Cradle to Grave Life Cycle Assessment and Carbon Footprint Analysis of Narrow Body Commercial Aircraft towards Sustainable Aviation

This dissertation provides a cradle-to-grave Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and carbon footprint analysis of narrow-body commercial aircraft, with a focus specifically on the Airbus A320 family. The study complies with ISO 14040/44 practices and uses PRISMA-directed data gathering to examine three major stages of the life cycle: manufacturing, operational, and end-of-life phase. At the production stage, the investigation encompassed raw materials extraction, intermediate forms, and final assembly, with a particular focus on aluminium alloys and carbon fibre reinforced polymers (CFRP), which were found both to have substantial embodied energy and GHG emissions. The operational phase was assessed based on the Well-to-Wake (WTW), Well-to-Tank (WTT), and Tank-to-Wake (TTW) frameworks, which cover Landing and Take-Off (LTO) cycles, cruise phase emissions, as well as maintenance activities. Results show that combustion of the fuel during the operational life is the main cause of life cycle emissions, accounting for a large share of aircraft carbon footprint. Yet manufacturing impacts are also significant, mostly because composite materials are used, while end-of-life activities, such as recycling, provide credits which only partly compensate for total impacts. Comparisons between various engine options showed significant differences in lifetime emissions. Newer engine technologies improved efficiency, but they weren't enough to change the operational dominance. The study also puts its results in the context of global rules, such as ICAO's CORSIA scheme, United Nations Sustainability Development Goals, the European Union Emissions Trading System (EU ETS), and IATA's promise to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. The research highlights the crucial role of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF), advanced propulsion systems, and circular economy strategies in mitigating aviation's environmental impact. This dissertation enhances the discourse on sustainable aviation by delivering a comprehensive environmental profile of narrow-body aircraft, offering pragmatic insights for policymakers, manufacturers, and operators seeking to align the industry with global climate objectives.