A young scientist's quest for clean water | Deepika Kurup

翻译人员: Conway Ye 校对人员: Ming Ma

Every summer, my family and I travel across the world,

每一个夏天， 我和家人都会跨过

3,000 miles away

3000 英里远的地球另一边，

to the culturally diverse country of India.

回到文化多元的印度。

Now, India is a country infamous for its scorching heat and humidity.

要知道，印度以炎热 和潮湿而臭名昭著，

For me, the only relief from this heat is to drink plenty of water.

对于我来说，面对炎热唯一的 方法就是喝足够的水。

Now, while in India,

在印度的时候，

my parents always remind me to only drink boiled or bottled water,

我的父母总是提醒我只 喝煮沸的或者瓶装水，

because unlike here in America,

因为不像美国，

where I can just turn on a tap and easily get clean, potable water,

我能直接打开水龙头， 得到洁净和可饮用的水。

in India, the water is often contaminated.

在印度，水经常是被污染的。

So my parents have to make sure

所以我的父母一定要保证

that the water we drink is safe.

我们喝的水是安全的。

However, I soon realized

但是，我很快意识到

that not everyone is fortunate enough

不是所有人都足够幸运，

to enjoy the clean water we did.

能够像我们一样享受纯净水。

Outside my grandparents' house in the busy streets of India,

我祖父母的房子外面， 在印度繁忙的大街上，

I saw people standing in long lines

我看见人们在烈日下，

under the hot sun

排着长队，

filling buckets with water from a tap.

从一个水龙头往桶里装水。

I even saw children,

我甚至看到一个

who looked the same age as me,

看起来和我年纪相仿的孩子，

filling up these clear plastic bottles

用透明的塑料瓶

with dirty water from streams on the roadside.

在路边水沟里取脏水。

Watching these kids

看着这些孩子，

forced to drink water

被迫喝我觉得太脏

that I felt was too dirty to touch

不能碰的水，

changed my perspective on the world.

改变了我对世界的看法。

This unacceptable social injustice

这个难以接受的社会不平衡

compelled me to want to find a solution

让我想找到一个对 世界洁净水资源问题的

to our world's clean water problem.

解决方案。

I wanted to know why these kids lacked water,

我想知道为什么这些孩子缺少水，

a substance that is essential for life.

一个生命不可或缺的物质。

And I learned that we are facing

于是我学到，我们面对着

a global water crisis.

全球水危机。

Now, this may seem surprising,

这可能令人惊讶，

as 75 percent of our planet is covered in water,

我们星球面积的 75% 被水覆盖，

but only 2.5 percent of that is freshwater,

但是只有 2.5% 是淡水，

and less than one percent of Earth's freshwater supply

而可为人类所用的地球淡水供应

is available for human consumption.

还不到 1% 。

With rising populations,

随着人口的增加，

industrial development and economic growth,

工业发展和经济增长，

our demand for clean water is increasing,

我们对洁净水的需求也在增大，

yet our freshwater resources are rapidly depleting.

可我们的淡水资源正在急速枯竭。

According to the World Health Organization,

据世界卫生组织统计，

660 million people in our world

世界上 6 亿 6 千万人

lack access to a clean water source.

缺少洁净水资源。

Lack of access to clean water is a leading cause of death

缺少洁净水资源是发展中国家

in children under the age of five in developing countries,

5 岁以下孩子死亡的主要原因，

and UNICEF estimates that 3,000 children

据联合国儿童基金会估计， 每天有 3 千个孩子

die every day from a water-related disease.

因为与水相关的疾病死亡。

So after returning home one summer in eighth grade,

所以回到家后，八年级的一个夏天，

I decided that I wanted to combine my passion

我决定要把我对解决

for solving the global water crisis

世界水危机的热情

with my interest in science.

和我对科学的兴趣结合起来。

So I decided that the best thing to do

所以我决定，最好的办法

would be to convert my garage into a laboratory.

就是把我的车库变成一个实验室。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Actually, at first I converted my kitchen into a laboratory,

事实上，刚开始， 我把厨房变成了一个实验室，

but my parents didn't really approve and kicked me out.

但那时我的父母 并不支持，还把我赶出去了。

我也读了很多和水有关的研究论文，

I also read a lot of journal papers on water-related research,

and I learned that currently in developing countries,

我学到现在在发展中国家，

something called solar disinfection,

一个叫做太阳消毒的东西，

or SODIS, is used to purify water.

或者 SODIS，被用来净化水。

In SODIS, clear plastic bottles are filled with contaminated water

利用 SODIS，干净的塑料瓶 装满被污染的水，

and then exposed to sunlight for six to eight hours.

然后在阳光下暴晒 6 到 8 小时。

The UV radiation from the sun

阳光中的紫外线

destroys the DNA of these harmful pathogens

摧毁了那些有害病毒的 DNA，

and decontaminates the water.

从而实现了水的净化。

Now, while SODIS is really easy to use and energy-efficient,

虽然 SODIS 使用起来 很简单而且能源效率很高，

as it only uses solar energy,

但因为只使用太阳能驱动，

it's really slow,

所以这个过程非常慢，

as it can take up to two days when it's cloudy.

阴天可能会花上两天时间。

So in order to make the SODIS process faster,

所以为了让 SODIS 的过程更快，

this new method called photocatalysis

人们近期开始使用一种新的方法，

has recently been used.

