More than 3500 airliners will reach their end-of-life between 2008 and 2025 at a rate of around 200 aircrafts per year.
The aircrafts are the absolute sources of the valuable metal, ‘Aluminum.’
Almost
80 percent of Aircraft parts are recyclable. Most of the fuselage and
wings of jets such as Boeing 727 is made of Aluminium which can be sold
as scrap.
Once the engines, landing gear, avionics and components are removed from the aircraft, there is still value in the aluminium.
This scrapped Aluminium will be later used to manufacture automobile parts including wheels and transmissions.
Steel, found in the landing gear of planes like Boeing 707, is also relatively easy to recover.
Recycling composite aircraft materials is trickier than working with raw metals.
Composites
using lightweight and durable carbon fiber are found more and more in
newer aircraft, and make up half of each Boeing 787.
Recycled
carbon fiber is being tested for use in tires, paint, industrial
injection molds, and sporting goods such as skateboards.
FACTS:
According
to Boeing, the largest manufacturer of jet airliners, about 7200
commercial planes including Boeing 737, 747 and Airbus A320, A340
models will be scrapped.
Boeing,
in 2006 co-founded the Aircraft Fleet Recycling Association, with an
aim to expand the airplane recycling rate to 90 percent from about 60
percent today.
The
lifespan of most commercial airliners is said to be around 30 years.
Most of the airliners used today were born by 1970s and now there is a
jump in the number of planes beyond use. So aircraft recycling will
reach its peak through the next decade.
