January/February 2024 - 26

PROJECTS OF THE YEAR ENVIRONMENTAL
SYR Glycol Recycling Facility
SYR, that glycol will then be resold to
airlines operating at SYR at approximately
10-15% below market rate, " he
said. " This will help our airline partners
realize cost savings and a more secure
supply chain. "
The new facility will reduce the airO
A
NEW glycol collection and recycling facility
at Syracuse Hancock International Airport
(SYR) is using a " full cycle " approach and a
technological first to create environmental
and financial benefits on-airport.
Aeromag, a company specializing
in deicing aircraft and recycling glycol
(the main component in aircraft deicing
fluid), is the owner and operator of the
recycling facility. The company invested
more than $19.4 million in the development
and installation of its " RRR "
concept, which means recover fluid after
deicing, recycle that fluid on site, then
certify and reuse for deicing.
Technology used in the process - the
glycol recycling evaporator - can treat
spent aircraft deicing fluid as low as .25
percent glycol to water. While the low
content evaporator has been used in other
solvent recycling systems, Gabriel Lépine,
Executive Vice President, Operations and
Development at Aeromag, says this is the
first on-airport evaporator in the world
to concentrate spent deicing fluid below
1% efficiently and at such a scale.
At SYR, three dedicated deice pads
feed the recycling facility with spent
deicing fluid, which otherwise would
have gone to a wastewater treatment facility
but instead is recycled for reuse. The
recycling byproducts are glycol, a high
valuable raw material, and clean water.
Annually, the SYR Glycol Recycling
Facility will produce up to 550,000
gallons of Type I aircraft deicing fluid and
5 to 7 million gallons of reusable water.
Based on current average flight
volumes, SYR will use about 50% of
the facility's total capacity, resulting in an
opportunity to provide recycled glycol
for deicing services to neighboring airports
in Upstate New York.
Syracuse Regional Airport Authority
(SRAA) Executive Director Jason
Terreri reports talks are underway to
give other airports an opportunity to
dispose of used deicing fluid at SYR
at little to no cost. " Once refined at
port's water consumption and carbon
footprint (up to 16.5 million pounds
annually) compared to the traditional
glycol disposal and creation of new
deicing fluid.
In the full cycle approach:
* A low-concentration evaporator
takes fluid from 0.25% to 10% glycol
concentrations.
* The 10% glycol is filtered to remove
thickeners or residual oils and fuel.
* A second evaporator processes the 10%
fluid up to 50% glycol concentration.
* A distiller separates the remaining water,
taking the fluid to 99.5% pure glycol.
* The pure glycol is mixed with an additive
pack from an AMS 1424-certified
Type I deicing fluid manufacturer to
create aircraft deicing fluid on airport.
" This project is an excellent example
of our Regional Responsibility efforts, "
said Terreri. " As one of our core values,
we know that being a good community
partner means placing an emphasis on
environmental sustainability. Not only
will we recycle the glycol utilized at our
airport, but our partnership with airports
across the region will extend that
environmental stewardship well beyond
our fence line. "
The SRAA and Aeromag partnered
f Location: Syracuse Hancock
International Airport (SYR), Syracuse,
New York
f Project: SYR Glycol Recycling Facility
fCompletion: November 2023
fKey Participants: Syracuse Regional
Airport Authority, Burns & McDonnell,
Aeromag, Vilokan ADF Solutions
fCost: $19.4 million
26 \ AIRPORT BUSINESS / JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024
with Burns & McDonnell to provide
design-build services and Vilokan ADF
Solutions as the specialty equipment
supplier.
Prior to the construction of the new
facility, the airport had an existing
glycol collection, storage, and treatment
system with two 47,500-barrel stormwater
holding tanks, added in 2018, and
a lagoon. 
P
COURTESY OF BURNS & MCDONNELL
A
R
E
O
J
E
C
H
T
S
F
T
E
Y
R
2
4
2
January/February 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of January/February 2024
