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(1) LOCAL AIR QUALITY STUDIES ΒΥ EUROCONTROL (EUROCONTROL)
(1) LOCAL AIR QUALITY STUDIES ΒΥ EUROCONTROL (EUROCONTROL)
Concept Document
Issue – 2.1
EEC/SEE/2005/003
SOCIETY-ENVIRONMENT-ECONOMY
(report title)
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ALAQS - Airport Local Air Quality Studies CONCEPT DOCUMENT
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Airports bring many benefits, but airport operations can have a significant impact on those
living nearby. Airport activities affect the environment in several ways, contributing to
increased noise and emissions, and degrading air quality. Airport operators and airlines face
pressure from two fronts – the real environmental impact of increasing air traffic, and
increasing public awareness of local air quality around airports. This pressure translates into
additional constraints on airport capacity which compound constraints already in place for
noise restrictions and mandatory air quality limits such as EU Directive 1999/30/EC due to
come into force in 2010 [Ref 3.].
Thus local air quality is an increasingly important issue for airports. Many airport operators
are well aware of the local air quality issues. A high profile example is the third runway issue
at London Heathrow where BAA acknowledges their stewardship for air quality issues
concerning the airport [Ref 8.]. To comply with national and international air quality directives
and strategies airport operators must carry out detailed assessments of the impact of
pollution. And, as a consequence, airports need a consistent and accurate methods and
tools to assess the current and future impact of their activities on air quality. In Europe airport
authorities can use several commercial products to assess local air quality, but the methods
employed by these tools are often not completely suitable to the complex situation at a
typical airport.
The EUROCONTROL Experimental Centre ALAQS (Airport Local Air Quality Studies)
Project addresses the strategic, methodological and practical issues surrounding air quality
assessment around airports. The aim of the project is to raise awareness among airport
operators and practitioners about ‘best practice’ emissions inventory and dispersion
modelling methods that are specifically relevant to all European airports. ALAQS achieves
this aim through case studies using the ALAQS-AV test-bed resulting in guidelines and
methods that can be applied at a Pan-European level. The GIS-based tool ALAQS-AV was
developed especially for the ALAQS project and draws on new and existing methods.
ALAQS-AV can be used to conduct airport air quality studies, or as a test-bed for comparing
different emission factors, inventory and dispersion methodologies.
In the context of demonstrating different methodologies, a number of case studies have been
commissioned by the ALAQS project at several European airports whose operators have
acknowledged experience in air quality monitoring and environmental issues. Also, some
Eastern European airports have shown interest to participate in the ALAQS project during
European air quality working groups, and case studies have also been initiated with them.
The first section of this report presents an overview of airport air quality concepts and the
history of the ALAQS project; the second section describes the scope of the ALAQS project
and provides a description of the toolset and database; the third section describes the
emission estimation methods implemented in ALAQS for different airport sources; and the
last section presents the current development on dispersion modelling and how this is
integrated in the ALAQS project, and provides details on collaboration projects conducted
with universities in the field of atmospheric chemistry.
The ALAQS-AV user manual and more detailed reports on the case studies can be found on
the EEC website: http://www.eurocontrol.int/eec/public/related_links/SEE_reports.html .
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Distribution Statement:
(a) Controlled by: EUROCONTROL Project Manager
(b) Special Limitations: None
(c) Copy to NTIS: YES / NO
Descriptors (keywords):
Local air quality - Emissions - Pollutants - Airport Sources - Dispersion modelling
Abstract:
The concept document describes the methods and philosophy of the Eurocontrol Airport
Local Air Quality Studies (ALAQS) project and the ALAQS-AV toolset (April 2005 version).
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................... 1
Overview ............................................................................................................................................. 1
History................................................................................................................................................. 1
Case Studies ...................................................................................................................................... 2
Activity profiles............................................................................................................................... 7
Gate scenarios............................................................................................................................... 7
Methodologies......................................................................................................... 11
Aircraft Emissions ............................................................................................................................. 11
Taxiway emissions....................................................................................................................... 11
Aircraft Grouping.......................................................................................................................... 13
Engine type.................................................................................................................................. 14
References............................................................................................................... 23
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LIST OF TABLES
LIST OF FIGURES
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ABBREVIATIONS
Acronym Definition
ACARE Advisory Council for Aviation Research in Europe.
