Biodiesel: The afterlife of oil - Natascia Radice

Biodizel: Posmrtno življenje olja - Natascia Radice

Translator: Andreja Grča Reviewer: Tilen Pigac - EFZG

Just a minute ago,

Še pred minuto

this oil helped make a delicious meal possible.

je to olje pomagalo pripraviti odličen obrok.

But now, it's just some nasty goop.

Sedaj pa je le kup zoprne packarije.

What should we do with it?

Kaj naj z njo naredimo?

Well, the easiest thing would be

Najlažje bi bilo,

to pour it down the drain;

da jo izlijemo v odtok;

that makes it seem like it's gone,

tako se nam zdi, da je izginila,

but it's not really gone.

vendar v resnici ni.

Instead, it's collecting bits of food

Namesto tega pobira delce hrane

and other random stuff,

in druge naključne stvari

producing monstrous, greasy blockages

in ustvarja obupne mastne zamaške,

that clog not only your own drain

ki zamašijo ne le vaš odtok,

but entire sewage systems,

ampak celotne kanalizacijske sisteme,

causing flooding and pollution.

kar povzroči poplave in onesnaženje.

Many places have laws for proper disposal of grease,

Marsikje obstajajo zakoni za pravilno odstranjevanje maščob,

but we can go one step further.

vendar lahko naredimo korak dalje.

Instead of just throwing it away safely,

Namesto da maščobo varno zavržemo,

we can turn it into something useful.

jo lahko ponovno uporabimo.

And if you're wondering

In če se sprašujete,

what anyone could possibly want

kaj bi si lahko začeli

with a bunch of digusting, used cooking oil,

s kupom nagnusnega, odpadnega olja,

the answer is: biodiesel.

je odgovor: biodizel.

You've probably heard of diesel engines.

Verjetno ste že slišali za dizelske motorje.

They power farming and construction equipment,

Poganjajo kmetijske in gradbene stroje,

trucks, buses, ships, trains, backup generators,

tovornjake, avtobuse, ladje, vlake, rezervne generatorje

and even some cars.

in nekatere avtomobile.

Most of the fuel that feeds these engines

Večino goriva, ki hrani te motorje,

is refined from petroleum,

pridobimo iz nafte,

which comes from long-dead dinosaurs

ta pa prihaja iz davno izumrlih dinozavrov

and other ancient fossils.

in drugih starodavnih fosilov.

But diesel fuel can also be derived from

Vendar dizelsko gorivo lahko pridobimo tudi iz

more recently-dead organisms,

nedavno umrlih organizmov,

like plants and animals.

kot so rastline in živali.

And this type of fuel is what we call biodiesel.

Takšno gorivo imenujemo biodizel.

Biodiesel is a biodegradable energy source,

Biodizel je biološko razgradljiv vir energije

made from plant oils or animal fats,

iz rastlinskih olj ali rastlinskih maščob,

that can usually be burned in regular diesel engines.

ki ponavadi lahko izgorevajo v običajnih dizelskih motorjih.

You guessed it,

Prav ste ugotovili:

it's the 'bio' version of diesel.

to je "bio" verzija dizla.

It's cleaner than normal diesel,

Je bolj čist kot normalni dizel,

so there has been a push to generate it

zato ga poskušajo pridobivati

from crops like soybeans.

iz poljščin, kot je soja.

Now, growing plants for fuel,

Gojenje rastlin za pridelavo goriva

instead of food, comes with its own problems.

namesto za hrano, prinaša nove težave.

But fortunately, we already have some oils and fats right here.

Vendar na srečo že imamo nekatera olja in maščobe.

Preparing your used cooking grease for recycling

Priprava maščobe za kuhanje za reciklažo je enostavna.

is easy.

First, let it cool down to room temperature.

Najprej naj se ohladi na sobno temperaturo.

Then, transfer it to a clean container.

Nato jo prestavimo v čisto posodo.

You can use any old bottles you have lying around,

Uporabite lahko stare plastenke, kot so plastenke za tekočine,

like milk jugs,

as long as they're completely empty,

vendar morajo biti povsem prazne, očiščene in suhe.

rinsed, and dried.

Use a funnel to avoid spills

Uporabite lijak, da maščobe ne polijete

and a sieve to filter out any small food particles.

in cedilo, da prefiltrirate majhne delce hrane.

