How to Transform the Chemical Industry -- One Reaction at a Time | Miguel A. Modestino | TED

翻译人员: Shuhui Huang 校对人员: Yip Yan Yeung

I was born and raised in Caracas, Venezuela,

我是在上世纪 80 到 90 年代期间，

back in the '80s and '90s.

在委内瑞拉的加拉加斯 出生并长大的。

Venezuela is a beautiful country,

委内瑞拉是一个很美的国家，

rich with natural treasures from beaches to rainforests.

从海滩到雨林都充满了 丰富的自然财富。

But one thing that people don't quite realize

但有一件不太引人注目的事，

is that we also have really tall mountains.

就是我们也有很多高山。

These are part of the Andes,

这些是安第斯山脉的一部分，

and they stretch all the way down from Chile and Argentina.

它们一直从智利延伸到阿根廷。

And they're also home to some of the very few tropical glaciers

它们也是这世界上

极少数热带冰川的家园。

in the world.

Back in 1910, when the first map was drawn,

早在 1910 年， 当世界上第一张地图被画出来时，

Venezuela used to have five tropical glaciers,

委内瑞拉以前是有五个热带冰川的，

which we used to call the five white eagles.

我们称它们为五白鹰。

Today, unfortunately, there's only one left,

很可惜， 事到如今，只有一个还留存着，

and it covers an area which is smaller than Central Park in New York City.

而它覆盖的地方 比纽约的中央公园还要小。

These glaciers have been disappearing because of the use of a resource

这些冰川正在消失的原因是因为 一种能源的使用，

that we extract not too far from them:

这种能源的提取地也离这些冰川不远：

oil.

石油。

As a Venezuelan, my relationship with oil is complicated.

作为一个委内瑞拉人， 我对石油的情感很复杂。

On the one hand, oil is the resource that helped my country develop,

一方面，石油带动了我的国家 甚至人类文明蓬勃发展，

as well as human civilization.

On the other hand,

另一方面呢，

it's a resource that slowly but surely fuels an existential threat.

它又在缓慢而稳定地带领着我们 走向生存危机。

Climate change.

气候变化。

We now know that to avert the worst impacts of climate change,

我们现在知道， 为了避免气候变化带来的最坏结果，

we're going to have to decarbonize everything that we do

我们将不得不对我们的所作所为 以及周围的一切

and everything that surrounds us.

进行脱碳。

And to do that within the next three decades.

时间期限只有三十年。

These include things like transitioning from oil, natural gas

我们要做的， 包括从用石油和天然气

to clean sources of electricity;

改为干净的电力资源；

electrifying all of our vehicles;

把车都换成电动；

rethinking the way that we make our buildings and cities.

重新规划我们的房屋和城市。

The good news is that technologies to do some of these things already exist.

好消息是，完成这些事所需的科技， 我们已经有了一些。

And legislation to frame and direct this effort

制定和指导这项工作的立法

is starting to be put in place.

也已经开始实施。

The bad news is that even if we do all of these things,

坏消息是， 即使我们做了以上所有这些；

it will still not be enough.

还是不够。

There are still large sectors of our economy

我们经济中仍有很大一部分 需要脱碳，

that will need to be decarbonized

for which we don't have the technology yet.

但我们还没有相关技术。

These include the things like manufacturing processes

其中包括用于 制造我们周围一切的制造工艺，

that are used to make everything that surrounds us,

from the cement and steel that holds our buildings together

从造房子用的钢筋水泥，

to the chemicals and materials that we use to make the goods

到用来制造日常生活用品的 化学品和材料。

that we use in our daily lives.

Things like the chair that you're sitting in,

像你现在坐着的椅子，

your shoes, the cars that you use,

你的鞋、车

and all the devices that we use every day.

和所有我们每天都在用的设备。

The chemical manufacturing industry alone accounts for 10 percent

仅化学制造业

of the energy consumption.

就占总能耗的 10%。

And 20 percent of the carbon emissions from industry.

而碳排放则占总体的 20%。

These emissions arise from the use of fossil fuel combustion

这些排放来自于化石燃料的燃烧， 因为我们要用其产生的热量

to generate the heat that is required to drive processes inside of our old

来驱动那些老旧低效的 化学工厂的内部工艺。

and inefficient chemical plants.

One way to start fixing the issue will be to use electricity

解决方案之一， 就是用电力

instead of heat from fossil fuels

来代替化石燃料的热能

to drive the processes inside of these plants.