ALAQS Airport Local Air Quality Studies
ALAQS-AV ALAQS tool
ANCAT Abatement of Nuisances Caused by Air Transport
ANTLE Affordable Near Term Low Emissions
AP AirPort
APU Auxiliary Power Unit
AV Arc View
BAA British Airports Authority
CAEP Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection
CITEPA Centre Interprofessionnel Technique d'études de la Pollution Atmosphérique.
CNG Compressed Natural Gas
COPERT III Computer Program to calculate Emissions from Road Transport III
Acronym for air emission inventory initially developed in the frame of the CORINE
CORINAIR
programme COoRdination d'INformation anvironnementale.
ECAC European Civil Aviation Conference
EDMS Emission and Dispersion Modeling Software (US EPA)
EEA European Environmental Agency
EEC Eurocontrol Experimental Centre
EPA US Environmental Protection Agency
FAA Federal Aviation Administration
FOI Swedish Aviation Instirute
GIS Geographical Information System
GPU Ground Power Unit
GSE Ground System Equipment
HDV Heavy Duty Vehicle
IATA International Air Transport Association
ICAO International Civil Aviation Organization
INM Integrated Noise Model
LDV Light Duty Vehicle
LPG Liquefied Petroleum Gas
LTO ICAO Landing and Take Off cycle
PC Passenger Car
SEE Social, Economic and Environment
STNA Service Technique de la Navigation Aerienne (French Civil Aviation Authority)
UNIQUE Zurich airport operator
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INTRODUCTION
Overview
The aviation industry is experiencing rapid growth and there are increasing environmental
concerns about noise pollution and the degradation of local air quality and the resulting
effects on human health (e.g. Tunstall-Pedoe et al, 19961) ). At airports in particular, there
are also non-aircraft pollution sources related to land-based transport, aircraft supply and
support equipment, fuel tanks, refuelling facilities, etc. Airports are also intermodal transport
hubs, including nearby roadways and industries; these sources can make it difficult to
determine the effect of airport-induced emissions on the environment.
To address the health concerns related to local air pollution, legislators have developed
framework directives on ambient air quality assessment. Besides the EU Framework
Directives, some European countries are also developing national Air Quality Strategies.
However, it is difficult to estimate the airport-related pollution by only monitoring the ambient
air quality, as there are also other sources that contribute to the overall pollution. Therefore,
estimating the contribution of airport sources relative to regional pollution can only be
achieved by modelling2. The modelling comprises both inventory of the emission quantities,
and dispersion modelling to estimate the atmospheric concentrations of the pollutants.
The ALAQS project aims to promote ‘best practice’ in airport air quality modelling, through a
series of studies based on the demonstration and implementation of emissions inventory and
dispersion modelling methods and parameters. To demonstrate the merits of each method,
the project uses a GIS (Geographical Information System) based toolset – ALAQS-AV. The
choice of a GIS as a test bench simplifies the process of defining the various airport
elements (runways, taxiways, buildings, etc.) and allows the spatial distribution of emissions
to be visualized.
History
EUROCONTROL has supported international and European environmental groups with
several projects related to ATM and environment. Recently local air quality issues have also
become a concern, as it is believed that this could have a constraining effect on airport
capacity in the long-term. Thus, developing a methodology to estimate the effect of airport
operations on local air quality became important, as it is complex to estimate the air quality
effect of airport operations: First the quantity and rates of emissions for each source have to
be estimated, and then plume concentrations must be calculated.
