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69-829: Aircraft recycling is being addressed by multiple companies through individual environmental programmes. AFRA aims to provide an international perspective, advising aviation industry stakeholders on the legal, regulatory and technical issues of aircraft recycling and promoting greater cooperation among governments and industries. Of the 400 to 450 aircraft scrapped and disassembled globally each year, around one third are parted out and disassembled by AFRA members, producing each year more than 30,000 tons of aluminium and 1,800 tons of other specialty alloy metals (including titanium , nickel , magnesium , and more) for recycling. In 2009, AFRA members dismantled more than 9,000 aircraft, including 7,000 commercial and 2,000 military. AFRA believe more value can be extracted from end-of-life activity. AFRA

138-1148: A rotor required for a pump or motor. This “spare” requirement would be determined by redundancy of equipment used in the industrial processes. 2. Consumables can be divided into two groups: 3. Inspection spares or outage spares typically refer to those spare parts used in conjunction with Capital Parts during planned overhauls/scheduled inspections and maybe reused but typically are not repairable and are discarded after removal from use if Inspection Spares are damaged. These Inspection Spares are sometimes mis-characterized as Capital spares (vs Capital Parts) and are also confounded with Inspection Consumables, which must be replaced at every inspection/outage.  (an example of inspection spares would be bearings and mechanical seals, large bolts and nuts.) 4. Operational spares typically refer to those spare parts that are used during operation of equipment and would not require planned overhauls/scheduled inspections to replace. In an industrial setting, operational spares would be gages, valves (solenoid, MOVs that are in redundancy), transmitters, I/O boards, small AC/DC power supplies, etc.) (for

207-402: A car, it would windshield wiper) In logistics , spare parts can be broadly classified into two groups, repairables and consumables . Economically, there is a tradeoff between the cost of ordering a replacement part and the cost of repairing a failed part. When the cost of repair becomes a significant percentage of the cost of replacement, it becomes economically favorable to simply order

276-416: A catalytic conversion process at low temperatures to convert rubber , thermosets, and thermoplastics into usable hydrocarbon byproducts. This process was shown to reduce hazardous substance presence by 80%. Other inorganic residues such as heavy metals and oxides can be re-melted to eliminate their toxicity. For large metal components that constitute the body of the aircraft, shredding is required before

345-445: A composite is carbon fiber , precautions must be taken when melting the material for recycling to avoid the release of electrically conductive fibers that can cause electrical interference in devices. Limitations in recycling aircraft materials include cost, impurities in alloys, hazardous materials, and quality of recycled components. The aircraft recycling industry is challenged by the dispersed location of recycling centers, and

414-494: A decrease in global greenhouse gas emissions. For example, recycling aluminum requires 95% less energy than producing virgin aluminum (non-recycled). However, when composites are recycled, the process must be done with the proper care to avoid environmental and safety issues. Certain composites can be classified as hazardous waste depending on the chemicals that coat them such as hexavalent chromium so extra precautions must be made when recycling these materials. Additionally, if

483-459: A growing carbon fiber market. The aircraft lessor Avolon counted a total of 2,100 aircraft in storage during 2017. Of these, 48% were deemed unsuitable for future flight: making them viable candidates for aircraft recycling. Aircraft that have been parked for three years have a 50% likelihood of being redeployed for flight, and a 20% likelihood after five years of storage. Even though the global jet transport statistics are expected to double over

552-423: A large amount of flexibility in meeting reuse specifications. An airliner can be dismantled in 1,500-2,000 parts (1,000 or so LRUs ) in 30–60 days including engines, landing gear, auxiliary power units and components but it can be parked a year or two to maximize the part harvesting. A metal aircraft can be recycled for up to 85-90% by mass, and can be maintained for composite airframes as the industry adapts with

621-456: A long life or a small chance of failure , would cause a long shutdown of equipment because it would take a long time to get a replacement for them. Capital parts are typically repaired or replaced during planned overhauls/scheduled inspections.  As description implies, these Capital Parts are typically expensive and are depreciated over time. Examples of capital parts include pumps and motor sets used in industrial plants, or impeller or

690-541: A lower price. There is no UK or EU legislation which states that spare parts have to be available for any set period of time, but some trade associations require their members to ensure products are not rendered useless because spare parts are not available. The 'six year rule' in the UK Sale of Goods Act 1979 relates to the time period for enforcing claims that goods were defective when sold, not to whether spare parts are available to repair them, and section 23(3) of