来驱动这些工厂内部的流程。

Sounds easy enough, right?

听起来简单吧？

Just unplug the natural gas pipelines, plug in the electrical wire,

不过就是是拆掉天然气管道， 接上电力管道

and make sure that you source electricity from clean sources like solar,

并保证你的电来自干净的能源， 比如太阳能，

wind or nuclear.

风能或者核能。

Unfortunately, in reality, it's much harder than that.

很可惜在现实中， 要难得太多了。

We're going to have to come up with new chemical reactions

我们必须要想出一种新的化学反应

that can source their energy directly from electricity.

可以直接从电能获得能量。

These are called electrochemical reactions.

也就是，电化学反应。

And it’s what my research group at New York University is focusing on:

这也是我在纽约大学的研究组 目前的研究方向：

figuring out electrochemical paths

找到可以直接关联

that can create direct links between clean electricity and molecules.

电能和物质分子之间的 电化学反应。

In electrochemical reactions,

在电化学反应中，

heat is replaced by electricity as an energy source.

电力将取代热能，作为能量源。

This allows us to operate reactors

这使我们能够在室温下

and carry out reactions at room temperature

在把能量损失减少到最小的同时

with minimal energy losses.

操作反应堆。

But the problem is

但问题是，

that for electrochemical reactions to become viable,

为了让电化学反应的方案可行，

they will need to be more efficient and cost competitive

它们得比我们现在用的热驱动反应

than the heat-powered ones that we use today.

更高效还得更便宜。

That means that electrochemical reactors

也就是说，那些电化学反应堆

will need to transform raw materials into products

将原材料变为化合物的时候，

very efficiently, with minimal waste and very selectively.

需要有选择性、高效 且把浪费控制在最低水平。

This will then in turn incentivize chemical manufacturers

这个会带动化工厂

to switch to electrochemical production processes

来转换成电化学的生产过程，

instead of deploying new fossil fuel chemical plants.

而不是去置办新的化石燃料工厂。

In our research, we started by looking at a chemical reaction

在我们的研究中， 我们首先研究了一种化学反应，

that is used to make one of the most important polymers in the world:

它被用于制造 世界上最重要的聚合物之一——

Nylon 66.

尼龙 66 。

More than 5 million tons of all kinds of nylons

每年都有超过 五百万吨的各类尼龙被生产出来。

are produced every year.

And out of those, two million tons are of Nylon 66.

而这其中，有两百万吨都是 这个尼龙 66 。

And these are used to make things like the textile fibers

这些尼龙都被用来制造一些，

that we use in our winter jackets

例如在冬季夹克中使用的纺织纤维

or the plastic car parts

或是让车子变得更轻从而省油的

that help make our vehicles lightweight and fuel-efficient.

一些塑料配件。

Through our research,

经过研究，

we managed to identify electrochemical reaction mixtures

我们成功找到了正确的添加物和电压

with the right additives and voltages

来让电化学反应堆

to be able to transform raw materials into nylon precursors very selectively.

将原材料有选择性地 转化为尼龙的前身。

We achieved selectivity of more than 80 percent,

我们实现了超过 80% 的选择性，

a value that is on par with commercial reactors.

与商业反应堆旗鼓相当。

But we didn't stop there.

但我们并没有知足。

While most electrochemical reactions operate

虽然大多数电化学反应

with a constant stream of electrical currents,

都是在恒定的电流下进行的，

we knew that if we control the interactions

但我们知道， 如果能控制好

between the electricity input and molecules,

电力输入和分子之间的相互作用，

we could achieve a higher performance.

我们还能再把性能提升上去。

To do that, we decided to start exploring different electrical pulses

为此，我们决定开始 尝试不同的电脉冲，

in the search for the right pulse sequence

为了找到一个 能以分子反应的相同速率传递电子的

that will deliver electrons at the same rate

that molecules could react.

正确脉冲序列。

Since there were so many pulses that we needed to test,

需要测试的脉冲数量巨大，

we decided to then use a few number of results

所以我们决定用一部分

from different pulses to train machine-learning models

不同脉冲的测试结果 来训练一个机器学习模型，

that then help us identify the appropriate pulse sequence

来找到适合这个反应的脉冲序列。

for this reaction.

This was the first time

这是第一次

that artificial intelligence was used to optimize an electrochemical reaction,

人工智能被用来优化电化学反应，

and the pulse sequence that we discovered

而且我们找到的这个脉冲序列

allows us to increase by 30 percent

使这个反应堆的生产率 提高了 30% 。

the production rate of these reactors.

