OPENSPACE 24: The Future of Space Exploration | Page 11

alone for drying. One of the major benefits of this approach
is that the technique can be performed at the gate, thus
reducing aircraft fuel usage incurred during engine-on de-
icing operations. “This technology can replace the use of
glycols, especially in remote Northern Canada stations
where getting glycol fluid supply chain is a challenge, and
where environmental restrictions can limit the use of glycols
altogether,” said D’Avirro.
The biochemical oxygen demand
of some glycols have contributed
to innovative solutions in de-icing
technology that introduce less toxic
and more environmentally friendly
fluids.
The requirement to mitigate the amounts of glycol going
into storm waters has led some airports to build infrastructure
to collect and recycle the glycol through an in-house distillation
process. Montreal Airport is a world-leading example of this
process. The recovered and distilled pure glycol can be mixed
with water and new-to-market “add-packs” to create fresh
de-icing fluid that can once again be sprayed on aircraft.
APS Aviation Inc. was founded in 1967 and, as a
direct result of the Dryden crash in 1989 and the resulting
commission of inquiry, began to provide support to the
The biochemical oxygen demand of some glycols have industry and regulators to evaluate and further develop de-
contributed to innovative solutions in de-icing technology that icing technologies. The company supports Transport Canada
introduce less toxic and more environmentally friendly fluids. and the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration in their research
“Holdover time determination systems find more precise weather and development of these fluids and technologies and has
conditions, so the selection of fluids is appropriate, and other recently sponsored multiple industry documents published
techniques such as in-truck blending are applied to optimize the by SAE International related to the evaluation, usage, and
concentration of glycol required for the outside air temperature,” development of fluids and related technologies. APS Aviation
says D’Avirro. Inc. is a member company of the RHEA Group, who provides
Another de-icing method such as tempered steam may also
Credit: European GNSS Agency.
be used to melt ice on aircraft surfaces, followed by heated air
aerospace and security engineering services and solutions,
system developments, and products.
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