Introduction

This article is focused on technological improvements caused by advancements in Aviation. Article will assess how promising are the technological developments in technology while promoting a sustainable as well as environmentally aware aviation industry.

Aviation operations considerably impacts the environment mainly because of the aircraft and turbojet engines emitting harmful gases, noise, and particulates that significantly contribute to climate change as well as global warming (Dimitriou & Voskaki, 2010). In addition, the quick growth of air travel in modern years subsidizes to an upsurge in whole pollution attributable to global aviation industry. Hence, the article presents how the technological advancements of the turbojet engines have condensed the environmental impacts caused from aviation (Agarwal, 2012). As it is well-aware that aviation cause the major pollution through CO2 emissions hence the main technological developments of mitigating environmental impacts consists of measures of reducing these emissions to a large extent (Bass & Dalal-Clayton, 2012). In this context, technology has optimized turbojet engines’ efficiency, and air-routes, invented bio-fuels as well as improved jet functioning processes which has ultimately reduced eco-logical impacts of aviation (Dincer, Colpan, & Kadioglu, 2013). In this way, a detailed discussion over affected environment and improved environment with the use of technological advancements within the field of jet engines evolution is taking place. In order to evaluate how the technology has contributed into minimizing environmental impacts of turbojet engines the article is going to critically analyse mitigating effects of aviation through advanced technology (Blewitt, 2008).    

Reduced environmental impact of aviation through the technological advancement of the Turbo jet engines

Source: (Barrow, 2008)

Environmental Impacts of Turbo Jet Engines operations

Here, research over the aviation industry to find its likely impacts to environment has been conducted. In this context, 3 major types of pollution caused by turbojet engines include noise pollution, gaseous emissions and discharge of particles into the air. Out of above three types, gaseous emissions are the most dangerous kind of pollution which airline enterprises require to control (Upham, Janet, & David, 2009). While researching over the issue, it has been found that people, who are living near airports and air-craft stations, are having the minimal knowledge on the presence of particle emissions through turbojet engines of aircrafts (Gonzalez, Duque, & Restrepo, 2017). 

In addition, gaseous emissions include C0x, N0x and S0x compounds have been comprehensively founded as the pollutants of aviation by the scientists and aviation experts (Kilkis, 2016). Hence, affected environment has further segregated into following three segments:

Noise

At a native level, noise pollution seems to be the major issue in the previous 20 years. Additionally, major impacts of noise and waste are seen in the nearby places of airports (Casalino, Diozzi, Sannino, & Paonessa, 2009). In this context, people who have stayed for a long-time near an airport usually observed annoyed from the noise coming through jets, aircrafts take-off as well as landing activities (Barrow, 2008).

Moreover, recent advanced technologies have implemented some important measures to reduce environmental impacts of aviation by constructing large airports for reducing noise levels. On the other hand, technological systems like operating restrictions and limits, noise monitoring systems, air-traffic management, home insulation as well as anti-noise barriers have also been implemented to reduce pollution caused by aviation.

Land-usage

In general, land usage compatibility directly affects the surrounding land areas around an airport. In this context, airports consume huge land and even a periphery around the airports cannot be utilised for some useful works and building communities. This is the reason land pollution caused by jet engines and air-crafts is high and considerable (Bibri & Krogstie, 2017).

Air Quality

As per the data resulted from the research conducted by environmentalists, scientists aviation majorly alters air quality. As turbojet engines liberate CO2 and other harmful gases which considerably deprive the air quality in which all living creatures are sustaining hence, air pollution is a major ill-effect of aviation over the earth’s environment (Dincer, Colpan, & Kadioglu, 2013).  

Technological advancements in Turbo jet engines operation which have reduced environmental impacts (e-impacts)

Development of the Gas Turbine Propulsion an its environmental impacts

Gas-turbine engine is a main part of technological revolution in the field of aviation. In this context, an internal-combustion engine using any gas being the operating fluid for rotating a turbine then it is known as turbo gas propulsion turbine. This term is typically used for describing a comprehensive engine comprising of a compressor, combustion chamber, as well as a turbine. In this way, desired work or propulsive shove can easily be acquired through a gas-turbo engine. Besides, this kind of engine is able to drive a propeller, generator, and pump. In case of an unpolluted jet aircraft engine, this engine develops thrust from accelerating the turbine dissipate flow by using a nozzle. In addition, huge amounts of mechanical power can easily be generated through such kind of engine, for the similar input.  Additionally, this turbojet engine is much smaller as well as lighter than a conventional internal-combustion engine. However, reciprocating IC engines greatly depends upon the up-and-down indication of a piston that needs to be transformed for rotary motion through a crankshaft arrangement. On the other hand, a turbojet gas turbine can transfer rotary shaft power directly. Therefore, gas-turbine engines installation is usually restricted to huge units where these engines become cost-effective.

