1 research outputs found
Corelease of Genotoxic Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons and Nanoparticles from a Commercial Aircraft Jet Engine – Dependence on Fuel and Thrust
Jet engines are important contributors to global CO2 emissions and release enormous numbers of ultrafine particles
into different layers of the atmosphere. As a result, aviation emissions
are affecting atmospheric chemistry and promote contrail and cloud
formation with impacts on earth’s radiative balance and climate.
Furthermore, the corelease of nanoparticles together with carcinogenic
polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) affects air quality at airports.
We studied exhausts of a widely used turbofan engine (CFM56–7B26)
operated at five static thrust levels (idle, 7, 30, 65, and 85%) with
conventional Jet A-1 fuel and a biofuel blend composed of hydro-processed
esters and fatty acids (HEFA). The particles released, the chemical
composition of condensable material, and the genotoxic potential of
these exhausts were studied. At ground operation, particle number
emissions of 3.5 and 0.5 × 1014 particles/kg fuel
were observed with highest genotoxic potentials of 41300 and 8800
ng toxicity equivalents (TEQ)/kg fuel at idle and 7% thrust, respectively.
Blending jet fuel with HEFA lowered PAH and particle emissions by
7–34% and 65–67% at idle and 7% thrust, respectively,
indicating that the use of paraffin-rich biofuels is an effective
measure to reduce the exposure of airport personnel to nanoparticles
coated with genotoxic PAHs (Trojan horse effect)