As the need to protect the environment imposes tighter restrictions on airport operators, Aviation Fibreturf provides a natural low impact alternative.
Global warming is a serious issue that industries all around the world are urgently being forced to address. Carbon dioxide emissions are directly linked to energy consumption, and the global airport industry is responsible for 2% of global CO2 emissions each year; UK aviation emissions alone grew by 11% in the last year. There is growing pressure to curb this trend.
The obvious culprit is the combustion of fuel in the aircraft. Less visible is the significant amount of energy involved in the physical construction and ongoing repair and maintenance of the airport infrastructure.
Together with the resultant carbon dioxide emissions, an amazing chain of energy consumption can be tracked for every square meter of concrete or asphalt paved runways, shoulders, taxiways, aprons, perimeter and fire roads, service paths and car parks laid within the airport boundaries.
The chain begins with the production of bitumens and cements to bind the pavement, with the transportation of crude oil in super-tankers amounting to over 39% of the energy used in asphalt production. The production of cement has an even higher “cost” – over 60% of the energy used in concrete manufacture. Add to this the energy consumed during aggregate production and transportation, pre-processing, mixing and storage operations, and finally the ground preparation and installation of the pavement; it can be seen that hard paving is a serious contributor to carbon emissions.