To make your flying experience even better, the Akron-Canton Airport is investing $60 million in terminal and airfield improvements.
Akron-Canton Airport Glycol Recovery System
What is glycol? Glycol is the agent used to remove and prevent the buildup of snow and ice on aircraft. It is also used in many household products such as carbonated beverages, salad dressings, baking products, chocolate, liquid gel cold medicines, gel cap pain relievers, shampoo, liquid soaps and deodorants.
Why is glycol a problem? Glycol removes the oxygen from water. This causes ecological harm to stream plant life and fish.
How much glycol is used at the airport? Over the past four years the Airport has applied 355,696 gallons of glycol to aircraft. It has ranged from a low of 60,912 gallons, in 2003, to a high of 135,710 gallons, in 2005.
What is the Airport doing? The Akron-Canton Airport is constructing a system to capture the refuge glycol, treat/remove it from the associated storm water, re-oxygenate the water, and release the treated water back into the storm water runoff system.
What is the Airport constructing and how will it help? The Airport has constructed two concrete deicing pads. The south pad has the capacity to hold up to three 717 aircraft at a time, and the north pad can hold one 717 at a time. We have also constructed two wire wound pre-stressed concrete 750,000 gallon storage tanks, giving us total storage capacity of 1,500,000 gallons of glycol contaminated water, known as effluent. We are in the process of constructing a treatment plant which will use an Anaerobic Fluidized Bed Reactor System to remove the glycol from the water.
How will the system work? In deicing conditions, aircraft will leave the gate and taxi to one of the deicing pads. They will be sprayed with glycol before they proceed to the runways for departure. The glycol that runs off of the aircraft, the overspray, and any water in the collection area will then work its way into the pad drainage system. This effluent will be stored in one of the 750,000 gallon storage tanks, the effluent will then be treated in the Anaerobic Fluidized Bed Reactor System. Treated water will be released into the storm water system.
What is an Anaerobic Fluidized Bed Reactor System? The Anaerobic Fluidized Bed Reactor System uses a biotic community that basically “eats” the glycol out of the effluent. Here is how it works. The effluent will be pumped into the treatment plant. I t will be heated and then run through a large reactor which contains the biotic community; these reactors are ten feet wide and thirty feet tall. The biotic community will “eat” the glycol out of the effluent leaving water when it leaves the reactor. The water will then be re-oxygenated and released. The process has tow by-products, a small amount of sludge and methane gas. T he methane gas will be captured and used to heat the facility and the incoming effluent. This makes for a very efficient low cost system.
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