Chris Casares July 12, 2012 Aero/Astro #2 1.

Aviation has played a few roles in worsening health conditions for humans. The first impact is has on human health is increasing particulate matter levels. Emission of PM 1 and Gaseous PM precursors during takeoff, landing, and ground operations have had negative effect on air quality. These PM emissions come from Jet A use. Aircraft gas turbines contribute directly to surrounding concentrations of PM2.5 (primary PM)2 they also contribute indirectly to the formation of PM2.5 through gaseous emissions of NOX, SOX, and organics, known as precursor gases, which undergo chemical and physical processes in the jet plume and atmosphere to form PM2.5. The health impacts of primary PM are greater than those of secondary PM on a per-mass basis, the large total mass of secondary PM that is emitted is estimated to cause appreciable effects on the health and welfare of the general public (Rojo, 2007b). Rojo (2007b) estimated that 120 to 610 premature mortality incidences in the United States may occur yearly due to PM2.5 from aviation. Particle pollution - especially fine particles - contains microscopic solids or liquid droplets that are so small that they can get deep into the lungs and cause serious health problems. Numerous scientific studies have linked particle pollution exposure to a variety of problems, including: premature death in people with heart or lung disease,

nonfatal heart attacks, irregular heartbeat, aggravated asthma, decreased lung function, and increased respiratory symptoms, such as irritation of the airways, coughing or difficulty breathing.

Particulatematter(PM)referstoacomplexmixtureofsolidparticlesandliquiddropletsthataresuspended intheatmosphere.Sourcesincludetransportation,industry,electricity generation,fires,andwindblowndust.PMisreferredtobyitssizeinmicrometers,m,and theNAAQShavetwolistingsforPMpollution,PM10andPM2.5,toreflectPMwithdiameters lessthan10mand2.5m,respectively.

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PrimaryPMiscomprisedofnonvolatileemissionsofsootlikeparticles(PMNV)aswellasvolatileorganic compoundsthatresultfromincompletefuelcombustionandconversionoffuelboundsulfurtosulfuricacid (ICAO,2006).

Aviation also affects human health by increasing ground level ozone levels. Tropospheric, or ground level ozone, is not emitted directly into the air, but is created by chemical reactions between oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOC), both of which are emissions for Jet A fuel. Ozone is likely to reach unhealthy levels on hot sunny days in urban environments. Ozone can also be transported long distances by wind. For this reason, even rural areas can experience high ozone levels. High ozone concentrations have also been observed in cold months, where a few high elevation areas in the Western U.S. with high levels of local VOC and NOx emissions have formed ozone when snow is on the ground and temperatures are near or below freezing. Ozone contributes to what we typically experience as "smog" or haze, which still occurs most frequently in the summertime, but can occur throughout the year in some southern and mountain regions. Ground level ozone(what we breathe) can harm our health. Even relatively low levels of ozone can cause health effects. People with lung disease, children, older adults, and people who are active outdoors may be particularly sensitive to ozone. Children are at greatest risk from exposure to ozone because their lungs are still developing and they are more likely to be active outdoors when ozone levels are high, which increases their exposure. Children are also more likely than adults to have asthma, furthering their exposure.

2.) If there are 100 777 planes that burn 100,000 lbs. of jet fuel each in New Zealand, then there are 10,000,000 lbs. of jet fuel in total being used. Since only 50% can be replaced with a biofuel, that means we can have a maximum of 5,000,000 lbs. of biofuel. 5,000,000 lbs. of Jet A fuel can generate 9,865,500 MJ of energy. 0.01 Liters of water are used in petroleum extraction, so the water consumption is 98,655 Liters for New Zealand. Life Cycle emissions for Jet A is about 100g of C02 per MJ. So there are 986,550,000 grams of CO2 being released in New Zealand. HRJ (Hydroprocessed renewable jet fuel) from algae oil HRJ has a LHV (lower heating value) of 44.1. This means that for every kilogram of algae (as HRJ), 44.1 MegaJoules of energy are available. Every year, a hectare3 can produce 91.3 Megagrams of algae. So a hectare produces 91,300 kilograms of algae. Approximately 5kg of algae are needed to make 1kg of jet fuel. A hectare then produces 805,266MJ from algae. So to acquire 9,865,500 MJ of energy from algae, we would need 12.25 hectares growing algae. 0.2 liters of water are used per MJ Hydrogen Reforming. So there will be a water consumption of around 1,973,100 Liters. 125g of CO2 are release from every kg of HRJ from algae (including the processes of combustion, processing, recovery). So this would amount to a significant amount of GHG emissions, but 100g are reduced from biomass credit. So 25g per MJ would amount to 246,637,500 grams of CO2 instead of 1,233,187,500.

Additional Sources: http://web.mit.edu/aeroastro/partner/reports/proj28/partner-proj28-2010-001.pdf

Ahectareisaunitequivalentto10,000squaremeters.

 HRJ from Jatropha Oil

HRJ has a LHV of 44.1. This means that for every kilogram of jatropha (as HRJ), 44.1 MegaJoules of energy are available. Every year, a hectare4 can produce 2.5MG of jatropha. So a hectare produces 2,500 kilograms of jatropha. Approximately 4kg of jatropha are needed to make 1kg of jet fuel. A hectare then produces 27562.5J from jatropha. So to acquire 9,865,500 MJ of energy from jatropha, we would need 358 hectares growing jatropha. 0.2 liters of water are used per MJ Hydrogen Reforming. So there will be a water consumption of around 1,973,100 Liters. 100g of CO2 are release from every kg of HRJ from jatropha (including the processes of combustion, processing, recovery). So this would amount to a significant amount of GHG emissions, but 100g are reduced from biomass credit. So 0g per MJ would amount to 0 grams of CO2 instead of 1,000,000,000.

Ahectareisaunitequivalentto10,000squaremeters.