How to create cleaner coal - Emma Bryce

如何創造比較乾淨的煤炭 - 艾瑪‧布萊斯

譯者: Harry Chen 審譯者: Jenny Yang

What lights up the screen that you're looking at right now?

是什麼讓你此時正在看著的螢幕亮著？

Trace back the battery chargers and power cords

從電池充電器和電源線追查回去，

and you'll end up at an electrical outlet,

最後你會找到電源插座，

providing easy, safe access to reliable electricity.

那提供容易、安全的管道 來取得可靠的電力，

But beyond that outlet, the picture gets messier.

但是越過插座後面， 畫面就很令人厭惡了。

It takes a lot of fuel to heat our homes,

得用上大量的燃料來暖和我們的房子、

preserve our food,

保存我們的食物以及日夜不間斷地 為電子產品充電，

and our power our gadgets around the clock.

And for 40% of the world, that fuel is cheap, plentiful,

在世界上40%的地方來說 燃料是既便宜又數量充沛的，

and it's called coal.

它就是「煤炭」。

But coal also releases pollutants into the air,

但是煤炭也會排放污染到空氣中，

like sulfur dioxide,

像是二氧化硫、一氧化氮、

nitrogen oxides,

soot,

煤灰、以及像是汞的有毒金屬；

and toxic metals, like mercury.

These cause environmental damage, like acid rain,

這些造成了像是酸雨的環境傷害，

and serious health problems.

還有嚴重的健康問題，

In fact, in 1952, coal burning caused such heavy smog in London

事實上在1952年的倫敦， 燃煤造成了非常濃密的霧霾，

that pedestrians couldn't even see their feet,

行人們甚至沒辦法看到自己的腳，

and thousands of people died from ill health.

以及數千人因為健康出了毛病而死亡。

Since then, many countries have deployed technology

此後很多國家採用科學技術，

to remove most of these pollutants before they reach the air.

把大部分的污染接觸到空氣以前 就給去除掉了。

But now we have a new air pollution problem on our hands,

不過現在我們眼前又有了 新的空氣污染難題，

one that doesn't show up in a cloud of dark smog,

這個不會出現黑色霧霾的氣體，

but in rising seas,

而是升高的海水、水患以及熱浪，

floods,

and heat waves.

It's global climate change,

就是全球的氣候改變。

and again, the main culprit is coal.

又來了！罪魁禍首就是煤炭，

It's responsible for 44% of global carbon dioxide emissions,

全球44%的二氧化碳排放得算到它頭上，

which trap the sun's heat in the Earth's atmosphere,

它把太陽的熱能封鎖在大氣層裡，

instead of letting it escape.

反倒不是任它散去。

So now the question is how do we remove that bad stuff as well?

所以現在的問題是我們如何 順便也一起去除掉這個壞東西呢？

That's the idea behind cleaner coal.

這就是「比較乾淨的煤炭」的發想，

Creating cleaner coal is really about trying to contain its ill effects

製造比較乾淨的煤炭 真的就是想要限縮煤炭的不良影響，

with the help of special technologies that make the end product more acceptable.

而有了專業科技的幫助 使得新的煤炭產品更令人滿意了。

Just like the most intriguing superheroes

不過就像大多數令人著迷的英雄

often have their own dark powers to overcome,

總是有他們自己的心魔得克服，

so we can try and keep coal's negative forces in check.

我們也可以利用和控制好 煤炭的負面力量。

But why don't we just exterminate coal

如果得花上這麼多功夫善後的話，

if it takes that much effort to clean it up?

為什麼我們不停止使用煤炭就好了？

Simply, coal is extremely valuable to us, and it's easy to come by.

就只是煤炭對我們極為有用， 而且它又容易取得；

Compressed underground for ages,

在地表下被積壓了非常久的時間，

coal holds chemical energy from plants

煤炭保留住來自植物的化學能量，

that were fed from by the sun hundreds of millions of years ago,

那是數十億年前的太陽所滋養的，

long before humans evolved.

比人類的進化還要早得多了，

That makes coal energy dense, meaning it can be burned 'round the clock.

這使得煤炭能量充沛， 代表它可以日夜不間斷地的燃燒著，

It's also cheap, if you ignore the pollution costs,

假使你不理會污染的成本它又非常便宜，

and should last us through the end of the 21st century.

而且應該能一直被我們用到21世紀末。

We've already got all the infrastructure in place for harnessing its power,

為了收取它的能量我們所有的 基礎建設也早已經就定位了，

and globally,

雖然全球來講有不少國家

although countries are making a move

towards energy from cleaner and more renewable sources,

正朝向要從更乾淨、更能再生的 資源取得能源，

there's no sign yet that coal use is slowing down.

但至今還尚未有煤炭使用趨緩的跡象。

In fact, as of 2012,

事實上在2012年，

over 1000 new coal plants have been proposed,

已經計畫要建蓋超過1,000座 的新火力發電廠，

mostly in China and India.