Air quality issues around airports create some health concerns for society. These concerns
are typically managed through national or regional regulatory frameworks and standards for
air pollution. A variety of pollutants are regulated: Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2), Sulphur Dioxide
(SO2), Carbon Monoxide (CO), Hydrocarbons (HC or VOC), Ozone (O3), Particulate Matter
1 Tunstall-Pedoe, N., Raper, D. W. and Holden, J. (Eds) (1996) Airports and the Environment
- liabilities and social responsibilities. Proceedings of International Conference, Manchester
Airport, July 1995. Thomas Telford, London. ISBN 0 7277 2520 3
2 Rogers H. L., Lee D. S., Raper D. W., Forster P. M. de F., Wilson C. W. and Newton P. The
impacts of aviation on the atmosphere. QINETIC/FST/CAT/TR021654
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(PM10 or PM2.5) as well as a number of heavy metals (e.g. lead). As a result, airport
authorities often have to monitor these pollutants in the airport surroundings.
The industry response to this issue is extensive. In particular the industry has commissioned
a number of studies (for example AEROCERT, AERO2K) to better understand strengths and
sources of emissions, and operational characteristics of key sources such as aircraft. ICAO
publishes engine emission certifications for several pollutants (unburned hydrocarbons,
nitrogen oxides, and carbon monoxide). At the local level, airports are working alongside
regional partners and stakeholders to assess the impact of airport emissions on local air
quality, and to develop management strategies and plans.
Governments and international organisations are also showing interest in the local air quality
issues. AERONET and ICAO WG2 have both launched working groups on air quality issues.
The SEE business area ALAQS (Airport Local Air Quality Studies) project has started to
develop Pan-European methodology in order to assess the contribution of aviation to the
surrounding local air quality. However, as there is currently no standardised European
approach, some airports have developed their own methods and approaches to conduct
ALAQS studies.
During the ALAQS project the GIS-based ALAQS-AV tool was developed to create a test bed
for different methods and emission factors. After almost two years of development ALAQS-
AV has achieved a certain maturity, but several evolutions are planned in 2005 to continue
improving the tool. The integration of dispersion modelling systems (such as LASAT) is
foreseen with the use of a ‘smoothed and shifted’ approach and studies of atmospheric
chemistry modelling issues will be undertaken based on collaborative research with Brunel
University and Richard Ramaroson of ONERA. . Also, in the context of demonstrating the
effect of using different methodologies and different parameters, some Airport case studies
were commissioned. Zurich Airport was chosen as a case study for the final development
stage, as they have acknowledged experience in air quality monitoring and modelling. This
case study follows a number of other collaborations carried out during the development
phase of ALAQS, with organisations such as Lyon Airport, Zurich Airport UNIQUE, STNA,
MMU, BAA and air quality working groups.
Case Studies
The ALAQS project received interest from European airport operators and the European
Community. Several case studies at European airports were completed and more are
planned. The added value of case studies to the project is to improve emission calculation
methodologies via the investigation and validation of different methods and parameters, as
well as to obtain operational data via expert users. In parallel, a better understanding of data
requirements is expected, together with a data availability assessment and the identification
of limitations due to non-expert users.
Initial case studies were made at Lyon Airport in 2003 and 2004. Another study at Zurich
Airport provided a comparison of three inventory methods (ALAQS-AV v1, LASPORT v1.2,
and EDMS v4.12) using different emission factors and aircraft vertical profiles. Other partners
showed interest in conducting air quality studies with ALAQS-AV and these studies started in
2004 (Bucharest Henri Coanda airport, Warsaw F. Chopin airport, and Munich Technical
University).
These case studies have shown that the data currently collected at airports does not
necessarily correspond to the data specified in the methodologies. As ALAQS-AV is used as
a test-bench for these studies, it serves to identify issues concerning the data collection,
which in turn gives important feedback for improvement of the tool and the methods. Method
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improvements may also be initiated through sensitivity analyses using the case study data,
and field measurements are planned to validate dispersion modelling methods.
The case studies can also be used to extrapolate future scenario estimations.
Following each case study, a report will be published comprising the following sections:
Study definition
Data collection
ALAQS-AV set-up
4D emission inventory simulation (i.e. 3 dimensions for x, y, z axis plus time)
Presentation of results
The outputs of the case studies are used as feedback for review of the methods and
parameters.
For future case studies, new environmental scenarios, which include forecasts to future
years, will be considered together with the resulting dispersion modelling.
