Biodiesel: The afterlife of oil - Natascia Radice

翻译人员: Elvis Liu 校对人员: Tom Liu

Just a minute ago,

就在一分钟之前

this oil helped make a delicious meal possible.

油使我们做一餐美味的饭食成为可能

But now, it's just some nasty goop.

但是现在 油变成了脏兮兮的黏糊糊的一滩

What should we do with it?

我们应该怎么处理它？

Well, the easiest thing would be

最简单的处理方式是：

to pour it down the drain;

倒掉

that makes it seem like it's gone,

油看似消失了

but it's not really gone.

实际上并没有

Instead, it's collecting bits of food

它裹挟着一些食物

and other random stuff,

和一些其他的奇怪东西

producing monstrous, greasy blockages

变成了恶心的油腻腻的堵塞物

that clog not only your own drain

这不仅会堵塞你自家的下水管

but entire sewage systems,

还会堵塞整个下水系统

causing flooding and pollution.

并导致污水溢出和污染

Many places have laws for proper disposal of grease,

很多地方立法规范废油的处理

but we can go one step further.

但我们可以多做些什么

Instead of just throwing it away safely,

我们可以把油转变成一些有用的东西

we can turn it into something useful.

而不是简单地废弃掉它

And if you're wondering

如果你疑惑

what anyone could possibly want

什么人可能想要

with a bunch of digusting, used cooking oil,

恶心的用过了食用油

the answer is: biodiesel.

答案是：生物柴油

You've probably heard of diesel engines.

你可能听过柴油引擎

They power farming and construction equipment,

他们为农耕、建筑设备、 货车、大巴、轮船、火车

trucks, buses, ships, trains, backup generators,

和备用发电机以及轿车

and even some cars.

供能

Most of the fuel that feeds these engines

多数为这些机械供能的燃油

is refined from petroleum,

都提炼自石油

which comes from long-dead dinosaurs

石油来自远古死亡的恐龙

and other ancient fossils.

以及远古化石

But diesel fuel can also be derived from

但是柴油也可以从更多的

more recently-dead organisms,

新近死亡的有机体中提炼

like plants and animals.

例如动植物

And this type of fuel is what we call biodiesel.

我们称这种柴油为生物柴油

Biodiesel is a biodegradable energy source,

生物柴油是一种由植物油 和动物脂提炼而来的

made from plant oils or animal fats,

生物降解能量资源

that can usually be burned in regular diesel engines.

生物柴油通常可以被用于 柴油机械的燃烧

You guessed it,

你猜想

it's the 'bio' version of diesel.

这是“生物”柴油

It's cleaner than normal diesel,

比一般柴油清洁

so there has been a push to generate it

所以现在从大豆等作物中提取的技术

from crops like soybeans.

有着广泛的需求

Now, growing plants for fuel,

现在，为了生产燃料种植植物

instead of food, comes with its own problems.

而不是用食物产生燃料， 有着它自己的问题

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

但幸运的是，取得油脂轻而易举

Preparing your used cooking grease for recycling

回收你烹饪过的油脂

is easy.

很简单

First, let it cool down to room temperature.

首先，让它冷却至室温

Then, transfer it to a clean container.

然后将它倒进干净的容器里

You can use any old bottles you have lying around,

你可以使用身边的瓶子

like milk jugs,

比如牛奶盒

as long as they're completely empty,

但要是完全干净的

rinsed, and dried.

需要冲洗后擦干

Use a funnel to avoid spills

用漏斗防止油溢出

and a sieve to filter out any small food particles.

还要用筛子将食物残渣过滤

You can even add bacon grease

你还可以加入培根油

and other animal fats

和其他动物油脂

or the excess oil from canned food,

甚至是罐头食物的剩余油脂

like tuna or sardines,

例如金枪鱼和沙丁鱼罐头

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

但要切记只能加油而不是卤水

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

装好油后怎么办呢？

Well, many cities have recycling services

许多城市有回收服务

that will pick up large amounts of grease

他们可以回收餐厅和其他地方

from restaurants and other establishments.

的大量废油

But there are locations

但也有可以让市民提供废油

where individuals can drop off their containers, as well.

的地方

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

所有这些油脂将会来到一个处理工厂

where it can be converted to useable biodiesel.

在这里它们被转化为可用的生物柴油

How does this conversion work?

转化的原理又是什么呢？

Well, all these oils and fats you donated

你提供的所有油脂

are made up of triglycerides,

都由甘油三酸酯组成

a glycerol molecule connected to

一个和三个脂肪酸链相连接的

three fatty acid chains.

甘油分子

To convert fats to fuel,

为了变成燃料

they react with an alcohol,

它们和酒精反应

usually methanol or ethanol,

通常是甲醇和乙醇

which produces long-chain esters and glycerol.

然后生成长链酯和甘油

To compare, here are some molecules

对比地说，这是一些

of regular diesel fuel.

普通柴油的分子

Now, here are the molecules we created

现在，这些事我们通过 分解甘油三酸酯

by breaking apart the triglycerides.

得到的新分子

Glycerol is the odd man out,

甘油是多出来的分子

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

所以在处理过程最后 要把它除去

But look at these esters!

但请观察这些酯

If you squint, their structures look pretty similar

如果你眯着眼看，它们的结构

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

和普通柴油中的长链碳水化合物 十分相似

And diesel engines, with a few small modifications,

柴油机在经过一些细小的改装后

can also be made to squint

你也可以眯着眼看

and burn these esters like regular diesel fuel.

它们可以像烧普通柴油一样 燃烧这些酯

Et voila! Biodiesel.

大功告成！ 生物柴油！

Now, you might be wondering whether all this hassle

现在，你可能会质疑

over recycling used cooking oil

这些回收烹饪油的成本

is even worth it.

是否真正值得

After all, how much energy can it possibly generate?

毕竟，它究竟可以提供多少能量呢？

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

好的，如果纽约城一天内 所有扔掉的油脂

were converted to jet fuel,

都被转化成飞机燃料

it would be enough to power several hundred flights

这将会为从纽约到洛杉矶的 几百架航班

from New York to Los Angeles.

提供能源

And let's not forget that using waste oil

而且不要忘了用废油

instead of burning more fossil fuels

取代燃烧化石燃料

will limit our negative effects on the environment.

会减少我们对环境施加的危害

Recycling used cooking grease

回收用过的烹饪油脂

turns goop into good.

能变废为宝

By contributing a little bit,

通过贡献一点点

individuals and businesses can help create

个人和企业可以帮助创造

an alternative, stable source of diesel oil,

一种稳定的替代柴油

while protecting the environment

同时保护环境

and keeping our cities cleaner.

保持城市清洁

And that's pretty slick.

这是聪明的做法

subtitle by Zhiyang Liu