The Non-CO2 Impacts of Aviation and the Role of SAF
Did You Know Contrails and Soot from Jets May Warm the Planet More Than CO₂?
Conventional jet fuel combustion by aircraft emits carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulfur oxides (SOx), water, and soot particles into the atmosphere. About 3.16 kg of carbon dioxide (CO2) and about 1.23 kg of water vapour are emitted for every kg of fuel burned.
At cold temperatures, which are typical of cruise altitudes, the water vapour from fuel combustion rapidly condenses onto co-emitted soot particles and pre-existing atmospheric particles. The small water droplets continue growing as the engine exhaust cools and they eventually freeze to form a visible condensation trail, or contrail. The contrail consists of several hundred ice crystals per cubic centimetre of air. Usually, these contrails disappear quite rapidly. The persistence of contrails is affected by the temperature and humidity at the point of contrail formation.
Download the PDF to unpack the hidden emissions—and learn how SAF helps mitigate them.
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