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Airside vehicles include any vehicle that circulates on airside service roads inside the
operational area of the airport, such as service vehicles, coaches, tankers, and catering
trucks. Note that vehicles related to on-stand (gate) operations are catered for in the Ground
Support Equipment (GSE) emission category.
Landside vehicles include all road vehicle movements outside the airport operational area.
Vehicles include passenger cars and taxis, coaches, Heavy Duty Vehicles (HDV), Light Duty
Vehicle (LDV) and in the near future light and heavy rail.
For each of these sources ALAQS-AV proposes one or more methodologies to calculate the
emissions (see later sections). Figure 1 shows an example of some different airport
emission sources, with a different colour per source category.
GSE GSE
QUEUE
Pollutants
Numerous pollutants are emitted from aviation fuel combustion and other airport activities,
many of which are important due to their health effects. Key pollutants of interest for airport
local air quality studies are CO, VOC, NOx, PM and ozone; keeping in mind that they are not
necessarily the same as regulated pollutants (As they are part of national monitoring strategy
while the airport pollutants are local interest).
The table below shows all pollutants and those which are relevant to airports and those
modelled by ALAQS.
Carbon Monoxide: The major sources of CO within airport environs are: petrol- and diesel-
fuelled motor vehicles, stationary plants and aircraft engines.
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When a new project is started the user also specifies the study global parameters such as
the airport location (latitude/longitude). This will ensure that the project data layers can be
geo-referenced with other airports or regional map data.
Based on the background airport map the user captures the different emission sources. For
aircraft emissions four feature layers need to be captured: runways, queue areas, taxiways
and gates (or stands). For non-aircraft emissions four additional layers are captured:
stationary and area sources, roadways and parking lots. For each feature captured the user
has to enter the required attributes.
The simplified data entry and study management in ALAQS-AV uses some aggregation
techniques for describing the behaviour of some fixed sources: the temporal activity profiles
and the gate scenarios.
Activity profiles
Temporal activity profiles (also known as ‘operational profiles’ in EDMS, or ‘time courses’ in
LASPORT) are important attributes of non-aircraft emission data. They are intended to
capture the typical intensity of an emission source’s activity for each hour of the year, relative
to the annual total. Activity profiles are derived from available hourly, daily and monthly
operational data and statistics. Those figures are expected to be provided by airport
operators. Wherever possible, activity profiles are created based on local data for the airport
studied; if local data is unavailable, default airport activity profiles may be substituted. Once
valid profiles have been obtained, they can easily be captured in ALAQS-AV through the
activity profiles definition window. The subsequent repartition of the emissions is much more
detailed from both the geographical and temporal point of view.
Aircraft emissions in ALAQS-AV use a movement based method. LTO (landing take-off
cycle) methods, which are defined by the ICAO, are sufficient for calculating the total
emissions exhausted over a selected period. However, a movement based method is
essential for accurately describing the spatial/temporal distribution of emissions, since
aircraft will use different runway/gate combinations for arrival and departure.
The aircraft movements table is provided by the user in database format. For each
movement, the table specifies the date, time, type of aircraft (ICAO code), type of operation
(arrival/departure), gate (stand) and runway. The movement table can either be actual
movement data collected from the airport, or data generated by a simulator (e.g. TAAM3 or
RAMS).
Gate scenarios
Gate scenarios are a means to define for each ‘gate type’ – ‘aircraft group’ combination the
amount of pollutants released at the gate during departure and arrival operations. A gate
scenario includes emissions from the GSE (Ground Support Equipment), an APU (Auxiliary
Power Unit) and a GPU (Ground Power Unit). Aircraft taxi routes have to be defined between
gates and runways (and vice versa). For each taxi route, taxiway segments are selected from
gate to runway or vice versa (The new version of ALAQS selects automatically). There are
two ways to define the taxi route network in ALAQS-AV: one is automatic and based on the
theoretical shortest geometric route while the other is based on a manual selection of the
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taxiway segments, which allows depicting the operational situation of a particular airport. The
latest method appears to be necessary as it happens that most of the time the theoretical
shortest routes cannot be used. Once defined the taxi routes are used during the emission
calculation, and the ALAQS-AV tool allocating a taxi route to each movement depending on
its origin and destination (i.e. gate & runway for a departure, and runway & gate for an
arrival). Gate emissions are computed for each movement at the gate and time specified in
the movement table.
