this pro- posed synthesis project. Combined, these projects will eliminate critical knowledge gaps identified in this report. The data these projects yield will permit the airport community to prepare credible and accu- rate future impact assessments. Detailed problem statements are presented at the end of this chapter. As noted in previous chapters, PM emissions from aircraft main engines represent possibly the most significant gap in our understanding of all airport emissions. Existing emis- sions data have been acquired on older technology engines. Although these engines represent a significant fraction of the current commercial fleet they are not representative of the engines in the next generation air transportation system. FAA’s PARTNER research program, NASA, and DOD, how- ever, have already identified the development of a broader aircraft emissions database as the most pressing need for the entire air transportation system and the constituencies they serve, especially for newer technology engines. Combined they have recently proposed multiyear, multimillion-dollar research programs to address these needs. For this reason, we are not proposing that ACRP initiate main engine testing programs, however, it should continue to monitor progress in this area. This may also be a fruitful area for information C H A P T E R 8 Proposed Research Agenda and Problem Statements

about HAPs emissions from aircraft. Also, health-related im- pacts are generally not considered the province of ACRP. Each problem statement, including its estimated budget and time to complete, is self-contained. ACRP could achieve certain synergies and cost savings, however, by combining cer- tain tasks within these projects with those funded by other stakeholders such as the FAA and NASA. There are economies of scale that would reduce costs by using monitoring equip- ment and staff for multiple projects once they have been positioned at a cooperating airport. For example, after col- lecting data from the main aircraft engines, it may be less expensive to then collect data on APU emissions and GSE rather than beginning a separate project at a later date neces- sitating a redeployment of equipment. The primary analytical capabilities and instrumentation requirements are similar or identical for all of the projects. Following the completion of these projects there would be a benefit to the airport community from conducting a syn- thesis project evaluating the combined data from all projects. That analysis may produce insights that an evaluation of the data from any single project alone would not. Preparing a problem statement for this evaluation has been left for ACRP consideration in the future. The proposed synthesis report is described at the end of this chapter. Problem Statement 1 I. PROBLEM TITLE PM Emission Characterization for Source Apportion- ment for GSE, APUs, and Aircraft Tires/Brakes II. RESEARCH PROBLEM STATEMENT Particulate matter (PM) emissions from aircraft engines and other emission sources at airports are growing in importance as demand for air travel grows. Without better information about PM emissions, airports will face increasing barriers to expansion. Little or no data are available on APUs, GSE, and tire and brake emis- sions during landing operations, and their source apportionment. One distinguishing feature of all avia- tion emissions is the presence of volatile particle pre- cursors (sulfate and organic material), which will, with proportions that depend on the environment, condense on preexisting particles or nucleate new particles, form- ing nanometer-sized particles as the hot exhaust gases cool. Information regarding both the volatile and non- volatile components of these particles is required to assess airport impacts on local and regional air quality. To address this lack of data on emissions from APUs, GSE, and tires and brakes, a measurement campaign for quantifying these PM emissions at the source tailpipe and in the near field of these sources is needed. III. OBJECTIVE Perform a high quality multidimensional study of PM emissions from GSE, APUs, and brakes and tires cou- pling source emissions at the tailpipe/exhaust plane and in the near field to define specific source profiles that along with emissions inventories can produce reliable source apportionment estimation tools for airports. This study should include an investigation of the impact of alternative fuels such as ultra-low sulfur diesel (and pos- sibly biodiesel) on the nature of the PM emissions. These high quality multidimensional studies should include a thorough physical (size, number, mass) and chemical composition analysis at the emissions source and in the near field (<20m downstream). (Note: it may not be fea- sible to capture tire and brake emissions at the source on an active airport in which case it may be necessary to de- termine this in brake and tire friction laboratories.) IV. RESEARCH PROPOSED The research proposed would be envisaged to be similar to the approach defined in the APEX and Delta Atlanta Hartsfield series of experiments for aircraft engine emis- sions using point source extractive sampling. • Task 1—Select and coordinate airport measurement sites with appropriate mix of GSE, APUs, tires, and brakes. • Task 2—Develop airport specific measurement plan for available GSE, APUs, tires, and brakes, to include exit plane and near field measurements where appro- priate (e.g., APU). • Task 3—Execute measurement plan; anticipated 7 days at airport venue to complete all measurements. • Task 4—Develop a detailed equipment/incident in- ventory for GSE, APUs, and aircraft touchdowns (for tire and brake emissions) at the airport, including op- erating cycles, time of use, equipment vintage, and similar data to accurately capture all data needed to develop an emissions inventory. Document method- ology as appropriate for future use at other airports. • Task 5—Reduce and analyze data with a goal of pro- ducing emissions indices. • Task 6—Develop source apportionment computa- tional tools (or modules for existing tools such as EDMS) for GSE, APUs, tires, and brakes. • Task 7—Develop a model and associated manual for airports on PM emissions and source apportionment strategies using the tools developed in this study. • Task 8—Prepare and submit draft and final report. The anticipated product is a data set with interpretation consistent with a thorough physical (size number, mass) 23