759-432: A network of AFRA authorized recycling centers across the globe to deal with end-of-life planes in an environmentally friendly manner. AFRA has since grown, and as of 2022 consisted of 80 members which include stakeholders in all aspects of the aircraft recycling process from manufacturers to materials recyclers. In 2013, Southwest Airlines created a recycling and community initiative, “Repurpose with Purpose,” to upcycle

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828-434: A new and clearer definition of an ‘airworthiness event’, setting out the circumstances under which the industry feels it is appropriate to convey information about the history of parts. Aircraft recycling Aircraft recycling is the process of scrapping and disassembling retired aircraft, and re-purposing their parts as spare parts or scrap . Airplanes are made of around 800 to 1000 parts that can be recycled, with

897-451: A replacement part. In such cases, the part is said to be "beyond economic repair" (BER), and the percentage associated with this threshold is known as the BER rate. Analysis of economic tradeoffs is formally evaluated using Level of Repair Analysis (LORA). Repairable parts are parts that are deemed worthy of repair, usually by virtue of economic consideration of their repair cost. Rather than bear

966-593: A result, operational availability is impaired. Industrialization has seen the widespread growth of commercial manufacturing enterprises, such as the automotive industry , and later, the computer industry . The resulting complex systems have evolved modular support infrastructures, with the reliance on auto parts in the automotive industry, and replaceable computer modules known as field-replaceable units (FRUs). Military operations are significantly affected by logistics operations. The system availability, also known as mission capable rate , of weapon systems and

1035-461: A single homogenous alloy from scraps. It is estimated that roughly 400-450 airplanes are disassembled and recycled annually which drives the $ 2 billion aircraft parts market. The main challenge in aircraft recycling is ensuring that the amount of metal impurities within recycled aircraft material is low so that they can be reused in other airplanes. Some major limitations in aircraft recycling include cost, impurities in alloys, hazardous materials, and

1104-549: A so-called economic order quantity . From a commercial perspective, spare parts can be classified into three main types: OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) Parts: These parts are produced by the same manufacturer that made the original equipment. Aftermarket Parts : These are replacement parts made by companies other than the original manufacturer. They can serve as cost-effective substitutes for OEM parts. Used or Second - Hand Parts: These can be either OEM or aftermarket parts that have been refurbished and resold at

1173-620: A standard for how to safely and responsibly deal with end-of-life airplanes that consisted of a three-step approach: decommissioning, disassembly and dismantling. In 2006, Boeing founded the Aircraft Fleet Recycling Association , known as AFRA, to set up industry-wide guidelines for the dismantling and recycling of airplanes. The company joined forces with 10 others including Rolls-Royce , Europe Aviation, and Air Salvage International to create an industry code of conduct and collection of best practices. Together they formed

1242-577: A steel alloy, the properties of the steel are especially valuable for recycling into aircraft use. Oftentimes, different alloys are implemented into different components of the aircraft which allows for clearer steel separation. Components such as landing gears, tail sections, flaps, wings, and fuselages are composed primarily of either 2xxx or 7xxx series steels , and are separated upon aircraft deconstruction. Seats can be worth up to $ 5000 and an aircraft landing gear can be sold for upwards of $ 1M. Cables, batteries and other electronic waste are fed into

1311-440: Is carbon fiber . If the carbon fiber is recycled, it does not lose its mechanical properties, which can be potentially used for the following applications: structural, acoustic and thermal insulation, and air and liquid filtration. Recycled carbon fibers are valued at up to $ 50 per pound of material. The recycling of composite materials is more challenging than metal alloys because the industry has yet to develop methods to reuse

1380-421: Is also associated with technological companies and the academic community regarding research and development of recycling technologies. AFRA has grown from its founding 11 members to now encompass 40 members from 10 countries. The organization's mission is the sustainable management of end-of-life airframes and engines. AFRA promotes and publishes the collective experience of its members to improve best practice in

1449-517: Is also developing technology that they believe can increase the economic value of aircraft assets. The safe handling and disposal of materials that cannot be recycled is a key priority of AFRA, as is returning reclaimed metals and composite materials back into commercial and aircraft manufacturing. AFRA members ultimately target a 95% recyclability rate. AFRA accreditation is meant to inform the aviation industry, customers and potential customers that best management practice and environmental responsibility

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1518-441: Is at the heart of a company’s processes and practices. Since its foundation, 12 AFRA members have achieved AFRA accreditation: Aircraft End-of-Life Solutions (AELS) , Air Salvage International, Bonus Tech, Europe Aviation, Evergreen Trade, Orange Aero, P3 Aviation, Southern California Aviation and Volvo Aero Services. A number of other organizations are currently in the process of being accredited. AFRA members increasingly report on

