Study and comparison of different types of powered aircrafts for the future commercial aviation

These days commercial aviation is very important, it has a great influence on economy and social aspects. In 2019, IATA calculated that 65.5 million jobs in the world were created thanks to aviation and the total effect on the economy was about 2.7 billion euros. During 2020 and 2021, commercial aviation suffered due to the restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic, even reaching extremes where some airlines had to fly without passengers in order to avoid losing their slots. Since the end of the year 2021 and the beginning of 2022, the commercial aircraft has recovered considerably and is now on the same figures as in 2019. Thanks to low-cost airlines, Europe and the United States are the regions with the highest volume of flights, but in countries like China and India, commercial aviation is expected to increase exponentially, especially due to the number of inhabitants in Asian countries. A short and medium haul commercial aircraft like the A320 usually burns an average of 2,500 kilos of fuel every hour. Around the world there are near 200,000 flights every day, therefore the amount of burnt fuel is exorbitant. Also, knowing that 3.16 kilograms of CO2 are generated for 1 kilogram of fuel, we can conclude that we have a major sustainability problem because of the tons of emissions that are emitted daily. The main objective of this project is the study of new technologies that are capable of propelling aircrafts for commercial aviation while emitting fewer or zero emissions. More specifically, possible aircrafts powered by sustainable fuel, solar energy, electric energy, nuclear energy,hydrogen and electric plasma have been studied and evaluated. In addition, a comparison has been made of the characteristicsof each technology and the forecast on which technology is the most suitable to replace fossil fuels and in what year it may appear.Objectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::7 - Energia Assequible i No Contaminan