and chemical composition analysis for each emission source studied. The results should include emission fac- tors suitable for EDMS. V. ESTIMATE OF THE PROBLEM FUNDING AND RESEARCH PERIOD Recommended Funding: A total of $500,000 is esti- mated for completing the program. Research Period: A one-year program is proposed. VI. URGENCY AND PAYOFF POTENTIAL Airports are currently being required to estimate PM emissions from airport-related sources without suffi- cient data to confidently compute the inventories. On this basis, the need to be able to quantify PM emissions from the sources of this study is critical. The payoff of the proposed research would be emissions estimates that could be used directly in developing airport inven- tories needed to support airport expansion plans and to make decisions on how to most cost-effectively mitigate PM emissions when and if needed. VII. RELATED RESEARCH The proposed work would be a new project for APUs, GSE, and tire and brake emissions. Measurement of APU emissions has been suggested as a component of future aircraft engine measurement campaigns but is not currently planned. Research on aircraft engine PM emis- sions similar to that proposed for these sources has been done under APEX (1-3), Delta/Atlanta-Hartsfield, and similar field campaigns. Recent work under PARTNER Project 11 also has looked at time-integrated emissions from an airport in total. VIII. PERSON(S) DEVELOPING THE PROBLEM Sandy Webb, Environmental Consulting Group, LLC in association with: Phil Whitefield (Whitefield Scien- tific Consulting), Richard C. Miake-Lye (Aerodyne, Inc.), and Ted Thrasher (CSSI, Inc.). IX. PROCESS USED TO DEVELOP PROBLEM STATEMENT This problem statement is the product of ACRP Project 02-04, carried out by the authors of this Prob- lem Statement. X. DATE AND SUBMITTED BY This problem statement is submitted by Sandy Webb, Environmental Consulting Group, LLC in association with: Phil Whitefield (Whitefield Scientific Consult- ing), Richard C. Miake-Lye (Aerodyne, Inc.), and Ted Thrasher (CSSI, Inc.) as part of the project report for ACRP 02-04 on December 21, 2007. Problem Statement 2 I. PROBLEM TITLE Atmospheric Evolution of Aviation PM to Identify Properties at Point of Exposure II. RESEARCH PROBLEM STATEMENT Particulate matter (PM) emissions from aircraft engines and other emission sources at airports are growing in im- portance as demand for air travel grows. Without better information about PM emissions, airports will face in- creasing barriers to expansion. One distinguishing fea- ture of all aviation emissions is the presence of volatile particle precursors (sulfate and organic material) which will, with proportions depending on the environment, condense on preexisting particles or nucleate new PM, forming nanometer-sized particles as the hot exhaust gases cool. The makeup of PM in the exhaust plume, in- cluding particle composition, size, and count, changes rapidly as the plume ages and moves across and eventu- ally off the airfield. Information regarding the evolution of these particles is required to assess airport impacts on local and regional air quality but the mechanisms and time-scales of these processes are poorly understood, as are the contributions from the various sources. To ad- dress this lack of understanding a study of the atmo- spheric evolution of PM emissions—coupling source emissions in the near field and far field with operational factors and ambient atmospheric conditions—is needed. III. OBJECTIVE Perform a measurement campaign of PM emissions from aircraft engines, GSE, and APUs that evaluates both the source emissions and the near filed and far field emissions, allowing correspondences to be made, and how they depend on operational factors and ambient atmospheric conditions. These measurements should be made in conjunction with coincident ambient PM mon- itoring in order to explore fractional source apportion- ment estimates. IV. RESEARCH PROPOSED The research proposed would be envisaged to follow the approach defined in the APEX 2 and Delta Atlanta Hartsfield studies. Task 1—Select and coordinate measurements at two airports. Important selection criteria for the chosen air- ports includes: willingness of the airports and tenant airlines to participate, ambient temperature expected during measurement campaign with a hot, dry airport and a cool, humid airport preferred to evaluate PM temperature dependence, and a mix of aircraft and GSE types representative of many commercial airports. 24

