Environmental impact of Aviation operations

Aviation has a huge impact on the environment, from noise pollution, to the large carbon footprint the engines create, to the waste that becomes run off. Airplanes are economically important due to the revenue that comes from traveling, business, exports, imports, and tourism. The most dangerous kind of pollution that comes from aviation is the gasoline. The main type of gas used in aviation is called Aviation Gasoline (AvGas) which uses a dangerous organic compound called “Tetraethyl Lead” (TEL). This type of lead or any kind of lead is dangerous towards human health, especially to infants and young children. This low lead gas is typically used for General Aviation piston aircraft. Jet aircraft and turbine-powered, propeller aircraft use an aviation type kerosene jet fuel. This fuel is dangerous to the environment due to its carbon dioxide pollution it creates when burned. When thinking about carbon emissions in transportation, cars and trucks come to mind first. Airplanes also produce carbon emissions just as bad as cars do.

The FAA has done research to eliminate their use of leaded aviation fuels, but the alternatives are not as successful as the leaded fuel. TEL is important in AvGas because of the effectiveness it has in boosting octane. Octane is the measure of performance of a fuel as it burns in an engine combustion chamber. It is an important factor in a safe operation of an aircraft or car because of the high compression, high displacement, high performance engines that require high octane levels. High performance engines have allowed aircraft to operate at higher speeds with more payloads. Alternatives to jet fuel can include the use of biofuels.