Turkish Airlines is the first customer to participate in GE Aviation’s new material scrap reclamation program, aimed at recycling hardware containing the rare and costly element — rhenium.
Under the program, customers will return their scrap high pressure turbine (HPT) blades made from nickel superalloys that contain rhenium to GE Aviation. The material will be cleaned and melted for re-use in HPT blade manufacturing.
“The program helps our customer as well as GE Aviation’s material stream,” said Scott Ernest, vice president of GE Aviation’s Supply Chain organization. “For our customers, like Turkish Airlines, the program will help them with their environmental efforts as well as help reduce the costs associate with material disposal. For GE, it will help us reduce our need for rhenium, which is a rare and costly element.”
This program will be practiced by Turkish Technic, which is owned by Turkish Airlines and holds ISO 14001 Environmental Management Standard Certificate.
