The USAF spends over one billion dollars for the maintenance of its fleet due to corrosion problems caused by small organic microbes. This is what we read in a report issued by Popular Mechanics.
The Air Force spends 1,2 billions of dollars a year, just to reduce the corrosion of its aircraft. How is it possible? Simple, explain from Popular Mechanics: molds, fungi and bacteria can produce corrosive acids and enzymes. Just the simple human contact, the humidity in the air or the new biofuels to affect the special finishes of the aircraft.
Precisely the biofuel has been analyzed by Popular Mechanics. It is considered the fuel of the future in an effort to reduce dependence on fossil fuels. Unfortunately, however, biofuels are composed of vegetable oils, bacteria and animal fats.
"The microorganisms coming from these various sources are literally corroding the surface finishes of the aircraft. Unfortunately, it is difficult to disinfect the aircraft: narrow corners and cracks can not be reached by high pressure washers that would not be able to eliminate microbes ".
The solution for the Air Force is to resort to a thermal decontamination process originally developed for the cleaning of aircraft from chemical and bacteriological agents. The Joint Biological Agent Decontamination System it is a kind of oven that heats the planes to 180 degrees so as to kill biological agents. According to the Wright-Patterson Airforce Base, the process eliminates 99,9 percent of biological contaminants on aircraft surfaces.
Il Joint Biological Agent Decontamination System it should be operational within the 2017. To date we ignore the real expense incurred by the Air Force for the sole decontamination of microorganisms. There is talk of a figure of over fifteen billion dollars.
(photo: US Army)
