Infrared Aircraft Deicing Facility at John F Kennedy International Airport

Introduction:

In March 2006, the Port Authority completed installation of an InfraTek ® Radiant Deicing System at John F Kennedy International Airport (JFKIA).  The system will provide airlines the ability to deice up to a 747- 300 size aircraft more quickly and for dramatically less cost than traditional glycol deicing technology.  While there are two smaller versions in the United States and one in Oslo, by volume, the new facility at JFKIA is approximately 2.5 times larger.  The narrative below provides a description of the environmental benefits to be realized, and technical and financial information on the infrared deicing system designed and constructed using the DBOM project delivery method.

The owner of the aircraft deicing facility at JFKIA is the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Radiant Aviation Services held the DBOM contract.  DY Consultants who employed the services of Hatch Mott MacDonald and Stanton Chow, PC led the design team. The construction manager was Sullivan and Nickel. The prime contractors were: Ruttera and Sons for concrete, Metropolitan Metals for steel erection, Ara Plumbing for gas and energy processing unit installation and Coastal Electric for electrical and communications.

Completed Facility:

Background:

The Federal Aviation Administration requires airlines and airports that operate during snow, ice, or frost conditions to perform deicing and anti-icing of aircraft and airfield pavement. This ensures the safety of passengers and cargo operations. However, when performed without discharge controls in place, these deicing operations can result in environmental impacts.

Glycol deicing of aircraft has increasingly come under scrutiny regarding impacts of discharging spent aircraft deicing fluid (ADF) into the environment.    Airports across the country have had to respond to environmental concerns with increasingly expensive solutions.  In its 2004 Effluent Guidelines Plan, EPA reviewed existing permits and decided to develop effluent guidelines for the airport-deicing category.

To support the effluent guidelines development, EPA is collecting data on the engineering, economic and environmental impact aspects of airport deicing operations. Data collection activities include:

The EPA did conduct a site visit to JFK in the fall of 2005 for this effort.

Airports have had to respond to environmental concerns over the years with increasingly expensive solutions:

The result is that in most cases, an airport’s mitigation costs for treatment, collection, recycling or disposal of ADF far exceed those associated with the actual de/anti-icing application.

The JFK infrared system utilizes patented two stage emitters arranged in a configuration that directs safe radiant energy on to the entire aircraft.  Aircraft just taxi into the facility and in a short time are free of snow and ice and ready for takeoff.

How does it work?

Time Efficient!

Since 2000, a smaller facility constructed at Newark International Airport has been deicing and defrosting aircraft with consistent proven results. The graph below depicts multi-year snow and ice deicing time achieved at that facility which on average is as fast as and normally faster than traditional deicing operations.

Glycol Source Reduction and Environmental Impact

During defrost operations, the FAA does not require that the InfraTek system uses any additional processes or glycol based fluids.  This has the significant secondary benefit of considerably shortening any mandated Glycol Mitigation season and reducing glycol dependency.

While use of some glycol based products may be required during periods of active snow or ice precipitation, Continental Airlines has reported instances of 90% fluid reductions per aircraft as compared to its conventional deicing operations.  The following chart shows how InfraTek’s minimal glycol usage requirements remain virtually consistent, as compared to conventional deicing methods, during varying snow and ice conditions.

As the chart indicates, conventional deicing methods used during ice conditions may require up to 30 times the amount of glycol than would be needed for defrosting.  Aside from the deicing cost variations associated with this, it also has a significant effect on glycol mitigation efforts and costs.

“During typical wet-weather conditions, 150 to 1,000 gallons of ADF may be used on a single commercial jet.  An estimated 1,000 to 4,000 gallons may be needed to deice a commercial jet during severe weather conditions.”

Reference:  EPA Preliminary Data Summary – Airport Deicing Operations (Revised) – EPA 821-R-00-016 August 2000 Page 4 – 7.

Naturally, the bigger the storm, the greater the load generated by conventional deicing methods on glycol mitigation systems.  When coupled with the contaminated water associated with the storm event, that is typically much higher at coastal airports, the magnitude of controlling the glycol runoff increases dramatically.  As an example, this dilution factor can turn one thousand gallons of glycol into twenty or thirty thousand gallons of glycol contaminated water.   Multiply that by the number of aircraft that a single deicing bay service’s during the day and the numbers are staggering.

Also note that, aircraft anti-icing fluids (Type IV) are applied in much smaller volumes than their deicing counterparts.  A commercial jet may require approximately 35 gallons of fluid (Type IV) for anti-icing after deicing.

Cost Benefits

The variable costs associated with the use of the InfraTek system are significantly less than conventional deicing methods.  This reduces the “Budgeting Uncertainty Range” that is experienced by airline Managers during “good, average or bad” winters.  This narrower range allows greatly improved annual cost predictions.  The chart below is an  example of total deicing costs experienced by an airport and the effect that the InfraTek system would have.  This example does not include any allowance for glycol mitigation costs, which would cause the conventional range to dramatically increase.

Another benefit of this narrower variable cost range is the ability to have fixed deicing prices based solely on aircraft size.  This is the model that is being used at JFK.

Acquisition Alternatives

As the FAA approves the InfraTek system for use, it qualifies for AIP and PFC funding approval.  The system installed at JFK was funded in this manner.  Other airports can work with the FAA to fund a significant portion of the total cost of the installation of similar systems.

Conclusion:

The JFK Infrared Aircraft Deicing facility will deice aircraft in less time and for a lower cost than conventional deicing.  An environmental benefit is that it employs infrared energy and only a minimum amount of glycol.  Airline delays and cancellations that could have been attributed to insufficient capacity will be reduced.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is proud of its role with this aviation industry innovation and the improvements in how it conducts winter airline operations and the easing of the environmental impact of deicing operations at this major airport. 

Contributing to this article: Ed Knoesel of the PANYNJ; Ian Sharkey RAS and Henry Hessing, PE, Project Manager, URS.