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-2- APU Emissions
Content
1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................3
1.1 Airport Emissions......................................................................................................3
1.2 Study Scope .............................................................................................................3
2 Auxiliary Power Unit ..........................................................................................................4
2.1 Technical Issues .......................................................................................................4
2.2 APU Modes of Operation..........................................................................................5
3 Aircraft and Airport Operational Issues related to APU.....................................................6
3.1 Aircraft Type .............................................................................................................6
3.2 Aircraft Stand............................................................................................................7
3.3 Zurich Airport APU Regulations................................................................................7
3.4 Airline Regulations....................................................................................................8
4 Emission Calculation Methodology ...................................................................................9
4.1 APU Modes ..............................................................................................................9
4.2 Operational Characterisation ....................................................................................9
4.3 Fuel Flow and Emissions Factors...........................................................................11
4.4 APU Emission Calculation and Results ..................................................................12
5 Mitigation Possibilities .....................................................................................................13
6 Gaps................................................................................................................................14
7 Annex ..............................................................................................................................15
7.1 Abbreviations ..........................................................................................................15
7.2 References .............................................................................................................15
7.3 Aircraft-APU Combinations.....................................................................................16
Imprint
Published by: Unique (Flughafen Zürich AG), P.O. Box, CH-8058 Zurich, www.unique.ch
Emanuel Fleuti, Peter Hofmann [environment@unique.ch]
Date: January 2005
Status: APU-EmisMeth_050118.doc
Document: 18 pages; 9 tables; 7 figures; 3 annexes
Key Words: APU – Aircraft – Airport – Emissions – GPU – Inventory – Zurich
-3- APU Emissions
1 Introduction
Within the handling emissions, APU-emissions can contribute significantly to the overall
airport emissions as well as to the local pollution concentrations. In 2003, APU contributed
with 18.5% to the NOx handling emissions.
The methodology discussed is limited to APU i.e. any other ground handling equipment is not
considered. There are quite some data on APU available today and the emission calculation
generally follows the methodology similar as applied for aircraft main engines: TimeMode
°Fuel FlowMode °Emission IndexMode.
1
The current methodology used for the emission inventory published in the airport's annual
environmental reports is still based on a simpler approach with less refined assumptions. The
methodology described in this study will be introduced sometime in the future after consultations with
local and/or national authorities.
-4- APU Emissions
Emissions of APU are similar to those of aircraft main engines. The following pollutants are
of interest for emission inventory and dispersion calculation purposes:
• NOx Nitrogen Oxides
• HC Hydrocarbons
• CO Carbon Monoxide
• PM Particulate Matter
• CO2 Carbon Dioxide
For dispersion calculations, the exhaust plume needs to be modelled, too. This requires
additional data for exhaust nozzle diameter, exhaust gas temperature and exhaust gas
velocity. Some limited information is available, e.g.
• Allied Signal 331-500: Exhaust nozzle diameter: 38.11 cm (Utzig, 2004);
• APS 500R APU: Max Continuous rated EGT: 704°C (Hamilton, 2004)
• TSCP700-4E: Continuous EGT: 585°C (JAA, 1998).
• Honeywell 36-150CX: Max. Continuous EGT: 665°C; Idle EGT: 300°C (HTG, 2004)
It has to be recognised that the operation of an APU is determined by the aircraft and the
aircraft stand as well as applicable operational procedures at the airport (e.g. restrictions).
It is possible to attribute an average (or standard) APU type to each group of aircraft if it is
equipped with one. At Zurich Airport, proper aircraft – APU attributions have been made and
entered into the system table data base (cf annex).
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AIP SWITZERLAND2
LSZH AD 2
Other stands
For pneumatic and power supply of aircraft not parked at docking stands, mobile units shall be
used.
In particular cases, the Airport Manager of the Airport Authority may permit longer service periods.
2
31 OCT 2003 and AIRAC 15 APR 2004
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Some airlines establish additional and company based procedures for the usage of APU.
These procedures can be dependent on aircraft type, actual take-off weight and
characterisation of the airport (altitude, runway length, etc).
One airline operating in and out of Zurich has established the following procedures (properly
reflecting the airport's regulations):
4. USE OF APU
• Use of APU restricted.
Use APU for ENG – start MAX 5 MIN before block off.
If GPU U/S: Start APU MAX 60 MIN before block off.
APU OPS MAX 20 MIN after block on.
For A320 taxi-in without APU approved.
• ACFT on hard stands: switch off APU when GND Power Unit (GPU) connected.
• Terminal A/B: Preconditioned air and electrical power avbl.
• Energy saving:
The crew shall decide, depending on WX COND or technical requirements, whether air
conditioning is required or not.
Generally, the air conditioning system should be switched off with AOT of APRX 10°C to 25°C.
The air conditioning system should also be switched off after PSGR have disembarked or before
leaving the ACFT.
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This APU cycle consists of 4 modes of operation (table 4-1). By reducing the actual more
detailed operations into just 4 modes enables the use of more standard calculation
procedures (similar to the aircraft LTO cycle).
Since a number of terms for APU operations are being used by the different manufacturers,
they have been assigned to the suggested APU-modes (table 4-2).