The hourly emissions can be calculated by ALAQS-AV once all the emission sources and
their attributes have been captured in the system. The prerequisite data includes the above
inputs, and also the following list of items (for which default figures are available in the
ALAQS-AV default database):
• data for aircraft engine emissions
• engine start emissions
• aircraft profiles
• When creating a new project, the user must first specify:
- Airport location (latitude/longitue elevation)
- Vehicle fleet year and fleet country
- Emission methodology for parkings and roadways
- Average temperature
ALAQS-AV then creates a project database based on the default database (an ESRI
personal geodatabase).
Before launching an emission calculation process a movements table needs to be selected
and a calculation period defined by means of a start and end data/time. The ALAQS-AV
system then automatically performs the following actions:
• merge of all the different types of emission features in a single layer called Merged
Sources.
• calculation of hourly emissions for the selected period, for each source
• generation of a log table listing processing messages, warnings and errors
• storage of results in the database (also an ESRI personal geodatabase). Calculations
for different periods of time will automatically be stored in different results files, the
name of which includes the date and time of the run of the model.
The merging, calculation and storage of results only happen when the emission calculation
process is launched i.e. not when a new project is created. A new results database is created
for each calculation process.
Results of the calculation process can be displayed by means of a visualisation tool, as
shown in the example below. The user selects a period and a pollutant, and the intensity of
the emissions is then represented spatially through a graduated colour scheme so that high
and low emission areas are easily identified. Since runway emissions (climb-out and
approach) occur in a vertical plane above the runway they are projected on a horizontal
plane along the runways for visualisation.
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For a full explanation of how to use the ALAQS-AV tool, refer to the ALAQS-AV Application
Reference Manual [ref.2].
ALAQS-AV was used as above for the case studies for Lyon Airport, and then for Zurich
Airport, to compare three different methodologies which are described later in this report
(ALAQS, LASPORT, EDMS).
Future versions of ALAQS-AV should incorporate modifications and improvements resulting
from the users' feedback collected through the case studies.
ALAQS-AV is coded in VBA. To help with distribution issues future versions may be
implemented as a DLL. The DLL will be compiled from VB code.
Aircraft emission factors currently included in the ALAQS-AV database originate from EDMS
4.11 with PM emission approximations from UNIQUE (Zurich). LASPORT emission indices
for new, present and old technology aircraft have also been included
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EDMS sources are : GE, Honeywell, Pratt & Whitney, Rolls Royce, ICAO etc
DATABANK
• Aircraft/Engine
• GSE/APU ALAQS GIS
• Road Traffic Application
• Stationary sources
• Airports
• Aircraft profiles
Import into
ALAQS-DB
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Methodologies
Aircraft Emissions
Aircraft exhaust emissions are calculated for the operating modes below, which follow ICAO
engine thrust standards (7%, 30%, 85%, 100%):
Engine Start
Taxi in and taxi out (TX, 7% thrust )
Queuing (TX, 7% thrust)
Approach (AP, 30% thrust)
Landing roll (AP, 30% thrust)
Takeoff roll (TO, 100% thrust)
Climb-out (CL, 85% thrust)
Except for Engine Start emissions, aircraft engine emissions are calculated for each
movement (departure/ arrival) as the product of the time-in-mode, the fuel flow rate and the
emission factor for the appropriate engine thrust setting engaged. The resulting equation is
shown below:
Taxiway emissions
Taxiway emissions are released by aircraft engines while an aircraft travels from the gate to
the runway and vice versa.
The ALAQS-AV method calculates emissions per movement which are stored in the results
database as emissions per hour for each taxiway segment. However, emissions are
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calculated on the assumption that all engines are idling at 7% power thrust setting (mode
TX), even if the actual taxi speed varies! This, arguably minor, limitation is due to the ICAO
engine emissions database which only provides emissions indices for 4 discrete thrust
settings (7%, 30%, 85%, 100%).