光催化剂。

So what exactly is this photocatalysis?

那么具体什么是光催化剂？

Let's break it down:

让我们来逐步理解：

"photo" means from the sun,

“光”意思是来自太阳，

and a catalyst is something that speeds up a reaction.

“催化剂”是一些能够加快反应的东西。

So what photocatalysis is doing

所以光催化的作用

is it's just speeding up this solar disinfection process.

就是加快了太阳消毒的过程。

When sunlight comes in and strikes a photocatalyst,

当阳光射入并启动光催化剂，

like TiO2, or titanium dioxide,

像 TiO2，又名为二氧化钛，

it creates these really reactive oxygen species,

二氧化钛创造出了很多活性氧，

like superoxides, hydrogen peroxide and hydroxyl radicals.

像超氧化物、过氧化氢 和羟基自由基。

These reactive oxygen species

这些活性氧

are able to remove bacteria and organics

能够移除细菌和有机物，

and a whole lot of contaminants from drinking water.

和饮用水中的很多污染物。

But unfortunately, there are several disadvantages

但很遗憾， SODIS 光催化剂的使用方式

to the way photocatalytic SODIS is currently deployed.

有很多缺点。

See, what they do is they take the clear plastic bottles

他们在干净的塑料瓶内壁

and they coat the inside with this photocatalytic coating.

覆盖了一层光催化剂。

But photocatalysts like titanium dioxide

但是像二氧化钛之类的光催化剂，

are actually commonly used in sunscreens

事实上经常被使用在太阳镜上，

to block UV radiation.

来阻隔紫外线。

So when they're coated on the inside of these bottles,

所以当瓶子内部被它们覆盖，

they're actually blocking some of the UV radiation

它们事实上阻隔了紫外线，

and diminishing the efficiency of the process.

并减少了过程的效率。

Also, these photocatalytic coatings

而且，这些光催化剂

are not tightly bound to the plastic bottle,

并不是紧紧贴着塑料瓶，

which means they wash off, and people end up drinking the catalyst.

意味着它们会被洗掉， 人们最终会食入催化剂。

虽然 TiO2 相对安全和惰性强，

While TiO2 is safe and inert,

it's really inefficient if you keep drinking the catalyst,

但一直食入催化剂就会降低净化效率，

because then you have to continue to replenish it,

因为你需要不断重新加入催化剂，

even after a few uses.

甚至只是用了几次。

So my goal was to overcome the disadvantages

所以我的目标是解决这些

of these current treatment methods

当前方法的问题，

and create a safe, sustainable,

并创造一个安全、可持续的、

cost-effective and eco-friendly method of purifying water.

节约并环保的净化水方式。

What started off as an eighth grade science fair project

一个最开始只是八年级 科学年会的项目，

is now my photocatalytic composite for water purification.

如今延伸为我的 净化水光催化剂合成物。

The composite combines titanium dioxide with cement.

这个合成物结合了二氧化钛和水泥。

The cement-like composite can be formed into several different shapes,

这个像水泥一样的合成物 能够形成许多不同形状，

which results in an extremely versatile range of deployment methods.

提供了一个多功能的使用方式。

For example, you could create a rod

比如，你可以制作一个棒子，

that can easily be placed inside water bottles for individual use

能够简单放在个人的水瓶中，

or you could create a porous filter that can filter water for families.

或者你可以制作一个 多孔滤器，给家庭用水进行过滤。

You can even coat the inside of an existing water tank

你甚至可以把它做成水箱内部的涂层，

to purify larger amounts of water

从而净化大量的水，

for communities over a longer period of time.

长时间供一整个社区的人使用。

Now, over the course of this,

想要完成这些，

my journey hasn't really been easy.

我的旅程并不简单。

You know, I didn't have access to a sophisticated laboratory.

我没有高端实验室的资源。

I was 14 years old when I started,

最开始的时候我只有 14 岁，

but I didn't let my age deter me

但我并没有让年龄阻止我

in my interest in pursuing scientific research

追求科学研究，

and wanting to solve the global water crisis.

浇灭我解决世界水危机的热情。

See, water isn't just the universal solvent.

水不仅仅是一个万能溶剂，

Water is a universal human right.

也是普适的人权。

And for that reason,

也正因此，

I'm continuing to work on this science fair project from 2012

我从 2012 年开始研究 这个科学年会项目，

to bring it from the laboratory into the real world.

并把它从实验室带到了现实生活中。

And this summer, I founded Catalyst for World Water,

这个夏天，我成立了“催化世界水”，

a social enterprise aimed at catalyzing solutions to the global water crisis.

一个为了加快解决 世界水危机的社会型企业。

(Applause)

（鼓掌）

Alone, a single drop of water can't do much,

仅一滴水做不了什么，

but when many drops come together,

但是当许多滴水聚集在一起，

they can sustain life on our planet.

它们就能够维系我们星球上的生命。

Just as water drops come together to form oceans,

就像水滴聚成了大海，

I believe that we all must come together

我相信我们需要通力合作，

when tackling this global problem.

来解决这个国际性的问题。

Thank you.

谢谢。

(Applause)

（鼓掌）

Thank you.

谢谢。

(Applause)

（鼓掌）