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TomSchuler_2020T-_如何制造碳汇混凝土_-
Concrete is all around us, but most of us don't even notice that it's there. 我们身边处处是混凝土, 不过多数人不会注意到它的存在。
We use concrete to build our roads, buildings, bridges, airports; it's everywhere. 我们使用混凝土来建造道路、 建筑物、桥、机场; 可以说, 混凝土无处不在。
The only resource we use more than concrete is water. 水是唯一比混凝土更常用的资源。
And with population growth and urbanization , we're going to need concrete more than ever. 随着人口增长和城市化的发展, 我们比以往更需要混凝土。
Concrete:n.混凝土;adj.混凝土制的;确实的,具体的;vt.用混凝土覆盖 resource:n.资源;资料;才智;财力;v.向…提供资金(或设备); urbanization:n.都市化;文雅化;
But there's a problem. 但这里有一个问题:
Cement 's the glue that holds concrete together. 水泥是一种把混凝土 粘合在一起的胶浆。
And to make cement, you burn limestone with other ingredients in a kiln at very high temperatures. 要制造水泥, 需要将石灰石和其他材料 放入窑炉内进行高温烧制。
One of the byproducts of that process is carbon dioxide , or CO2. 这一过程产生的副产品之一 就是二氧化碳,即 CO2。
Cement:n.水泥;(干燥后硬化的)水泥;胶合剂;胶接剂;v.加强;胶合; glue:n.胶;胶水;v.粘贴; limestone:n.[岩]石灰岩; ingredients:n.成分;(尤指烹饪)原料;(成功的)要素;(ingredient的复数) kiln:vt.烧窑;在干燥炉干燥;n.(砖,石灰等的)窑;炉;干燥炉; byproducts:n.副产品; process:v.处理;加工;列队行进;n.过程,进行;方法,adj.经过特殊加工(或处理)的; carbon dioxide:二氧化碳;
For every ton of cement that's manufactured , almost a ton of CO2 is emitted into the atmosphere . 每制造一吨水泥, 就有约一吨二氧化碳 释放到大气中。
As a result , the cement industry is the second-largest industrial emitter of CO2, responsible for almost eight percent of total global emissions . 结果就是, 水泥工业成为了 第二大工业二氧化碳排放源, 约占全球二氧化碳排放量的 8%。
If we're going to solve global warming , innovation in both cement production and carbon utilization is absolutely necessary. 如果要解决全球变暖问题, 我们就必须在水泥制造 和碳利用方面 进行创新。
manufactured:adj.制造的,已制成的;v.制造,加工(manufacture的过去式); emitted:adj.射出的;v.排放(emit的过去分词);发散; atmosphere:n.大气;气氛;气压;风格; As a result:结果; industrial:adj.工业的,产业的; n.工业股票; emitter:n.发射器,发射体; responsible:adj.负责的,可靠的;有责任的; global:adj.全球的;总体的;球形的; emissions:n.(光、热、气等的)发出,排放;排放物;散发物;(emission的复数) global warming:n.全球(气候)变暖;地球大气层变暖; innovation:n.创新,革新;新方法; utilization:n.利用,使用; absolutely:adv.绝对地;完全地;
Now, to make concrete, you mix cement with stone, sand, and other ingredients, throw in a bunch of water, and then wait for it to harden or cure. 要制造混凝土,需要将水泥 与石头、沙土和其他材料混合, 加入大量的水, 然后等待它固化。
With precast products like pavers and blocks, you might shoot steam into the curing chamber to try to accelerate the curing process. 使用像路砖或砌块 这样的预制产品, 可以将蒸汽喷进凝固室里, 以加快混凝土凝固。
For buildings, roads, and bridges, we pour what's called ready-mix concrete into a mold on the job site and wait for it to cure over time. 对于建筑物、道路和桥梁, 我们会在施工现场 将预搅拌混凝土倒入模具, 然后等待它固化。