1587-405: Is cheaper than manufacturing the alloy because it requires only remelting the used scrap. The remelting process is achieved at a lower temperature than electrolysis and therefore the process requires less energy, which lowers the cost. The recycled aluminum alloys can be used in aircraft parts such as stiffeners and flaps, where a growth in fatigue stress and fracture toughness are not critical to

1656-453: Is dangerous as it can explode when the scrap aluminum is remelted. The primary challenges for recycling composite materials are high cost, weaknesses in the physical properties of recycled composites, and the lack of demand for recycled composites. Carbon fiber is a composite material that is currently not widely recycled. With the current processes in place, it is difficult to sort through composite materials before recycling can occur. This

1725-412: Is especially the case with metal that is intertwined in composite pieces. The carbon fiber that is recycled is generally not turned into subsequent carbon fiber products, instead being used for applications such as cheap filler material. Spare part A spare part , spare , service part , repair part , or replacement part , is an interchangeable part that is kept in an inventory and used for

1794-429: Is made, for a fixed mean time between failures (MTBF), replacement rates for consumption of consumables are higher than an equivalent item treated as a repairable part. Therefore, consumables tend to be lower-cost items. One Example is in heavy machinery such as brake oils, hydraulic fluids, and belts. Because consumables are lower cost and higher volume, economies of scale can be found by ordering in large lot sizes,

1863-411: Is sometimes required for contaminant removal. Elemental residue is a major concern when considering the recycling of aircraft steel because it cannot safely be introduced into repurposed steels. Though plastics have often not been recyclable due to flame retardant chemical use, new methods are being developed to recycle these plastics effectively. Allred and Salas (2005) conducted research in 2005 on

1932-465: Is transported to an aircraft-recycling center where it is disassembled. Desert conditions are ideal for storage because low humidity is required to maintain the condition of the aircraft. The aircraft is drained of fuel, washed to remove corrosive salt, and lubricated. Explosive devices from the evacuation slides are removed, air ducts are sealed, and a protective layer of paint is applied. Non-metal components with no recycling value are discarded and

2001-479: The Consumer Rights Act 2015 states that a consumer cannot require a trader to repair or replace goods if "the repair or replacement is impossible", implying that if spare parts are no longer available the consumer's Right to Repair (or to have a spare part supplied) would be lost. From the perspective of logistics , a model of the life cycle of parts in a supply chain can be developed. This model, called

2070-687: The Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona. Davis-Monthan is responsible for storing at least 4,400 retired aircraft. Its neighbor, the Mojave Air and Space Port , stores upwards of 1000 civilian aircraft. There are multiple international platforms that contribute to the aircraft recycling sector that are owned by companies such as Bartin Aero Recycling in France, Air Salvage International in

2139-609: The repair or refurbishment of defective equipment/units. Spare parts are an important feature of logistics engineering and supply chain management , often comprising dedicated spare parts management systems. Spare parts are an outgrowth of the industrial development of interchangeable parts and mass production . In an industrial environment, spare parts are described in several manner to distinguish key features of various spare parts. The following describes spare part types and their typically functionality. 1. Capital parts are spare parts which, although acknowledged to have

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2208-472: The BMP Guide was published in 2008 and has become a reference document for those involved in airframe dismantling and recycling. Version 2.0 of the BMP Guide, published in 2009, has an additional focus on engine dismantling. It offers up-to-date recommendations on best practices for the management of engine parts removed from aircraft during disassembly. AFRA’s Best Management Practice Guide Version 2.0 also gives

2277-452: The Jefferies company forecast. The aircraft disassembly and recycling industries are responsible for a $ 2 billion annual market in aircraft part sales. It is estimated that between roughly 400 and 450 aircraft are disassembled annually, and it is believed that 12,500 aircraft will be retired between 2009 and 2029. The majority of retired planes that are intended for recycling can be found in

2346-704: The United Kingdom, and Airbus in Tarbes Airport . The latter of these locations is a designated research facility for aircraft recycling as part of the PAMELA Project . A 2019 publication shows that the majority of aircraft under the jurisdiction of Airbus are smaller, narrow-body planes while wide-body aircraft only constitutes 31% of Airbus’ total retired fleet. The fleet is 58% narrow-body Boeing Series airplanes, 29% McDonnell Douglas MD-80s , and 12% Airbus A340’s . Boeing 777 series airplanes made up 40% of