In ALAQS-AV it is assumed that aircraft will take the first available taxiway after the landing
roll is completed. Since separate taxi routes should be defined for each of the exit taxiways
normally used by arriving aircraft, more than one taxi route can be defined for a gate-runway
combination. Taxi routes have an arrival and departure section each made up of one or more
taxiway segments.
In ALAQS-AV taxi routes between gates and runways are selected automatically from the
user-defined taxi routes based on the end roll position (for arrivals). The end roll position is
the sum of the arrival profile’s landing roll and the touchdown offset specified for the runway.
The selection of a taxi route is thus done on four criteria: Gate, Runway, Arrival/Departure
flag (A or D) and End Roll Position. For a gate-runway combination the end roll position is
compared to the routes’ exit positions. The route corresponding to the exit position situated
immediately ahead of the end roll position is selected.
If the on-block/off-block time is specified (i.e. the total taxi time is known) the time for each
taxi section is adjusted so that the total of the taxi times and queue time corresponds to the
total taxi time.
Vertical profiles.
The ALAQS-AV default vertical profiles used in take-off, approach and landing are derived
from EDMS and then linearly extrapolated from 1000ft to 3000ft (and vice versa for the
arrival profile). During recent ALAQS case studies the default profiles were replaced by the
INM (Integrated Noise Model) profiles, which give a more realistic estimate of the vertical
profiles. In the April2005 version of ALAQS-AV the default profiles were replaced by the INM
profiles. Nevertheless, once more complete profile, thrust and fuel flow data are available for
LTO phases for the majority of aircraft types these should be introduced into ALAQS-AV and
noise modelling. Figure 5 shows an example comparison of two such profiles for B772.
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1000 1.05
900
800 1
600 0.95
Altitude (m)
500
400 0.9
300
200 0.85
100
0 0.8
0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000
Distance (m)
1000 ft limit INM vertical profile EDMS vertical profile INM thrust EDMS thrust
Figure 5: Climb-out profiles - ALAQS default and INM for a Large Jet (B772)
It is possible to integrate other vertical profiles for the LTO emissions. An example was the
Zurich case study where the profiles were derived from LASPORT4 version 1.5, which are
based on the German AzB classes. The aircraft group profiles together with the AzB classes
are:
Propeller (P1.4)
Turboprop (P2.1)
Business (S1.0)
Regional (S5.1)
Small (S5.2)
Medium (S6.1)
Large (S7)
Aircraft Grouping.
ALAQS-AV has its own aircraft grouping based on various sources, including the
manufacturers. The ALAQS aircraft categories are similar to those used for LASPORT.
Aircraft grouping is used for:
Gate emissions (APU/GPU and engine starts)
Aircraft emission results - repartition by group
Time in each mode (LTO cycle: Approach, Taxi, Take-off, climb)
4 http://www.janicke.de/htm/e_home.htm
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The ALAQS-AV default emission indices for APU, GPU, Engine Start and GSE are defined
on an aircraft group basis when the gate scenarios method is used to calculate gate
emissions.
The aircraft grouping method is used in other models, but the there are some differences
which can lead to differences in emissions per group. As an example, Figure 6 below
indicates the differences in aircraft population between ALAQS-AV, EDMS and LASPORT
due to variations in grouping for a specific traffic sample (Zurich airport case study – 2003,
[Ref 7.]). The main difference of almost 30 000 movements (out of around 250 000) is
between small jets and business jets, with the ALAQS data including more in the business jet
group.
140000
120000
100000
Number of aircraft
80000 ALAQS
LASPORT
60000 EDMS
40000
20000
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Engine type.