a bunch of:一群;一束;一堆; harden:v.硬化;(使声音、面孔等)更严肃;(使)更坚定;使变得无情;n.哈登; precast:vt.预制;预浇制;adj.预制的; pavers:n.铺路工;铺路材料(paver的复数); chamber:n.(身体或器官内的)室,膛; adj.室内的; vt.把…关在室内; accelerate:v.加快;加速;n.接受速成教育的学生; pour:v.倒; n.流出; (已熔金属的)一次浇注量; mold:n.模具;模型;霉菌;类型;v.用可塑材料塑成;浇铸;发霉;
Now, for over 50 years, scientists believed that if they cured concrete with CO2 instead of water, it would be more durable , but they were hamstrung by Portland cement's chemistry. 50 多年来,科学家始终相信, 如果用二氧化碳,而不是水, 来固化混凝土, 混凝土就会更耐用, 但这一想法受制于生产 波特兰水泥时的化学反应。
You see, it likes to react with both water and CO2, and those conflicting chemistries just don't make for very good concrete. 水泥与水和二氧化碳 都能产生反应, 这些相互竞争的化学反应 并不能制作出优质的混凝土。
So we came up with a new cement chemistry. 于是,我们设计了 一种新的水泥化学反应。
durable:adj.耐用的;耐久的;长期的;长久的;n.耐久品; hamstrung:v.残废(hamstring的过去分词); react:v.起反应;回应;(对食物等)有不良反应,过敏;起化学反应; conflicting:adj.互相斗争的;相冲突的;v.冲突,抵触;(conflict的现在分词)
We use the same equipment and raw materials, but we use less limestone, and we fire the kiln at a lower temperature, resulting in up to a 30 percent reduction in CO2 emissions. 我们使用相同的设备和原料, 但减少了石灰石的用量, 并降低了窑炉的烧制温度, 结果,二氧化碳的排放量 减少了 30%。
Our cement doesn't react with water. 我们的水泥不会与水产生反应。
We cure our concrete with CO2, and we get that CO2 by capturing waste gas from industrial facilities like ammonia plants or ethanol plants that otherwise would've been released into the atmosphere. 我们用二氧化碳固化这种混凝土, 而这些二氧化碳来自工业设施, 比如合成氨厂或乙醇厂所排出的废气, 从而避免了这些废气 被排放到大气中。
reduction:n.减少;缩小;降低;减价;折扣;缩图; capturing:v.俘虏;捕获;攻占;夺得;(capture的现在分词) facilities:n.设施;设备;特别装置;特色;场所;(facility的复数) ammonia:n.[无化]氨,阿摩尼亚; ethanol:n.[有化]乙醇,[有化]酒精; released:v.释放;使免除;已发布;(release的过去分词和过去式)
During curing, the chemical reaction with our cement breaks apart the CO2, capturing the carbon to make limestone, and that limestone's used to bind the concrete together. 在固化期间,我们的水泥 所产生的化学反应会分解二氧化碳, 并利用捕捉到的碳制造石灰石, 将混凝土粘合在一起。
Now, if a bridge made out of our concrete were ever demolished , there's no fear of the CO2 being emitted because it doesn't exist any longer. 如果使用我们的混凝土 搭建的桥被摧毁了, 也不用担心它会释放二氧化碳, 因为二氧化碳早就不见踪影了。
When you combine the emissions reduction during cement production with the CO2 consumption during concrete curing, we reduce cement's carbon footprint by up to 70 percent. 如果将水泥生产过程中 减少的碳排放 与混凝土固化过程中消耗的 二氧化碳结合起来, 水泥的碳足迹最多可降低 70%。
chemical:n.化学制品,化学药品;adj.化学的; reaction:n.反应,感应;反动,复古;反作用; bind:v.结合;装订;有约束力;过紧;n.捆绑;困境;讨厌的事情;植物的藤蔓; demolished:v.拆毁,拆除(建筑物);推翻(观点或理论);(demolish的过去分词和过去式) consumption:n.消费;消耗;肺痨; footprint:n.足迹;脚印;