Task 2—Develop airport specific measurement plan focused on near field and far field measurements down- wind of various airport functions including runways, taxiways, and the terminal. Task 3—Execute measurement plan; anticipated 5 days at each airport venue to complete all measurement. Task 4—Reduce and analyze data. Task 5—Prepare and submit draft and final report. The anticipated product is a data set with interpretation consistent with that produced in the JETS APEX2 and Delta Atlanta Hartsfield series of studies containing emission factors suitable for EDMS and estimates of source apportionment. V. ESTIMATE OF THE PROBLEM FUNDING AND RESEARCH PERIOD Recommended Funding: A total of $600,000 is esti- mated for completing the program. Research Period: A one-year program is proposed. VI. URGENCY AND PAYOFF POTENTIAL Airports are currently being required to provide estimates of PM emissions from airport-related sources without sufficient data to confidently compute the characteristics or concentration at the airport fence-line, so the need to be able to quantify PM emissions from the sources of this study is critical. The payoff of the proposed research would be an improved understanding of how these PM emissions evolve as they are transported to exposed pop- ulations, including airport workers, passengers, and nearby residents. The resulting PM emissions data could be used directly in developing airport inventories and sup- porting risk assessments of nearby community groups. VII. RELATED RESEARCH The proposed work would be a new project related to the evolution of the PM from sources named. A sepa- rate project, ACRP 02-08 has been defined to relate airport operation to impacts in ambient air off the air- port. ACRP 02-08 will not evaluate the end state of PM evolution from airport sources (primarily aircraft and GSE), which is necessary to understand exposure impacts to airport workers, passengers, and citizens living adjacent to the airport. Some related work has been done on aircraft engine emissions under JETS/APEX2 and the Delta/Atlanta-Hartsfield projects and similar field campaigns. Recent work under PARTNER Project 11 also has looked at time-integrated emissions from an airport in total. Neither project has fully evaluated particle evolution, especially for all airport sources. VIII. PERSON(S) DEVELOPING THE PROBLEM Sandy Webb, Environmental Consulting Group, LLC in association with: Phil Whitefield (Whitefield Scientific Consulting), Richard C. Miake-Lye (Aerodyne, Inc.), and Ted Thrasher (CSSI, Inc.) IX. PROCESS USED TO DEVELOP PROBLEM STATEMENT This problem statement is the product of an ACRP project (ACRP02-04), carried out by the authors of this Problem Statement. X. DATE AND SUBMITTED BY This problem statement is submitted by Sandy Webb, Environmental Consulting Group, LLC in association with: Phil Whitefield (Whitefield Scientific Consult- ing), Richard C. Miake-Lye (Aerodyne, Inc.), and Ted Thrasher (CSSI, Inc.) as part of the project report for ACRP 02-04 on December 21, 2007. Synthesis Report Airport Emission Source Markers or Fingerprints A wide variety of PM emission sources operate at commercial airports. Their emissions combine in the ambient air and are then transported off of the airport through normal atmospheric processes. Once off the airport it is difficult to isolate individual emission sources, for example, when evaluating the impact of airport operations on workers, passengers, and nearby commu- nities. It would be a significant benefit to airports if there were characteristic markers or “fingerprints” of individual sources that were unique to those sources. Such markers would also en- hance particle deposition studies around airports, more reliably identifying the presence of airport-related emissions Many airport emission sources have been studied individ- ually (e.g., APEX 1, 2, and 3) and others are proposed in this report (e.g., Problem Statements 1 and 2). These studies will produce data such as particle size number, mass, and com- position from a range of aircraft engines, APUs, GSE, and other emission sources. Individual or combined particle characteristics (i.e., size number, mass, composition) may uniquely represent emissions from specific sources. Once the experimental data from all completed projects referenced above are available, a synthesis review should be conducted to identify unique markers or fingerprints for as many source categories as possible. This will aid airports in addressing community complaints and analyzing community impacts. As with other ACRP synthesis reports, the budget for this re- port would be $25,000; however this is a minimal budget for conducting such a study and it may not be feasible to identify markers for all airport sources in a single synthesis study. 25

Next: Chapter 9 - Literature Review and Bibliography »
Research Needs Associated with Particulate Emissions at Airports Get This Book
×
MyNAP members save 10% online.
Login or Register to save!
Download Free PDF

TRB’s Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) Report 6: Research Needs Associated with Particulate Emissions at Airports examines the state of industry research on aviation-related particulate matter emissions and explores knowledge gaps that existing research has not yet bridged.

  1. ×

    Welcome to OpenBook!

    You're looking at OpenBook, NAP.edu's online reading room since 1999. Based on feedback from you, our users, we've made some improvements that make it easier than ever to read thousands of publications on our website.

    Do you want to take a quick tour of the OpenBook's features?

    No Thanks Take a Tour »
  2. ×

    Show this book's table of contents, where you can jump to any chapter by name.

    « Back Next »
  3. ×

    ...or use these buttons to go back to the previous chapter or skip to the next one.

    « Back Next »
  4. ×

    Jump up to the previous page or down to the next one. Also, you can type in a page number and press Enter to go directly to that page in the book.

    « Back Next »
  5. ×

    To search the entire text of this book, type in your search term here and press Enter.

    « Back Next »
  6. ×

    Share a link to this book page on your preferred social network or via email.

    « Back Next »
  7. ×

    View our suggested citation for this chapter.

    « Back Next »
  8. ×

    Ready to take your reading offline? Click here to buy this book in print or download it as a free PDF, if available.

    « Back Next »
Stay Connected!