最主要是在中國和印度，

Since for the time being coal is here to stay,

從煤炭還是會繼續存在的時間來看，

experts say that if we want to reduce its emissions' impact on the atmosphere,

專家們說假使我們想要減少它 在大氣中的排放產生的影響，

and slow down climate change,

以及放慢氣候的改變，

we'll have to think of creative ways of reducing coal's destructive power.

我們就要想出一些新的方法 降低煤炭的破壞力。

To do that, we need to strip it of its foul forces,

要做到這事我們需要 去除它令人討厭的影響力，

all that toxic carbon dioxide that causes havoc in the atmosphere.

所有在大氣層中造成傷害 惹人厭的二氧化碳，

Then, we need to store the CO2 somewhere else.

然後我們要把二氧化碳 存放到其他地方，

This mission is called carbon capture and sequestration,

這個任務就叫做「碳捕捉與隔離」，

or CCS.

又或叫「碳捕存」。

And as if carbon dioxide were some evil genie we didn't want to escape,

假如二氧化碳是什麼 我們並不想要放過的邪惡妖怪，

once it has been separated from coal,

一旦它從煤炭裡被分離出來了，

we've devised ways to banish it underground.

我們有著技術高明的方法 來把它棄置到地底下，

We can do this by injecting it deep into the Earth,

我們可以透過把二氧化碳 注入到地底深處，

or by placing it deep under the ocean's surface.

或是把它放到海底深處來做到這件事。

Stripping away coal's negative elements can happen in three ways.

要去除煤炭的有害成分 有3種方法下能做到，

First, and most commonly,

首先最常見的是當煤在燃燒時，

as coal burns,

the exhaust gas can be mixed with a compound called monoethanolamine.

被排出的氣體可以混入一種 叫做乙醇胺的化合物，

Like a forceful power-stripping magnet, this compound bonds to the CO2,

就像吸走能量的強力磁鐵， 這種化合物會和二氧化碳結合，

yanking it out of the gas stream

把它拉出氣流外，

so it can be stored separately underground.

因此它就可以單獨地被存放到地底下。

Another method is to relieve coal of its CO2

另一個方法是減輕碳的二氧化碳量，

before it even has a chance to be released as exhaust.

在它還沒被當成廢氣排放出來之前，

In this process, steam and oxygen swoop in to the rescue

這個過程中蒸氣、氧氣會衝進來做救星，

to convert coal into a special product called syngas,

把煤碳變成叫做「合成氣」的特殊產物，

made up of carbon monoxide and hydrogen and some CO2.

那是由一氧化碳、氫氣、 和些許二氧化碳所構成的，

Zap that with some water vapor,

快速加入一些水蒸氣，

and the carbon monoxide gets converted into carbon dioxide,

而一氧化碳就變成了二氧化碳，

which can be isolated.

那可以被區分開來；

The leftover hydrogen gas is then used as energy to generate electricity,

剩下的氫氣之後就被用來當發電能量，

so there's an added bonus.

所以這是一個附加的紅利。

A third technique exposes coal to pure oxygen,

第三種技術把煤炭放在純氧中，

instead of burning it in air.

倒不是在空氣中燃燒它，

This creates exhaust gas with higher concentrations of carbon dioxide,

這產生高度集中二氧化碳的廢氣，

which makes it easy to isolate and to banish to the chasms below.

這讓二氧化碳很容易被區分開 而且棄置到深坑裡。

All this can reduce emissions at a power plant by up to 90%,

這些方法全都可以減少發電廠 高達90%的二氧化碳排放，

but as with any superhero struggling with their destructive powers,

不過如同所有的超級英雄 掙扎於與他們破壞性的力量，

it takes a lot of effort to switch over from the dark side.

這需要極大的努力來從黑暗面轉變過來。

So these positive pollution-busting forces,

所以這些污染捕捉的正面力量，

although they're available,

儘管都能取得，

have barely been used in commercial power plants

卻很少被營利性的發電廠採用，

because they cost a lot.

因為它們所費不貲。

But ultimately, the bigger problem is that in most parts of the world,

更大的問題終究是世界上大多數地方，

it's still too easy and much cheaper to keep emitting carbon dioxide,

繼續排放二氧化碳 仍然是非常容易和便宜，

and that makes it tempting to completely ignore coal's dark side.

這使得電廠意圖完全地 無視煤炭的壞處。

In this case, the most powerful force for good is regulation,

在這種時候最能夠一勞永逸 的力量是政府之規範，

the rules that can restrict the amount of carbon dioxide

這些法規可以限制發電廠的 二氧化碳排放量，

emitted from power plants,

and make energy companies around the world

而使得世界各地的能源公司

wary of what they put into the air.

要擔憂於它們所排放進空氣裡的東西。

Until then,

直到那時候為止，

every time you turn on a screen or flick a light switch,

每回你打開銀幕或是電燈開關， 煤炭都會在其背後，

coal is lurking in the background,

carrying its dark powers with it wherever it goes.

不論到了哪兒都帶有它暗黑的力量。