2415-528: The ability to effect the repair of damaged equipment are significant contributors to the success of military operations. Systems that are in a mission-incapable (MICAP) status due lack of spare parts are said to be "awaiting parts" (AWP), also known as not mission capable due to supply (NMCS). Because of this sensitivity to logistics, militaries have sought to make their logistics operations as effective as possible, focusing effort on operations research and optimal maintenance . Maintenance has been simplified by

2484-473: The aircraft’s total weight. They are commonly used in the fuselage , wing, and supporting structure of aircraft because they are resistant to corrosion and have a good strength to weight ratio. Aluminum that is used in aircraft is commonly mixed with copper, lithium, magnesium, manganese, silicon, silver, and zinc to form alloys. The composition ratio of each alloy is adjusted according to its intended use in order to meet specifications. Aluminum alloys have

2553-461: The airplane's engine. Other parts such as the auxiliary power unit and landing gear are either recertified and sold second hand, or reused as spare parts by the airline company. Remaining parts made of non-metal materials, including plastics and fabrics, are sent to recycling centers. With newer aircraft like the Boeing 787 Dreamliner being made of nearly 50% composites, there have been developments in

2622-409: The component’s integrity. The alloys can also be used for non-aircraft applications, such as truck bodies, rivets, auto bumpers, and castings. Titanium alloys are commonly used in the aircraft industry because they are strong and highly resistant to corrosion and heat. In comparison to aluminum, titanium is heavier but stronger, so less of it is required to form structural components, which reduces

2691-428: The composite is also burned away leaving only the clean fibers that can be extracted out of the system. This recycling process has the ability to separate metals from carbon fiber while also coping with mixed composite materials; however, the process requires large amounts of hot air, and it leads to a slight change in fiber properties. Pyrolysis takes the carbon and heats the composites without oxygen present to detach

2760-466: The conventional recycling chains. As plastic interior components often contain flame retardant chemicals, they are not recyclable. Even though recycled metal does not fulfill very high alloy specifications for properties such as toughness , recycled component metal can still be integrated into melting stock: a stock of different metals which are then melted together. Before recycled metal is introduced into metal stocks for alloying, additional processing

2829-410: The cost associated with transporting recycled metals from remote locations. Variations in the market price of recycled aluminum also affect the profitability of recycling sites. Extracting aluminum from airplanes is difficult because aircraft compounds typically contain relatively high amounts of mixed metal alloys and new aircraft generally need aluminum with lower levels of impurities. Additionally,

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2898-759: The cost of completely replacing a finished product, repairables typically are designed to enable more affordable maintenance by being more modular. That allows components to be more easily removed, repaired, and replaced, enabling cheaper replacement. Spare parts that are needed to support condemnation of repairable parts are known as replenishment spares . A rotable pool is a pool of repairable spare parts inventory set aside to allow for multiple repairs to be accomplished simultaneously, which can be used to minimize stockout conditions for repairable items. Parts that are not repairable are considered consumable parts. Consumable parts are usually scrapped , or "condemned", when they are found to have failed. Since no attempt at repair

2967-608: The difficulty in re-weaving recycled fibers and the decrease in fiber length that typically occurs during recycling. Parts that can not be directly recycled can be reused or upcycled into artwork, clothing, or furniture. For example, the company SkyArt takes composite and mixed plastics, which would typically end up in a landfill, and recycles them into aircraft simulators and other furniture. Recycling parts from airplanes requires less energy than producing primary parts because manufacturing processes for materials such as aluminum and steel are energy intensive. Recycling in turn leads to

3036-403: The dynamics of the supply system, in particular, spare parts. When stockout conditions occur, cannibalization can result. This is the practice of removing parts or subsystems necessary for repair from another similar device, rather than from inventory . The source system is usually crippled as a result, if only temporarily, in order to allow the recipient device to function properly again. As

3105-414: The economic added value of AFRA accreditation, with asset owners actively seeking out AFRA accredited members for contracts. The AFRA Best Management Practice (BMP) Guides offer detailed direction on best environmental practices and technological solutions for the disassembling of aircraft airframes and engines. The AFRA BMP guide is an up-to-date collection of recommendations concerning best practices for

3174-448: The global fleet will retire from service; this will include over 13,000 commercial, military and private aircraft. In addition to an increase in recycled parts available from recent recycling efforts, blockchain technology has led to new ways in which recycled parts can be bought and sold. In 2019, Honeywell Aerospace introduced an online marketplace for aerospace parts called GoDirect Trade that uses blockchain to authenticate and trace

