Ink made of air pollution | Anirudh Sharma

Translator: Maricene Crus Reviewer: Cihan Ekmekçi

翻译人员: Melody Chen 校对人员: Yolanda Zhang

Every year, more than four to five million people die

每年，全球有超过五百万人

due to exposure to outdoor air pollution

因暴露于外界的大气污染中

around the world.

而死亡。

This petri dish that you are looking at

你们现在看到的这个有盖培养皿

contains approximately 20 minutes' worth of pollution

容纳着大约相当于在20分钟内

captured off a pyrolysis plant.

从一个热解装置内收集的污染物。

This is PM 2.5.

这就是PM2.5（可吸入颗粒物）。

These particles -- you can see it right now,

虽然这些微粒现在肉眼可见，

but when they're out there in the air, you won't see them.

但是当它们散布在 大气中时，几乎看不到。

These are so tiny that our lungs --

这些颗粒是如此之微小， 以至于我们的肺——

our bodies cannot filter them, and they end up in our bodies --

或者说我们的身体不能将它们滤除， 所以它们会滞留在体内——

如果没有得到及时的治疗， 将会让我们患上哮喘和肺癌。

give us asthma and lung cancer if not treated in the right time.

On a trip back to India, when I was a student in 2012,

2012年，当我还是一个 学生的时候，有一次我回印度，

I took this picture.

我拍下了这张照片。

This picture stuck in my head.

这个画面此后一直 盘踞在我的脑海中。

On one side, you see this exhaust of a diesel generator,

一方面，你们可以看到 一个柴油发电机排出的废气，

the same generator which is a sign of human progress,

正是这样的柴油发电机 标志着人类文明的进步，

which is a sign of rapid industrialization

标志着快速工业化，

and what we have become as a society in the last 100 years,

也标志着作为一个社会，我们在 过去的100年里为了聚获得能量，

generating energy.

做出了怎样的努力。

But on the other side,

但是在另一方面，

你们也能看到这个非常 有趣的三角状黑色图案，

you see this very interesting triangular, black-colored swatch,

that is produced by the same residual particulate waste

它正是用与柴油发电机 排放的完全相同的

created by the emissions of the generator.

残留颗粒状废弃物创造出来的。

Now, this picture gave me an idea

这张照片让我产生了一个大胆的想法，

and got me thinking about rethinking both pollution and inks,

也让我开始重新考虑 关于污染物和墨水的事，

because it was making that black-colored mark.

因为它留下了那样黑色的印记。

Now, the reality is that most of the black ink that we use conventionally

当下的现实是，我们通常 使用的大多数黑色墨水

is traditionally produced

是用传统工艺生产的，

by conventionally burning fossil fuels in factories.

也就是照惯例在工厂内 焚烧化石燃料所得。

There are factories around the world that are burning fossil fuels

世界上许多工厂靠焚烧化石燃料

to produce carbon black,

来生产碳黑，

进而制作出我们每天 都使用的黑墨水。

to make black inks that we use on an everyday basis.

But given that millions of liters of fossil fuels

但是在数以百万计升的化石燃料

are already being burned out there

已经被我们的汽车，

by our cars, our engines and our exhaust out there,

引擎和排气装置焚烧殆尽的前提下，

what if you could capture that pollution

如果可以捕获那些污染物，

and use it to recycle and make those inks?

回收利用并做成墨水会怎么样呢？

I decided to give this experiment a shot.

我决定尝试一下这个实验。

I went back to my lab back in Boston and conducted a small experiment.

我回到我在波士顿的实验室， 进行了一个小实验。

In Boston, I couldn't find much pollution to play with,

在波士顿，我找不到 那么多污染物来做实验，

所以我转而使用了一根蜡烛。

so I resorted to using a candle.

This was an experiment.

就是这么个实验。

I burnt a candle,

我点燃一根蜡烛，

built this contraption that would suck in that candle soot,

制作了这个可以吸入蜡烛烟雾的装置，

mixed it with some vegetable oil and vodka,

并把它与些许植物油和伏特加酒混合，

because to a DIY hacker, these were really easily available.

毕竟对一个DIY狂热分子来说， 这些是最唾手可得的材料了。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

And after mixing them,

将它们混合之后，

you could churn out a very rudimentary form of ink

你就可以大量炮制 一种非常初级的墨水，

that would go into a cartridge,

它以被储存在墨盒里，

and now you could print with it.

而现在你们就可以用它打印了。

This was my "Hello, World!" of experimenting

这就是我像“你好，世界！”般的第一次

with printing with pollution.

用污染物做成墨水的实验。

This is the same pollution that I showed you in the petri dish,

这就是我刚向你们展示的 有盖培养皿中的污染物，

which is the result of any fossil fuel that is being burned out there.