By default there is one engine type allocated per aircraft type (ICAO code) in the ALAQS
aircraft table (tbl_aircraft). This is the engine that is most commonly fitted on that type of
aircraft (year 2003) based on JP fleet database (Back Aviation). This can lead to large errors
in emissions because emissions factors vary widely from one engine type to another and two
aircraft of the same type can have different engine combinations. However, one of the
ALAQS project objectives is dedicated to improving the databases used for aircraft engine
type so that the maximum number of aircraft-type / engine type combinations is included. As
a consequence, in the latest version of ALAQS the engine type can be derived from the
aircraft registration number, if the latter is known.
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The ALAQS GSE methodology requires that aircraft type, Stand and arrival/departure times
are provided by the aircraft movement journal. An overview of the methodology is given in
Figure 7.
In ALAQS systems defaults values are available for the above technical and operational
parameters per aircraft type. Further details are given in the APAQS-AV GSE Methodology
handbook.
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Engine starts
Engine start emissions are calculated as mass of pollutant per movement (departure) as a
function of aircraft group.
The current version of ALAQS-AV has values for HC derived from LASPORT. Other
pollutants are assumed to be negligible at engine start-up as the emissions indices are all
zero. ALAQS-AV has extended aircraft grouping as shown in Table 3 below.
Engine start emissions can have a significant impact on the total HC emissions (unburnt fuel)
at an airport.
Vehicle Emissions
The ALAQS project is focused on European airports, thus the ALAQS-AV vehicle emissions
method is closely tied to the COPERT-III method, which is the EU recommended model for
calculating emissions from road transport for use in CORINAIR (COoRdination d’INformation
Environmentale) emissions inventories. COPERT-III is based on vehicle populations in EU
member states and is aimed at providing a transparent and standardised methodology and
data. COPERT-III is also conforming to international reporting protocols, conventions and EU
legislation.
Emission factors from COPERT III cover the pollutants CO, NOx, VOC and PM10, and the
vehicle categories PC (cars, motorbikes, scooters), LDV (light trucks) and HDV (heavy
trucks, buses and coaches). These are implemented in a database that contains national
fleet statistics and distributions for European countries.
COPERT–III was designed for all road transport; for use in an airport context we consider
that COPERT-III could be adapted by modifying the proportions of PC/LDV/HDV to better
reflect traffic serving an airport.
The ALAQS methodology for estimating vehicle emissions is summarised in Figure 8 and
described further below.
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RVP,
V, Tmax, Tmin,
Calculate Aggregated Emission Factors for
PC, LDV, HDV
After a review, it was decided to base the ALAQS method on a localised (airport scale and
vehicle fleet) version of the COPERT III methodology. The ALAQS method simplifies the
calculation by grouping vehicles into 3 classes (PC, LDV and HDV). Similar classes are used
in the CITEPA method (September 2002) and are intended to simplify the task of counting
vehicles circulating in the study area.
Airport land-side operations (activity outside the airport) are generally country/region specific.
For example vehicle type distribution in one country is different from one country to another.
The choice of a country to set up airport specific characteristics for road vehicles should rely
on the choice of an EU15 country whose vehicle fleet is similar to the one of the country of
the airport under assessment. This is necessary in order to provide a realistic emissions
inventory for local conditions.
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Although the ALAQS methodology above is recommended according to the results obtained
from previous ALAQS case studies, the ALAQS-AV toolset also allows the user to choose
alternative vehicle emissions methods; these are EDMS (EPA MOBILE5a), CITEPA or the
LASPORT (German/Swiss Scenario) method. Additional methods may be added if required
by trials.
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ALAQS - Airport Local Air Quality Studies CONCEPT DOCUMENT
representation of pollutants, and collaboration will be made via AERONET using the Richard
Ramaroson Chemistry model5.
Figure 9 shows the dispersion models and process as integrated in the ALAQS project for
2005 and later years.
The data necessary for more realistic dispersion modeling are thorough meteorological data for the
airport concerned. Airports are more fortunate than urban and rural areas as they can use meteo
observations from the airport’s own meteo station, augmented as necessary by national data, either
historical or predicted. ALAQS-AV requires meteo data in sufficient detail and format that can be used
for all the dispersion models under test. This may vary from standard weather observations at ground
level to complete description of the atmosphere up to the boundary layer within 10km of the airport on
an hourly basis for a complete year.
