Damian Palin: Mining minerals from seawater

Translator: Timothy Covell Reviewer: Morton Bast

翻译人员: Zhenwei Huang 校对人员: Tyler Yan

I collaborate with bacteria.

我和细菌们合作。

And I'm about to show you

而我即将向你们展示

some stop-motion footage that I made recently

一些我最近拍摄的

where you'll see bacteria accumulating minerals

关于细菌如何在一个小时里从周围环境

from their environment

累积矿物质的单格片段。

over the period of an hour.

累积矿物质的单格片段。

So what you're seeing here

你看到的

is the bacteria metabolizing,

是细菌的新陈代谢，

and as they do so

在这个过程中

they create an electrical charge.

它们产生了电流。

And this attracts metals

而电流会吸引周围的金属。

from their local environment.

而电流会吸引周围的金属。

And these metals accumulate as minerals

这些金属会以矿物质的形式

on the surface of the bacteria.

积覆在细菌上。

One of the most pervasive problems

今天的世界最普遍的问题之一

in the world today for people

今天的世界最普遍的问题之一

is inadequate access

便是缺乏干净的饮用水。

to clean drinking water.

便是缺乏干净的饮用水。

And the desalination process

海水淡化的工序

is one where we take out salts.

让我们过滤掉海水里的盐分。

We can use it for drinking and agriculture.

这种水可以用来饮用或者灌溉农田。

Removing the salts from water --

通过反向过滤

particularly seawater --

从水中 ，特别是海水中

through reverse osmosis

移除盐分

is a critical technique

是一个无比重要的技术。

for countries who do not have access to clean drinking water

这对那些没有办法获取干净的饮用水的国家。

around the globe.

尤为重要。

So seawater reverse osmosis

海水反向过滤是一种使用隔膜过滤的技术。

is a membrane-filtration technology.

海水反向过滤是一种使用隔膜过滤的技术。

We take the water from the sea

我们抽取海水并施以压力，

and we apply pressure.

我们抽取海水并施以压力，

And this pressure forces the seawater

而这个压力强迫海水通过隔膜。

through a membrane.

而这个压力强迫海水通过隔膜。

This takes energy,

这是通过消耗能量来得到干净的水。

producing clean water.

这是通过消耗能量来得到干净的水。

But we're also left with a concentrated salt solution, or brine.

但我们同时也有很浓的盐水剩下。

But the process is very expensive

而且整个过程非常的昂贵，

and it's cost-prohibitive for many countries around the globe.

它高昂的代价吓退了世界上很多的国家。

And also, the brine that's produced

不仅如此，产生的浓盐水常常被直接送回海洋中。

is oftentimes just pumped back out into the sea.

不仅如此，产生的浓盐水常常被直接送回海洋中。

And this is detrimental to the local ecology

对当地的海洋生态有破坏性的影响，

of the sea area that it's pumped back out into.

对当地的海洋生态有破坏性的影响，

So I work in Singapore at the moment,

我现在在新加坡工作，

and this is a place that's really a leading place

这是现在在脱盐科技领于领先位置的地方。

for desalination technology.

这是现在在脱盐科技处于领先位置的地方。

And Singapore proposes by 2060

新加坡计划在2060年之前

to produce [900] million liters per day

达到每天生产9亿升的脱盐水的目标。

of desalinated water.

达到每天生产9亿升的脱盐水的目标。

But this will produce an equally massive amount

但这同时也会生产出同样大量的浓盐水。

of desalination brine.

但这同时也会生产出同样大量的浓盐水。

And this is where my collaboration with bacteria comes into play.

而这就是我和细菌合作的开始。

So what we're doing at the moment

我们现在正在做的

is we're accumulating metals

便是从浓盐水中累积像钙、钾和镁的一样的金属。

like calcium, potassium and magnesium

便是从浓盐水中累积像钙、钾和镁的一样的金属。

from out of desalination brine.

便是从浓盐水中累积像钙、钾和镁的一样的金属。

And this, in terms of magnesium

而这……就拿镁来说吧。

and the amount of water that I just mentioned,

通过处理9亿升的浓盐水，

equates to a $4.5 billion

我们能生产价值45亿美元的镁。

mining industry for Singapore --

而新加坡本身

a place that doesn't have any natural resources.

是一个没有任何自然资源的地方。

So I'd like you to image a mining industry

所以我希望你们可以想象一个

in a way that one hasn't existed before;

前所未有的矿业；

imagine a mining industry

想象一个不需要污损地球土地的矿业；

that doesn't mean defiling the Earth;

想象一个不需要污损地球土地的矿物业；

imagine bacteria helping us do this

想象细菌帮我们从浓盐水中

by accumulating and precipitating

想象细菌帮我们从浓盐水中

and sedimenting minerals

累积、凝结以及沉淀矿物质。

out of desalination brine.

累积、凝结以及沉淀矿物质。

And what you can see here

而你现在可以看到的是

is the beginning of an industry in a test tube,

一个从试管中升起的行业，

a mining industry that is in harmony with nature.

一个和自然和谐共存的矿业。

Thank you.

谢谢。

(Applause)

（掌声）