When choosing a sweeper for airport sweeping applications, it’s important to select a high-performance sweeper that not only cleans large flat, paved areas such as runways, but is also capable of efficiently capturing and removing glycol and other deicing fluid run-off on runways and gate locations.
Many airports have requirements for picking up deicing fluid (glycol) used to de-ice planes. This fluid may run off onto the gate area surface or runway waiting, requiring special airport sweepers to clean up. Environmental regulations generally require this to be cleaned up before the environmentally damaging material can flow into the storm drain system and mix with storm water runoff.
Select a multi-purpose sweeper that can quickly perform both the sweep and liquid pickup applications without compromising productivity or performance. Choose a sweeper that offers such features as a decant system that allows liquid mixed with heavy sludge to be easily pumped off into proper receptacles, an enhanced blower fan with a flow blocker system to temporarily restrict airflow while operating the engine at higher speeds for quick pump-off of glycol, and an anti-slosh baffle that prevents accidental glycol escape.
James Crockett is the strategic product manager for Elgin Sweeper
