Analysis method for emissions from airport ground support equipment

YANG Baohua; TENG Shuai; GAI Yongtian; LIU Shunli; LI Hao; HUO Qinglong

doi:10.3969/j.issn.1672-0032.2025.06.006

Abstract：To investigate the impact of pollutants generated from the operation of airport ground support equipment(GSE)on air quality and the environment,taking an international airport as the research object,ground support equipment is classified into 17 categories according to their primary purposes,and the emission standards of ground support equipment are statistically analyzed.A calculation method for key operating parameters of ground support equipment is proposed,real-time operational data are collected,and the commonly used operating speeds,load factors,and annual pollutant emissions of ground support equipment are calculated to analyze emission characteristics.The feasibility of electrification upgrade for airport ground support equipment is explored,and a comparative analysis is conducted on the economic benefits,environmental benefits,and operational convenience of two strategies:upgrading existing baggage carts to new equipment complying with China's National Ⅵ Emission Standard versus replacing them with pure electric baggage carts.The research results indicate:1)Among the 17 types of fuel-powered ground support equipment,the top 5 ground support equipment in terms of annual pollutant emissions are baggage carts,catering trucks,aircraft tow tractors,runway maintenance vehicles,and ground support shuttle vehicles.The annual emissions of CO,HC,NOx,PM2.5,and PM10 from these 5 types of ground support equipment account for 76.3％,80.0％,63.3％,85.3％,and 85.5％of the total annual emissions,respectively.2)When the airport replaces existing baggage carts with new equipment complying with China's National Ⅵ Emission Standard,the annual emissions of CO,HC,NOx,PM2.5,and PM10 are reduced by 23.1％,15.4％,37.2％,43.2％,and 43.1％,respectively.3)The initial investment for electric baggage carts is 80 000 yuan more than that for China's National Ⅵ Emission Standard fuel baggage carts,but the annual energy cost savings and annual maintenance cost savings are 16 500 yuan and 357 yuan,respectively,with a payback period of approximately 4.75 years.Electric baggage carts have higher initial investment but lower operating costs throughout their entire lifecycle,demonstrating more significant economic benefits.Electric ground support equipment does not produce harmful substances such as NOx during operation,and the noise generated is 10-20 dB lower than fuel vehicles of the same power.Electric ground support equipment has lower manual maintenance costs and adopts continuously variable transmission structure,improving the operational reliability of ground support equipment and reducing driver labor intensity.