Moreover, environmental objectives of the turbojet with the development of the gas turbine propulsion are as follows:

• Turbojet reduced NOx emissions to a large extent that is below 1g/kWh
• Turbojet improved thermal efficiency of jet engines through at least 38 per cent.
• Turbojet engines enabled application of marine diesel oil into jet engines which has considerably reduced environmental impacts of aviation.

In this modern era, various technologies have been designed for reducing the environmental impacts of flying jet and air-crafts. However, the concept of greener air-crafts, with the use of advanced technologies is still in progress. Moreover, technologies have brought further gains in turbojet engines’ efficiency during the last decades. Besides, larger planes with greater number of seats are allowing somewhat lesser emissions per flight passenger. However, eco-friendly planes have not been invented as the problem is that electrical motors are not able to produce adequate power for getting a plane off the ground. In this way, technologies are using biofuels being the only alternative to kerosene-based aviation fuels (Gossling & Upham, 2009).

Yet, many airports around the world which threaten local communities’ health exist. In this context, the writer suggesting that major advances in modern technology is the primary catalyst which has renovated aviation since their beginning 96 years ago. With the help of technological advancements, the modern airports are pushing their capacity limits on account for increased demand of the millennial era. In order to fulfil each and every demand driven by economics, technologies have produced larger as well as more efficient aircrafts while also offering improvements in safety, navigation, and aviation communications.

Source: (Upham, Janet, & David, 2009)

The recent technologies in global aviation industry are clearly suggesting that new millennium will definitely bring larger, quicker, higher-flying aircrafts embedded with improved turbojet-engines. The new aircrafts driven by new advanced turbojet engines are carrying more passengers as well as more cargo which is an attempt to reduce their environmental impacts considerably. Building and construction technologies are further improving airport development containing runways, terminals, taxiways and roads which are known for huge environmental impacts.

Furthermore, important advancements in technology within the field of aviation, in combination with regulatory orders, have significantly minimized noise effects progressively over the previous 20 years. Hence, such downward trend that is based upon this era’s evaluation metrics is anticipated to last through era 2025. While focusing on the comparison amid the old jet model operation as well as the new jet model operation, new ones work somewhat different for reducing environmental impacts of jet engines. 
For an example, the old model of jet engine used to create so much noise. Later then, new turbo jet engines have been designed to reduce noise (Astley, 2015). In this context, the major factor which is driving down jet engines’ noise is bypass ratios. Here, the bypass ratio is a proportion of the air that enters the jet engine inlet and bypassing the turbojet it exits at less speed, as comparative to the hot, high-speed jet through the jet engine core.

In this way, in order to reduce noise bypass ratio has risen so that the air entering turbojet engines of the first aircrafts passed from the engine. In the old jet turbofan designs of the 1960s as well as early 1970s it was not there, while the jet engines powering huge modern aircrafts today like the Boeing 787, B777, Airbus A380, and Airbus A350 pull only a 10^th of the air into the jet engine cores (Astley, 2015). Thus, new jet engines have greater, more leisurely-rotating fans along with the fewer blades and hence all such features reduce the aircraft’s noise pollution (Astley, 2015). In addition, greater-sized aircrafts with greater engines, provincial turbojets, as well as hyper- and supersonic aircrafts are redefining tolerable noise levels and modelling methodologies as well. In this way, noise mitigation being the major pollution caused by aviation, is getting reduced through technologies such as soundproofing, curfews, as well as operational procedures (Astley, 2015). Besides, evolved building soundproofing system of the new era includes anti-noise devices in the home or offices, which easily cancel out aircraft engine noises.