3243-478: The history of parts. The market for aircraft parts was valued at $ 5.4 billion in 2018 and is expected to grow to $ 7.7 billion by 2026. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a decrease in the number of planes being scrapped and sent to junkyards. In 2020, 440 commercial jetliners were scrapped, which was a 15% decline from 2019. In 2021, the number continued to decrease another 30% from 2020. Additionally,

3312-503: The individual components that make up the material. A large portion of the composite materials become waste as aircraft are retired and disassembled. The recycling process must ensure that there are low amounts of metal impurities within recycled aircraft components. As recycled components need to meet required specifications when implemented into other aircraft, recycled components (particularly metal alloys ) must be organized properly to secure successful processing. First, an aircraft

3381-576: The introduction of interchangeable modules known as line-replaceable units (LRUs). LRUs make it possible to quickly replace an unserviceable (failed) part with a serviceable (working) replacement. This makes it relatively straightforward to repair complex military hardware, at the expense of having a ready supply of spare parts. The cost of having serviceable parts available in inventory can be tremendous, as items that are prone to failure may be demanded frequently from inventory, requiring significant inventory levels to avoid depletion. For military programs,

3450-419: The largest stake in the aircraft recycling industry. Since 2009, AFRA has taken part in roughly one-third of all aircraft disassembly operations annually. AFRA operates internationally and seeks to promote environmentally-sustainable standards into aircraft disassembly and recycling procedures. Recycled planes are estimated to be worth between $ 1 and $ 3 million in parts with nearly 80% of the value coming from

3519-451: The leather seat covers from their planes and provide economic opportunities for various vulnerable groups. The airline partnered with non-profit organizations that work with veterans, the disabled and victims of trafficking to turn the used leather into products such as soccer balls, shoes and jewelry. Since starting the program, over 900,000 pounds of leather have been recycled. It is estimated that by 2040, about 44% of planes currently in

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3588-488: The major areas of the aircraft are dismantled. Alloy components are organized based on their metallurgical composition , and then integrated as desired into alloying new metals. Alloying involves the gathering of scrap metal with different properties to be re-melted together to make a single homogenous alloy . The majority of alloys used in aircraft are either 2xxx (Al-Cu-Mn) or 7xxx (Al-Zn-Mg) series steels. When secondary alloying elements are found in excess of 10% within

3657-454: The majority of them made from metal alloys and composite materials. The two most common metal alloys are aluminum and titanium and the main composite material is carbon fiber. Airplanes are disassembled at aircraft-recycling centers where non-metal components with no recycle value are discarded, major components are dismantled and metal alloy components are sorted based on their composition. The metal alloys are then remelted together to form

3726-423: The management of end-of-life aircraft. AFRA also encourages greater collaboration between organizations and companies that have a track record in the environmentally responsible management of end-of-life aircraft. AFRA develops partnerships and industry collaborations to create and enhance innovative technologies meant to improve environmentally sustainable practices in managing end-of-life aircraft. The organization

3795-406: The management of parts removed from aircraft during disassembly. The BMP Guide, now in its version 2.0, enhances safety developments throughout the supply chain by encouraging aircraft disassemblers or asset owners to proactively discover whether an aircraft or aircraft part has been involved in an airworthiness event involving unusual heat, stress or abnormal environmental conditions. Version 1.0 of

3864-432: The matrix and leaves only the fiber material; the process produces carbon dioxide or methane. Pyrolysis can also be used to create fuel from the composites which can be burned to produce energy. Solvolysis utilizes a solvent to break down the chemical bonds of the matrix, leaving behind the carbon fiber or other fiber material. Recycled composites have a more limited use as they cannot be used in critical components due to

3933-418: The most expensive manufacturing cost for aircraft because their manufacturing process is energy-intensive. In order to obtain the aluminum to form the alloy, a smelting process must take place. Aluminum is extracted from bauxite , aluminum's main ore, through electrolysis, which requires a lot of energy; 211 MJ of energy are required to produce one kilogram of aluminum with electrolysis. Recycling aluminum

4002-524: The next 20 years (as of 2013) with 43,000 new deliveries and 16,000 retirements projected through 2037, the total count of aircraft in storage is expected to remain constant during this time. The peak of airplane retirement occurred in 2013 with a total of 700 retirements. Strong demand for aircraft from 2013-2016 caused annual retirement to decrease to roughly 500 retirements. Decommissions were totaled at 505 retirements in 2018, increased to 2,200 aircraft in 2020, and were totaled at 3,900 aircraft in 2022 by