These large improvements in efficiency,

这些效率、选择性和生产率的 巨大提升非常重要，

selectivity and production rates are very important

because they will ensure

因为它们保证了

that electrochemical reactions are competitive

电化学反应能够和 已高度优化的化石燃料动力反应竞争。

with fossil-fuel-powered ones which are already highly optimized.

But hey, nylon is only one molecule

不过啊，尼龙只是成千上万的化学品 所组成的汪洋大海中的一滴水。

in a network of tens of thousands of chemical products,

many of which you see in this diagram,

在这张图表上你可以看出来，

and many of which are a common occurrence in your daily lives.

而且这很多都是 我们日常生活中会用的东西。

Just think of the plastics that are used to make your computers and phones,

你电脑和手机里那些个塑料配件，

or the pane that covers the walls around us,

覆盖我们周围墙壁的窗格，

or the medicines that help us live a healthy life.

或是让我们健康生活的药品。

We're going to have to decarbonize it all within the next 30 years.

我们需要在接下来的三十年内， 把这些全都脱碳。

That means that we're going to have to discover,

也就是说， 我们得以比上世纪更快的速度

develop and deploy chemical processes much faster

去发现、开发和落实这些化学工艺。

than we did in the past century.

To that end, my group at NYU is combining artificial intelligence

为此，我在纽约大学的研究组结合了

with autonomous research tools

人工智能和自主研究工具，

to run hundreds to thousands of experiments per day.

每天可以跑成百上千个实验。

In this way, we hope to decrease the time from idea to discovery

我们希望这样可以减少至少一百倍

从想法产生到找到结果的时间。

by more than 100 times.

Beyond nylon,

除了尼龙，

we're also looking into production processes

我们还在探索 其他化学品的生产工艺，

to manufacture other chemicals

like ethylene and propylene.

比如乙烯和丙烯。

These are the main precursors to most of the plastic in the world.

这些是世界上大多数塑料的主要前身。

Through electrochemistry,

通过电化学，

we have managed to electrify already the most energy intensive steps

我们已经实现将化学品生产工艺中

on the production process of these chemicals:

最耗能的步骤实现电力供能了：

a set of processes that alone account for a very substantial amount of energy

是在化学生产行业里，单独使用 就相当耗能的工艺。

in the chemical manufacturing industry.

We're also rethinking the way that we make our chemicals

同时，我们也在开发 用食物残渣代替石油

and the chemicals supply chain,

by developing new processes

制造化学品的新型工艺，

that can use and transform food waste into the chemicals

来反思我们制造化学品 和化学品供应链的方式。

that we make today from oil.

This can be done by extracting molecules from waste streams

这可以通过从废物流中提取分子

and using them as precursors to things like plastics,

并将它们用作塑料、添加剂、

additives, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals,

化妆品和药品等物质的前身来完成。

and many more.

And in this way,

这样我们就能

enhancing sustainability in chemical manufacture even further.

进一步加强 化学品制造业的可持续性。

The chemical industry is central to our modern economy

化学工业是我们现代经济 和生活方式的核心。

and to our ways of life.

Decarbonizing it will take us several decades.

整个产业的脱碳 会需要几十年的努力。

This will include things like

其中包括

retrofitting our chemical plants so they can use electricity directly,

把化工厂改造成可以直接电力供能、

capturing and sequestering CO2 as it comes out of the gas flue stacks,

捕获和隔离 从废气烟囱出来的二氧化碳，

and more importantly,

还有更重要的一点，

developing new chemical processes that are more efficient

开发更高效的、 可以直接用绿色电力的

and can source electricity directly from clean sources.

新型化学工艺。

By accelerating research in electrochemical manufacturing,

通过加速电化学制造的研究，

my team aims to develop some of these reactions

我的团队旨在开发其中的一些反应

and in this way help to transform the chemical industry

来帮助化学工业转型， 每次一个化学反应。

one reaction at a time.

When we get there,

当我们完成目标时，

we will have been able to erase the carbon footprint

我们就可以消除整个化学工业的 碳足迹了。

of the chemical industry.

And while we won't be able to bring our tropical glaciers back,

虽然我们没法让热带冰川 变回原样了，

we will have helped to develop a sustainable path

但我们可以为地球的未来

for the future of our planet.

开辟一条可持续的道路。

Thank you.

谢谢。

(Applause)

（鼓掌）