Landing Take-Off
No APU Sometimes APU as
system backup
Pier Stand:
• Sometimes APU before on-block for
large A/C
• APU for MES (incl. idle)
• APU if system is u/s
Taxi-In:
Sometimes APU Taxi-out:
for large A/C Remote Stand: Sometimes APU
• APU idle (if no GPU available) as system backup
• APU for 400 Hz (if no GPU available)
• APU for PCA in addition to GPU if
temperature requires it.
• APU for MES (incl. idle)
The turn around times of all aircraft equipped with an APU are thus covered either by APU,
GPU or fixed energy systems (FES). The model built for the emission inventory for Zurich
airport makes use of the available operational data like aircraft turn-around times, total GPU
operating times and the availability of the fixed energy system (FES). This returns APU
running times for both pier stands (figure 4-2) and remote stands (figure 4-3), also reflecting
the airport's requirements.
Large Jet 3 62 5 3
Medium Jet 65 5 3
Small Jet 65 5 3
Regional Jet 65 5 3
Business 70
Turboprop 70
GA 70
Figure 4-2: Model for Pier Stands, 2003 (FES times for Business, Turboprops and GA are dummy values, as
these aircraft categories are not parked at pier stands)
The 3 minute period for large jets upon arrival is assumed for the time delay occurring when
connecting the aircraft to the fixed ground power system (step ladder needed). The 3
minutes at the end of each cycle is bleed air, while for every cycle, a 1 minute idle time is
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assumed. The 5 minute period for jet aircraft is an average time for aircraft refusing to use
fixed power or when the system is out of service.
Large Jet 19 15 15 19 3
Medium Jet 19 15 15 19 3
Small Jet 19 15 15 19 3
Regional Jet 19 15 15 19 3
Business 6 15 9 15 23
Turboprop 2 15 30 15 6
GA 68
On remote stands, no fixed energy support is available; in this case the APU times have
been derived from the difference between the average turn-around time of the aircraft and
the average GPU operating time per cycle.
The APU/GPU/FES times can vary annually, depending on the turnaround times of aircraft,
the total GPU running time and the technical availability of the fixed energy system.
Number of Operations °TimeMode [min.] °Fuel FlowMode [kg/h] °Emission IndexMode [g/kg].
5 Mitigation Possibilities
Auxiliary power units are an important source of emissions at an airport. There may be
initiatives to reduce emissions of this source. This can either be through reduction at source
(more efficient APU, less emissions), operational restrictions (reduction of operating hours)
or alternative systems (replacement of APU operations by other means).
All pier stands are equipped with fixed ground power (115V, 400 Hz) and pre-conditioned air
(figure 5-1). Energy for these systems is taken from the central power plant at the airport.
The availability of the system is >95% of all times.
On open stands, the handling agents operate a total of 43 ground power units (GPU, figure
5-2). Aircraft are hooked up by default. The disadvantage of this system is that only electrical
power can be supplied. Depending on the outside ambient temperature, the APU must be
operated to provide preconditioned air.
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The benefits of the fixed ground power systems are convincing: In 2001, a total of 118,000
cycles of aircraft equipped with APU has been recorded (of a total of 309,000 aircraft
movements and 21 million passengers).
The use of the fixed energy system has saved 12,170 t of fuel amounting to 38,500 t of CO2
and 75 t of NOx. The NOx reduced equals 4.3% of all airport induces NOx-emissions and
60% of all APU induced NOx-emissions.
6 Gaps
Despite that some information on APU is available, there has a number of gaps been
identified that need closer attention:
7 Annex
7.1 Abbreviations
ACU Air Climate Unit
APU Auxiliary Power Unit
ASU Air Starter Unit
ECS Environmental Control System
EGT Exhaust Gas Temperature
FES Fixed Energy System
GPU Ground Power Unit
GSE Ground Support Equipment
hp Horsepower
Hz Hertz
IGV Inlet Guide Valves
kW Kilowatt
LTO Landing and Take-off Cycle
MES Main Engine Start
PCA Pre-conditioned Air
V Volts
7.2 References
AIP, 2004: Aeronautical Information Publication Zurich Airport. Unique (Flughafen Zurich
AG), Zurich, 2004.
Hamilton, 2004: http://www.hs-powersystems.com/2190600_web.pdf
Honeywell, 2000: Letter to US EPA by Honeywell; Phoenix, 29 September 2000
HTG, 2004: http://thermlab.web.arizona.edu/projects/gas_turbine_instruction.html
ICCAIA, 1999: Letter to Airport Authority Zurich from ICCAIA; Seattle, 19. August 1999
JAA, 1998: JAA/25/91-001, Issue 6, 28 May 1998
Utzig, 2004: Untersuchung der geometrischen Form und Ausbreitung von Abgasfahnen von
Flugzeugen mittels abbildender FTIR-Spektroskopie. Selina Eva Utzig, Diplomarbeit
Fachhochschule Bingen, Deutschland, Dezember 2004.
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Honeywell:
(Source: Honeywell, June 2002)
Hamilton Sundstrand:
(Source: http://www.hs-powersystems.com/2190600_web.pdf)