4071-508: The overall weight and diminishes the in-flight energy consumption. Despite its natural abundance, titanium supply is limited when compared to other metals. The smelting process for titanium uses more energy than that of aluminum, consuming 361 MJ of energy for every kilogram of titanium produced. The recycling of titanium utilizes the scraps from the manufacturing process. These scraps are cleaned to remove oxygen and iron impurities and then remelted. Composite materials are used to lower

4140-488: The price of used planes decreased; before the pandemic, a used aircraft could be sold for $ 7–8 million, the price has since dropped to about $ 2 million. The decreased demand for used airplanes has resulted in lower prices. Retired aircraft have on average 800 to 1000 components that can be repurposed through recycling. The major aircraft materials to be recycled are metal alloys and composite materials. Aluminum alloys are used in aircraft structures, accounting for 80% of

4209-582: The project “Process for Advanced Management of End-of-Life of Aircraft” known as PAMELA, which demonstrated that 85% of an aircraft’s weight can be recycled or reused. Airbus partnered with the waste management company, Suez-Sita and set-up a recycling facility at the Tarbes Airport. The project was tested on the Airbus A300 and was successfully completed when 61 tonnes of the original plane weight were recycled 32 months later in 2007. The project also created

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4278-501: The quality of recycled components. Parts that cannot be directly recycled can be reused or upcycled into artwork, clothing, and furniture. In the twentieth century, most aircraft were not recycled; old planes were abandoned in landfills. In the early 2000s, Airbus and Boeing , two of the largest airplane manufacturing companies developed systematic recycling processes to deal with their retired planes and parts as an alternative to moving them to landfills. In 2005, Airbus launched

4347-417: The recycling process for these materials through mechanical recycling, fluidized bed process, pyrolysis, or solvolysis. Mechanical recycling involves shredding the composites and using them as filler for other lower grade applications, yet this is limited to glass fiber composites like fiberglass. The fluidized bed process burns the composite materials and uses the heat to generate electricity. The matrix of

4416-430: The repair cycle, consists of functioning parts in use by equipment operators, and the entire sequence of suppliers or repair providers that replenish functional part inventories, either by production or repair, when they have failed. Ultimately, this sequence ends with the manufacturer . This type of model allows demands on a supply system to ultimately be traced to their operational reliability , allowing for analysis of

4485-426: The resulting metal scraps can be introduced into melting stock. Carbon fibers are among the most common non-metal materials recycled from aircraft. Recycled carbon fibers do not experience any mechanical degradation and can consequently be reinforced into plastics, polymers, or glass to form composite materials . Recycled fiber can be cut to specified lengths before being integrated into these materials: providing

4554-609: The variety of aluminum alloys that have good performance and can be produced directly from recycled aluminum is limited. Another limitation for recycling aluminum for aircraft is a lack of automation in the recycling process. Safely dealing with hazardous materials when recycling aircraft poses further operational challenges. Hazardous materials are more likely to be found in old aircraft which may contain substances such as asbestos , hexavalent chromium (found in paint primer) and halon 1301 (found in fire extinguishers). The presence of lithium with aluminum, found in some aircraft alloys,

4623-461: The weight of aircraft because they are lighter than traditional metal materials such as aluminum. They also have high fatigue strength (longer life cycle) and good corrosion and fire resistance. In order to decrease the weight of aircraft, manufacturers incorporate more composite materials to the structure. The lighter weight leads to improved fuel economy, which in turn reduces operational costs for airlines. A major component of composite materials

4692-418: The wide-body aircraft. As the popularity of commercial flight and aircraft use increases, the retirement phase for an aircraft becomes longer while the demand for recycled components goes up. This pattern raises the market price for recycled components and increases the profit that the aircraft recycling industry is able to acquire. AFRA (Aircraft Fleet Recycling Association) is the single organization with

4761-796: Was founded in 2005, when 11 companies from Africa , Europe and North America agreed to develop an industry code of conduct and best practices in the areas of aircraft dismantling and material recycling. The group's aim was to motivate industry around the safe and environmentally responsible way of managing end-of-life aircraft. The original 11 members were Air Salvage International, Adherent Technologies, Bartin Group, The Boeing Company , Chateauroux Air Centre, Europe Aviation, Huron Valley Fritz, Milled Carbon, Rolls-Royce , and WINGNet. AFRA members include original equipment manufacturers , aircraft disassemblers, parts distributors, aircraft insurers and appraisers, materials recyclers, and technology developers. AFRA

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