评论
打印
Just a minute ago, this oil helped make a delicious meal possible.
就在一分钟之前，油使我们做一餐美味的饭食成为可能。
But now, it's just some nasty goop. What should we do with it?
但是现在油变成了脏兮兮的黏糊糊的一滩。我们应该怎么处理它？
Well, the easiest thing would be to pour it down the drain;
最简单的处理方式是倒掉，
that makes it seem like it's gone, but it's not really gone.
油看似消失了，实际上并没有。
Instead, it's collecting bits of food and other random stuff,
它裹挟着一些食物和一些其他的奇怪东西，
producing monstrous, greasy blockages that clog not only your own drain but entire sewage systems, causing flooding and pollution.
变成了恶心的油腻腻的堵塞物，这不仅会堵塞你自家的下水管，还会堵塞整个下水系统并导致污水溢出和污染。
Many places have laws for proper disposal of grease, but we can go one step further.
很多地方立法规范废油的处理，但我们可以多做些什么。
Instead of just throwing it away safely, we can turn it into something useful.
我们可以把油转变成一些有用的东西，而不是简单地废弃掉它。
And if you're wondering what anyone could possibly want with a bunch of digusting, used cooking oil, the answer is: biodiesel.
如果你疑惑什么人可能想要恶心的用过了食用油，答案是：生物柴油。
You've probably heard of diesel engines.
你可能听过柴油引擎。
They power farming and construction equipment, trucks, buses, ships, trains, backup generators, and even some cars.
他们为农耕、建筑设备、货车、大巴、轮船、火车和备用发电机以及轿车供能。
Most of the fuel that feeds these engines is refined from petroleum,
多数为这些机械供能的燃油都提炼自石油，
which comes from long-dead dinosaurs and other ancient fossils.
石油来自远古死亡的恐龙以及远古化石。
But diesel fuel can also be derived from more recently-dead organisms, like plants and animals.
但是柴油也可以从更多的新近死亡的有机体中提炼，例如动植物。
And this type of fuel is what we call biodiesel.
我们称这种柴油为生物柴油。
Biodiesel is a biodegradable energy source, made from plant oils or animal fats,
生物柴油是一种由植物油和动物脂提炼而来的生物降解能量资源，
that can usually be burned in regular diesel engines.
通常可以被用于柴油机械的燃烧。
You guessed it, it's the 'bio' version of diesel.
你猜想这是“生物”柴油。
It's cleaner than normal diesel, so there has been a push to generate it from crops like soybeans.
它比一般柴油清洁，所以现在从大豆等作物中提取的技术有着广泛的需求。
Now, growing plants for fuel, instead of food, comes with its own problems.
现在，为了生产燃料种植植物，而不是用食物产生燃料，有着它自己的问题。
But fortunately, we already have some oils and fats right here.
但幸运的是，取得油脂轻而易举。
Preparing your used cooking grease for recycling is easy.
回收你烹饪过的油脂很简单。
First, let it cool down to room temperature. Then, transfer it to a clean container.
首先，让它冷却至室温。然后将它倒进干净的容器里。
You can use any old bottles you have lying around, like milk jugs, as long as they're completely empty, rinsed, and dried.
你可以使用身边的瓶子，比如牛奶盒，但要是完全干净的，需要冲洗后擦干。
Use a funnel to avoid spills and a sieve to filter out any small food particles.
用漏斗防止油溢出，还要用筛子将食物残渣过滤。
You can even add bacon grease and other animal fats or the excess oil from canned food,
你还可以加入培根油和其他动物油脂，甚至是罐头食物的剩余油脂，
like tuna or sardines, just make sure it's really oil and not brine.
例如金枪鱼和沙丁鱼罐头，但要切记只能加油而不是卤水。
So, what happens now that your oil is safely contained?
装好油后怎么办呢？
Well, many cities have recycling services that will pick up large amounts of grease from restaurants and other establishments.
许多城市有回收服务，他们可以回收餐厅和其他地方的大量废油。
But there are locations where individuals can drop off their containers, as well.
但也有可以让市民提供废油的地方。
All of this grease will end up at a processing plant, where it can be converted to useable biodiesel.
所有这些油脂将会来到一个处理工厂，在这里它们被转化为可用的生物柴油。
How does this conversion work?
转化的原理又是什么呢？
Well, all these oils and fats you donated are made up of triglycerides, a glycerol molecule connected to three fatty acid chains.
你提供的所有油脂都由甘油三酸酯组成，一个和三个脂肪酸链相连接的甘油分子。
To convert fats to fuel, they react with an alcohol, usually methanol or ethanol, which produces long-chain esters and glycerol.
为了变成燃料，它们和酒精反应，通常是甲醇和乙醇，然后生成长链酯和甘油。
To compare, here are some molecules of regular diesel fuel.
对比地说，这是一些普通柴油的分子。
Now, here are the molecules we created by breaking apart the triglycerides.
现在，这些是我们通过分解甘油三酸酯得到的新分子。
Glycerol is the odd man out, so it's removed at the end of the process. But look at these esters!
甘油是多出来的分子，所以在处理过程最后要把它除去。但请观察这些酯！
If you squint, their structures look pretty similar to those of the long-chain hydrocarbons in regular diesel.
如果你眯着眼看，它们的结构和普通柴油中的长链碳水化合物十分相似。
And diesel engines, with a few small modifications, can also be made to squint and burn these esters like regular diesel fuel.
柴油机在经过一些细小的改装后，它们可以像烧普通柴油一样燃烧这些酯。
Et voila! Biodiesel. Now, you might be wondering whether all this hassle over recycling used cooking oil is even worth it.
大功告成！生物柴油！现在，你可能会质疑这些回收烹饪油的成本是否真正值得。
After all, how much energy can it possibly generate?
毕竟，它究竟可以提供多少能量呢？
Well, if all the grease that New Yorkers throw away in one day were converted to jet fuel,
好的，如果纽约城一天内所有扔掉的油脂都被转化成飞机燃料，
it would be enough to power several hundred flights from New York to Los Angeles.
这将会为从纽约到洛杉矶的几百架航班提供能源。
And let's not forget that using waste oil instead of burning more fossil fuels will limit our negative effects on the environment.
而且不要忘了用废油取代燃烧化石燃料会减少我们对环境施加的危害。
Recycling used cooking grease turns goop into good.
回收用过的烹饪油脂能变废为宝。
By contributing a little bit, individuals and businesses can help create an alternative, stable source of diesel oil,
通过贡献一点点，个人和企业可以帮助创造一种稳定的替代柴油
while protecting the environment and keeping our cities cleaner. And that's pretty slick.
同时保护环境，保持城市清洁。这是明智的做法。