也是所有那些化石燃料 被焚烧后的产物。

In 2015, I decided to take this experimentation forward

在2015年，我决定 将这个实验向前推进，

and set up a lab in India

并在印度成立了一个实验室，

to work on the capture and recycling of air pollution.

来从事捕获和回收利用 大气污染物的工作。

In the good times, the lab used to look something like this.

在情况尚佳的时候， 实验室通常看起来像这样。

But experimentations were not always controlled,

但是并不是每一次实验 都能被精准控制，

and disasters happened.

“灾难”时常发生。

And while experimentation would happen,

当实验失败的时候，

the lab would end up looking something like this.

实验室就会变得一片狼藉。

Well, we knew where we wanted to go,

虽然我们对最终目标都心知肚明，

but we were not sure how exactly to reach there.

但是却并不清楚具体怎样去实现。

The passersby who used to go by that lab through that building

那些经常穿过那栋楼， 路过我们实验室的过路人

used to, at times, think, "These guys are making bombs in there,"

时常暗想：“这些家伙 正在那儿制造炸弹呢吧。”

because there was too much fire, wires and smoke in the same vicinity.

那是因为有太多火焰， 导线和浓烟聚集在一处了。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

We decided, let's move to a garage and take experiments forward.

我们决定，不如搬去 车库继续推进实验吧。

我们找到了一个车库，在初期阶段，

We took a garage, and during the early stages,

我们开车带着这样的装置 在班加罗尔四处转。

we were driving around Bangalore with contraptions like these.

This is an early-stage prototype.

这就是一个初期的雏形。

Imagine the looks people gave us,

可以想象人们向我们投来的眼神，

"What are these cars driving around doing?"

“这些车四处兜转是在做什么？”

这是一个捕获大气 污染物的早期原型机，

This is an early-stage prototype of our system that would capture pollution

that is being released from a conventional diesel-based car.

它捕获的是从传统 柴油汽车中排放的污染物。

This is an early stage of the technology.

这就是这项技术的早期阶段。

We advanced the technology and created this into this version

我们后来改进了这项技术， 并创造出了这个

that would capture pollution from static sources of pollution,

能从静止污染源捕获污染物的版本，

like a diesel generator.

比如一个柴油发电机。

If you see, all the fumes disappear as soon as you turn this machine on.

可以看到，所有烟气都在 我们刚启动这机器的时候消失了。

Without affecting the performance of the engine,

在没有影响到引擎性能的前提下，

we are able to capture 95 percent worth of pollution

我们可以捕获相当于95%

released from the diesel generator.

由柴油发电机排放的污染物。

This is the particulate matter that we are talking about that we capture,

这正是我刚刚谈到的 我们要捕获的东西，

in this case, within three to four hours of operation of a generator.

在这个例子中，就是在发电机 工作3到4小时间所产生的污染物。

And while our experiments and our research was advancing,

当我们的实验和 研究正在取得进展时，

a very big company, a very big brand, approached us and said,

一家非常大的公司， 一个很大的品牌找到我们说，

"We want to take this idea further with you guys,

“我们想和你们一起推进这个想法，

and take this further in a very big celebrated form."

并将它进一步发展成 一种非常知名的形式。“

他们说，“就用你们用污染物做的墨水，

They said, "Let's do a global art campaign

with the inks that you are making off this pollution."

举办一场全球性的艺术活动吧。”

I'll show you what the ink looks like.

我来展示一下这个墨水是什么样子。

So, this pen is made by recycling 40 to 50 minutes of that car pollution

这支笔是通过对我们所谈论的 40到50分钟内收集的汽车废弃物

that we are talking about,

回收利用制成的，

跟那个有盖培养皿中的 污染物成分相同。

the same pollution that is in the petri dish.

它有一种可以用来 书写的很明晰的黑色。

And it's a very sharp black that you can write with.

So I'm going to write ...

那么我要写下……

PM 2.5, that's incorrect.

PM 2.5，再划掉。

So this is a very sharp black that is generated by the same pollution.

所以这是一种用相同污染物 积聚而成的非常明晰的黑色。

After much work on the lab-level research,

在从事了许多实验室研究之后，

we got an offer from a big corporation to do a very big trial of this idea.

我们收到一个大公司的邀请， 来进行一次大尝试。

And it happened to be a brand, and we didn't think twice.

它正好也算是一个大品牌， 所以我们毫不犹豫的答应了。

We said, "Let's go ahead."

我们说，“那我们继续吧。”

Inventing in the lab is one thing

然而在实验室进行发明创造是一回事，

and taking ideas and deploying them in the real world is completely another.

将点子带到现实世界 实施却完全是另一回事。

During early stages,

在早期阶段，

we had to resort to using our own houses and own kitchens

我们不得不使用自己的家和厨房

as our ink-making factories,

作为我们的墨水制造厂，

and our own bedrooms and living rooms

也要把我们自己的卧室还有起居室，

as the first assembly line for making these inks.

