Recycling of Aircraft: State of the Art in 2011

Recently, the end-of-service life for aging aircraft and related parts has become a key subject in recycling industries worldwide. Over the next 20 years, approximately 12,000 aircraft currently utilized for different purposes will be at the end of service. Thus, reclaiming retired aircraft by environmentally responsible methods while retaining some of the value becomes a significant need. Recycling aircraft components and using these in different applications will reduce the consumption of natural resources as well as landfill allocations. Compared to the production of virgin materials, recycling aircraft will also reduce air, water, and soil contaminations, as well as energy demand. In the present study, we have investigated the environmental benefits of recycling and reusing aircraft components in the same or similar applications as low-energy input materials. During the aircraft recycling, most of the aircraft components can be recycled and reused after reasonable modifications and investments. 1. Introduction “Wastes [end-of-life material] from one industrial process can serve as the raw materials for another, thereby reducing the impact of industry on the environment” (Frosch and Gallopoulos, 1989) [1]. This statement is one of the major motivations for the authors to focus on recycling aircraft and related components. Recycling aircraft is a series of activities: collecting recyclable materials and devices from aircraft that would otherwise be considered waste and sorting and processing those useful materials into raw materials for future aircraft and other industrial applications. Hundreds of recyclable materials are available in aging aircraft, and this number continually increases, based on economic and technological developments in the reuse field. At the end of life (EoL), aircraft are often placed in aircraft graveyards/parking places where these sit and degrade as the result of environmental influences, such as UV light, moisture, and oxygen/ozone. In most cases, the useful materials from aircraft are high tech and should be valued for future production and materials conservation. The following section will focus on aircraft recycling companies, aircraft recycling methodologies, and related references. Environmental benefits associated with aircraft recycling and rising market perception of regained products will be reviewed. Generally, aircraft are composed of a number of different materials and devices, including long and short carbon and glass fiber composites, wires, aluminum, titanium and steel alloys, foam, textiles and carpet,