Air Quality Studies at Ukrainian Airports

Abstract

Sustainability of aviation must be provided to limit the harmful influence and protect public health and the environment. As a rule, national and international regulations aim to reduce ambient air pollution from the aviation sector. Ukraine and other countries have historically adopted international regulations concerning air quality to protect public health and the natural environment. Local regulations also regulate it. However, these documents cover mainly stationary emission sources. In contrast, mobile sources, especially aircraft, are not considered, although, unlike most transportation modes, aircraft travel great distances at various altitudes, generating emissions that potentially impact air quality. This paper was aimed to study the principles and methods to monitor air pollution from aircraft engines at main airports of Europe, north America, and Asia. Based on measurement campaign analysis at some airports of the world and modelling results by complex model PolEmiCa (Pollution and Emission Calculation), the method and technical characteristics for measurement system detect the aircraft engine emissions. The developed practical recommendations were realised at Ukrainian airports and used for validation of model PolEmiCa. Thus, the modelling results for each engine are in good agreement with the results of measurements by the AC32M Nitrogen Oxides (NOX) analyser system due to considering the jet and plume-regime during an experimental investigation at Boryspol airport. Analysis of measured instantaneous concentration demonstrates a high correlation with the runway movements and take-off at Zhulyany airport.