作为第一条制造这些墨水的流水线。

This is my cofounder Nikhil's own bedroom,

这是我的合伙人Nikhil自己的卧室，

that is being used to supply inks to artists all around the world,

已经被用来向遍布全球的 艺术家们提供墨水，

who would paint with AIR-INK.

他们会用AIR-INK（空气墨水）来作画。

And that's him, delivering AIR-INKs to the ports

那是他，正在将AIR-INK运送到码头，

so that the artists around the world can use it.

这样全球的艺术家们就能用上了。

Soon, we started seeing

不久，我们开始看到

that thousands of artists around the world started using AIR-INK,

全球成千上万的艺术家们 开始使用AIR-INK，

and artworks started emerging like this.

像这样的艺术品也开始出现，

Soon, thousands of black-and-white, pollution-made artworks

不久，成千上万由污染物 制成的黑白艺术品

started emerging on a global scale.

开始在全球范围内出现。

And believe me, for a group of scientists and engineers and inventors,

相信我，对于一群科学家， 工程师和发明家来说，

there was nothing more satisfying than that the product of their work

没有什么比他们的工作成果

is now being used by some of the finest artists around the world.

正被全球最富盛名的艺术家 使用更让人心满意足的了。

This is the cover of "Contagious" magazine last year,

这是去年《Contagious》杂志的封面，

that was done by using the same ink that we made back in our labs.

它是由我们在实验室制成的 那种墨水制作而成的，

This is a famous painting by the British artist, Christian Furr,

这是一幅英国画家 Christian Furr所作的著名画作，

who painted it for the song "Paint It Black" by The Rolling Stones.

是为滚石乐队的歌曲 《Paint It Black》所画的。

Now, there's more to this pen and this ink

除了那些流行和通俗文化的作品之外，

than just the popular and pop-culture artworks.

还有更多有关这支笔和墨水的故事。

And now our goal is to create a company

而现在我们的目标是成立一家公司，

that can actually make some black money -- I mean, just money --

能够多赚些“黑”钱， 我是说，多挣钱——

(Laughter)

（笑声）

and high-quality printing processes and inks

生产高质量的印刷流程和墨水，

that can replace the conventional black inks

甚至可以取代传统意义上的黑色墨水，

that have been produced for the last thousands of years around the world.

尽管它们已经在 全世界被生产了上千年。

Soon after our growing popularity and artworks around the world,

我们的作品在世界各地 越来越受欢迎，不久后，

we started facing a very different kind of a problem.

我们开始面对一个非常不一样的问题。

We started getting spammed by polluters,

很多污染企业的邮包接踵而至，

who would send us bags full of pollution to our office address,

这些企业会把成包的污染物 寄到我们的办公室，

asking us, "What can we do with this pollution?"

然后问我们：“你们能用 这些污染物做什么？”

Our lab back in Bombay right now has pollution samples

我们在孟买的实验室 目前拥有的污染物样品

that have come from London, from India, from China, you name it.

是从伦敦，印度，中国， 还有其它你们能想到的地方寄来的。

And this is just the beginning.

而这仅仅是一个开始。

This polluter sent us this specific image, asking us

这个污染企业发给了我们 这些图片，向我们询问，

that these are all bags filled with PM 2.5,

这些全是装满了PM2.5的袋子，

and can we recycle it for him if we paid him some money.

我们是否可以付他们一些钱 来为他们回收这些东西。

Well, what would he have done if we did not take that pollution?

不过，如果我们不要这些污染物， 他又会拿去做什么呢？

他或许会找一条附近的河流 或垃圾堆，将它们丢弃在那里。

He would probably find a nearby river or a landfill and dump it over there.

But now, because we had the economics of AIR-INK figured out on the other side,

但是现在，正因为我们有了 横空出世的AIR-INK经济，

we could incentivize him to give us this pollution and make inks from it,

我们可以激励他给我们提供 污染物并用它制成墨水，

and turn it into even more valuable products.

再把它进一步变废为宝。

Now, pollution, as we all know, is a global killer.

众所周知，大气污染物 是全球环境杀手。

We can't claim that our ink will solve the world's pollution problem.

我们不能断言我们的墨水 能解决全球污染问题。

但是它确实为我们展示了

But it does show what can be done

if you look at this problem slightly differently.

如果从一个稍微不同的角度看问题， 我们可以做成怎样的事业。

Look at this T-shirt I'm holding right now.

看一下我拿着的这件T恤，

This is made from the same AIR-INK I'm talking about.

它就是由我所谈到的 那种AIR-INK做成的。

It's made from the same pollution that is inside this petri dish.

这种墨水由有盖培养皿里的污染物制成，

And the same pollution we are all breathing in when we are walking outdoors.

也与我们在户外散步 所吸入的污染物相同。

And we are on our way to do better than this.

而我们正沿着不断改进的道路前行。

Thank you very much.

非常感谢你们的聆听。

（掌声）

(Applause)