You can even add bacon grease

Lahko dodate celo maščobo od slanine in druge živalske maščobe

and other animal fats

or the excess oil from canned food,

ali pa odvečno olje konzervirane hrane, kot je tuna ali sardine.

like tuna or sardines,

just make sure it's really oil and not brine.

Prepričajte se le, da je res olje in ne slanica.

So, what happens now that your oil is safely contained?

Kaj se zgodi zdaj, ko je vaše olje varno shranjeno?

Well, many cities have recycling services

Mnoga mesta imajo reciklažne servise,

that will pick up large amounts of grease

ki odvažajo velike količine maščob

from restaurants and other establishments.

iz restavracij in drugih ustanov.

But there are locations

Vendar obstajajo tudi lokacije, kamor lahko posamezniki

where individuals can drop off their containers, as well.

odlagajo embalaže z oljem.

All of this grease will end up at a processing plant,

Vsa ta maščoba bo končala v predelovalnici,

where it can be converted to useable biodiesel.

kjer jo lahko predelajo v uporabni biodizel.

How does this conversion work?

Kako ta predelava deluje?

Well, all these oils and fats you donated

Vsa olja in maščobe, ki ste jih prispevali,

are made up of triglycerides,

so sestavljeni iz trigliceridov.

a glycerol molecule connected to

To so glicerol molekule, pritrjene na tri maščobne kislinske vezi.

three fatty acid chains.

To convert fats to fuel,

Da bi pretvorili maščobe v gorivo, te reagirajo z alkoholom,

they react with an alcohol,

usually methanol or ethanol,

ponavadi z metanolom ali etanolom,

which produces long-chain esters and glycerol.

nastanejo pa estri z dolgimi verigami in glicerol.

To compare, here are some molecules

Za primerjavo je tukaj nekaj molekul

of regular diesel fuel.

navadnega dizelskega goriva.

Now, here are the molecules we created

Tukaj so molekule, ki smo jih ustvarili,

by breaking apart the triglycerides.

ko smo razbili trigliceride.

Glycerol is the odd man out,

Glicerola ne potrebujemo,

so it's removed at the end of the process.

zato je ob koncu procesa odstranjen.

But look at these esters!

Vendar poglejte te estre!

If you squint, their structures look pretty similar

Če priprete oči, so strukture zelo podobne

to those of the long-chain hydrocarbons in regular diesel.

ogljikovodikovim verigam v navadnem dizlu.

And diesel engines, with a few small modifications,

Dizelske motorje lahko prilagodimo,

can also be made to squint

tako kot naš pogled,

and burn these esters like regular diesel fuel.

da ti estri gorijo kot navadno dizelsko gorivo.

Et voila! Biodiesel.

In tako nastane biodizel.

Now, you might be wondering whether all this hassle

Morda se sprašujete, če je recikliranje uporabljenega olja

over recycling used cooking oil

is even worth it.

vredno nastalih preglavic.

After all, how much energy can it possibly generate?

Konec koncev, koliko energije sploh pridobimo?

Well, if all the grease that New Yorkers throw away in one day

Če bi vso maščobo, ki jo prebivalci New Yorka dnevno zavržejo

were converted to jet fuel,

pretvorili v gorivo za letala,

it would be enough to power several hundred flights

bi ta zadostovala za nekaj sto poletov

from New York to Los Angeles.

iz New Yorka v Los Angeles.

And let's not forget that using waste oil

In ne pozabimo, da reciklaža odpadnega olja

instead of burning more fossil fuels

nadomesti fosilna goriva,

will limit our negative effects on the environment.

kar omeji negativne vplive na okolje.

Recycling used cooking grease

Reciklaža odpadnega olja

turns goop into good.

pretvori packarijo v nekaj dobrega.

By contributing a little bit,

Z majhnim prispevkom lahko posamezniki in podjetja pomagajo ustvarjati

individuals and businesses can help create

an alternative, stable source of diesel oil,

drugačen, stabilen vir dizelskega goriva,

while protecting the environment

hkrati pa ščitijo okolje

and keeping our cities cleaner.

in ohranjajo naša mesta bolj čista.

And that's pretty slick.

In to je dobro podmazana ideja.