In this context, important measures which are recently utilizing by the airports include reducing the carbon footprints, managing emissions which are under direct control of the airports. Furthermore, evolvement of less emission power generation plants, improvements in energy-efficiency and conservation, ground fleet conversions, and renewable energy supplies to airports have also become possible after recent technological advancements. In addition, in some situations utilization of hydropower, geothermal, solar or wind power is being done for covering an important proportion of regular energy requirements (Birol, 2018). On the other hand, many airports are focusing over their energies for achieving carbon neutral operations through offsetting carbon liberations, which is again a result of novel technological developments (Herring & Roy, 2008).

Here, it will be worth mentioning the names of the airports, which have recently become carbon accredited for ensuring energy efficient operations, reducing overall costs, rising airport’s profile as well as credibility (Kennedy, Combes, & Bellamy, 2010). Recent technologies are also allowing aviation industry to secure a future license to grow through introducing sustainable practices. Technological advancements in aircraft designs and operation is majorly contributing to reduced pollution as well as less production of greenhouse gases due to both of the airports and airlines have been putting notable efforts (Wood, Bows, & Anderson, 2010). Besides, during the global aeronautics exposition which has ended in Paris, many major airlines have been promised for reducing CO2 emissions per passenger through 20 % within the upcoming 6 years, majorly by utilising eco-friendly cleaner fuels which are presently under trials (Stettler, Eastham, & Barrett, 2011). Technologies invented in millennium era are trying to restrict the hike in aircraft production of harmful greenhouse gases like methane, by the year 2020. Subsequently, if the world will keep on the same track, then we can definitely meet the goal of sustaining the global increase in the Earth’s temperature from 1 to 2 degrees Celsius by the end of this era (National Research Council, 2010).

In this way, from the environmental impacts point of view, technological inventions are increasingly evolving the ways in which environment can be preserved and sustained for future. Various concerns such as noise, air-pollution, climate change, water-pollution, waste management and bio-diversity have been successfully addressed to some extent however; further improvement is needed to a large extent. Still, in terms of already achieved progress in the area of environmental management, technological advancements have reduced noise, land and water pollution while managing the waste by improving design and construction of turbojet or aircraft engines (Agarwal, 2012).       

Suggested technological measures to reduce the e-impacts in future

There are some future suggestions by the writer of this article in order to further improve environmental management for a sustainable future perspective as follows:

• Bio-fuels which are used as an alternative to conventional fuels are not an ideal solution, since such fuels can become problematic for environment as it would take an enormous mass of the globe’s arable land for growing enough crops for fuelling whole world’s turbojet engines. Hence, writer suggests that scientists and aviation experts should research and evolve some eco-friendly engines, which can compete with eco-friendly cars (Blewitt, 2008).
• As per the recent news and data, larger, new-generation aircrafts, counting space planes, will raise demand of longer runways as well as extra land for the take-off and landing of the aircrafts. In addition, at commuter as well as common aviation airports, local jets will also increase claim for lengthier runways as well as extra land for increased number of gates because of an increased number of flights. Hence, the aviation development of the upcoming millennium should be parallel that of the newly made cities (Stettler, Eastham, & Barrett, 2011).
•  As we know that, the denser the airport will develop, the environmental impacts such as societal, noise, wetlands will also grow more. Thus, the future global aviation industry should evaluate such impacts related to continue dwindling obtainability of land space (Wood, Bows, & Anderson, 2010).
• More research over the turbojet engine designing and alternative fuels of turbojet engines is needed to fulfil future demands of millennials (Bass & Dalal-Clayton, 2012).

Conclusion

In conclusion, research study conducted for this article successfully evaluated how has the recent technological advancements reduced the adverse environmental impacts of turbojet engines in the aviation industry. In this way, the article was able to show that there are significant results on how technology impacted environmental positively within the field of aviation. Although, this research data acknowledged the fact that the aviation field places countless unseen problems over the natural environment, yet technological inventions and developments have successfully reduced these adverse impacts and are continuing with the process. However, the article also found that a lack of alternative fuel resources for further cleaner, cheaper as well as readily available fuels is causing major ill-effects on the environment. Hence, the writer has suggested some sustainable practices and research areas in order to improve environmental balance in future. Finally, this article talked over the topic how the technological advancements of the turbojet engines have minimized the environmental impacts of aviation industry on global environment. Thus, this article’s findings are directing readers towards the direction of moving ahead with the more advanced technological developments in order to mitigate the adverse environmental impacts of aviation in upcoming future.

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