It is expected that the availability and resolution of meteo data will vary from one airport to another. At
the same time it recognized that great progress has been made in the accuracy of local meteorological
models as opposed to meso scale models which extend down to the order of 12km resolution. Local
models can given precision of 2 to 3 meters and 50 or so vertaicl aincrements from ground level to
50000ft [Ref 9.].
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Future Work
The aviation industry is making considerable efforts to reduce environmental impacts, using
both direct and indirect means. Direct efforts are focused on the implementation of different
operating procedures to reduce emissions, for example the avoidance of starting aircraft
engines at gates. Indirect efforts result in a net improvement in environmental impact through
the implementation of new equipment or procedures that arise from some other requirement,
perhaps due to safety or economic reasons (for example fuel or maintenance reductions).
Future activities in the ALAQS project are focused on three threads
Support to ICAO CAEP Working Group 2 – air quality
Support to AERONET thematic research network
Trade-off analyses for future scenarios
The ALAQS project aims to serve the European airport community by contributing to the
ICAO CAEP Working Group 2 and the AERONET thematic research network. The future
activities in ALAQS are closely tied to providing support to these bodies by conducting
studies and trials of different methods, including the evaluation of new procedures and data –
e.g. emissions factors
In the area of trade-off analyses, EUROCONTROL are particularly interested in evaluating
the trade-off issues between environmental constraints (noise and emissions) and airport
capacity, whilst maintaining a safe air transport system. Trade-off analysis is particularly
relevant to future scenarios relying on simulated and predicted traffic. Future work will be
directed at improving the knowledge and procedures for such analysis, together with the
integration of modelling tools used for Noise, ATM and airport capacity (such as PACS,
RAMS, SIMMOD, TAAM).
Yamartino et al [Ref 6.] propose several areas of work which could be included in the scope
of ALAQS, including:
Investigate methods and guidelines for hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) generated by
aircraft and GSE.
Review and evaluate methods for modelling particulate matter (PM10, PM2.5 and
smaller) and aerosols relevant to aircraft engines.
A comparison between Gaussian and Lagrangian dispersion models – EDMS and
LASAT – in the context of airport air quality studies.
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References
[Ref 1.] IATA Fuel Action Plan – guidance material for best practices for fuel and environmental
management. Version 26 November 2004.
[Ref 2.] ALAQS-AV v2 Application Reference Manual. June 2005. EEC Document (available on request)
[Ref 3.] EU 15.10.20.30 - Monitoring of atmospheric pollution http://europa.eu.int/eur-
lex/en/lif/reg/en_register_15102030.html
[Ref 4.] Tunstall-Pedoe, N., Raper, D. W. and Holden, J. (Eds) (1996) Airports and the Environment -
liabilities and social responsibilities. Proceedings of International Conference, Manchester Airport
July 1995. Thomas Telford, London. ISBN 0 7277 2520 3
[Ref 5.] Rogers H. L., Lee D. S., Raper D. W., Forster P. M. de F., Wilson C. W. and Newton P. The impacts
of aviation on the atmosphere. QINETIC/FST/CAT/TR021654
[Ref 6.] Yamartino R.J., Builtjes P.J.H., Stern R.M., Status of current Level of development and
understanding in the field of modelling pollutant dispersion at airports, July 2004, Free university of
Berlin – Institute of Meteorlogy, UBA-FB.
[Ref 7.] Celikel A, Duchene N, Fleuti E. Fuller I.C, Hofmann P, Moore T, Silue M. Airport Local Air
Quality Studies Case Study: Emission Inventory for Zurich Airport with Different Methodologies.
EUROCONTROL SEE report, Report SEE/2004/010
[Ref 8.] BAA website. Sustainable development - Air quality :
http://www.baa.co.uk/main/corporate/sustainable_development_frame.htmll
[Ref 9.] N Nelson, A K Mirza, K N Weaver. An Assessment of Alternative Sources of Met Data for Use in
Dispersion Modelling. UK Meteorological office. ADMLC/2002/1.
http://www.admlc.org.uk/documents/ADMLC20021.pdf
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