And because we don't consume water, we also save trillions of liters of water. 而且这个过程不消耗水源, 所以还能节省上万亿升的水。
Now, convincing a 2,000-year-old industry that hasn't evolved much over the last 200 years, is not easy; but there are lots of new and existing industry players that are attacking that challenge. 不过,要说服 一个拥有 2000 年历史, 但在过去的 200 年里 没有多大发展的行业进行变革 并不容易, 好在目前有许多新的 和现有的业内机构 正在努力应对这一挑战。
consume:v.消耗;吃;毁灭;烧毁; trillions:n.[数]万亿;adj.万亿的;num.[数]万亿; liters:n.(计量)公升(容量单位)(liter的复数) convincing:adj.令人信服的; v.使确信; (convince的现在分词) evolved:v.(使)逐渐形成;进化;进化形成;(evolve的过去分词和过去式)
Our strategy is to ease adoption by seeking solutions that go beyond just sustainability . 我们的策略是简化方案, 寻找超越可持续性的解决方案。
We use the same processes , raw material , and equipment that's used to make traditional concrete, but our new cement makes concrete cured will CO2 that is stronger, more durable, lighter in color, and it cures in 24 hours instead of 28 days. 我们采用了传统水泥的 制作过程、原料和设备, 我们的新型水泥使用二氧化碳 进行固化,得到的混凝土 更坚固耐用,颜色也更淡, 能在 24 小时内凝固, 而不再需要 28 天。
strategy:n.策略;行动计划;部署;战略; adoption:n.采用;收养;接受; seeking:v.寻找;寻求;谋求;争取;(向人)请求(seek的现在分词) sustainability:n.持续性;永续性;能维持性; processes:n.过程; v.处理(process的第三人称单数形式); raw material:n.原料; traditional:传统的,惯例的,
Our new technology for ready-mix is in testing and infrastructure applications, and we've pushed our research even further to develop a concrete that may become a carbon sink. 我们用于制作 预搅拌混凝土的新技术 尚处于测试和基础设施应用阶段, 而且我们进一步推动了相关研究, 希望能开发出 一种可以用作碳汇的混凝土。
That means that we will consume more CO2 than is emitted during cement production. 这意味着,我们在制作水泥期间, 消耗的二氧化碳会比排放的更多。
Since we can't use CO2 gas at a construction site , we knew we had to deliver it to our concrete in either a solid or liquid form. 鉴于我们无法在施工地 使用二氧化碳, 所以必须将二氧化碳以固态 或液态形式 注入混凝土中。
technology:n.技术;工艺;术语; infrastructure:n.基础设施;公共建设;下部构造; construction site:na.建筑工地;
So we've been partnering with companies that are taking waste CO2 and transforming it into a useful family of chemicals like oxalic acid or citric acid , the same one you use in orange juice . 我们一直在与一些公司合作, 比如草酸或柠檬酸, 跟我们在橙汁里添加的一样。
When that acid reacts with our cement, we can pack in as much as four times more carbon into the concrete, making it carbon negative . 当这种酸性物质 与我们的水泥产生反应, 我们能将相当于 四倍的二氧化碳注入混凝土, 使它变成碳负性。
That means that for a one-kilometer road section, we would consume more CO2 than almost a 100,000 trees do during one year. 这就意味着, 对于一个一公里的路段, 我们所消耗的二氧化碳比 10 万棵树 在一年内消耗的还要多。
transforming:v.使改变形态;使改变外观(或性质);使改观;(transform的现在分词) chemicals:n.化学制品;化学品;(chemical的复数) oxalic:adj.草酸的;酢浆草的;采自酢浆草的; citric acid:n.柠檬酸; orange juice:橘子汁; reacts:vi.反应;影响;反抗;起反作用;vt.使发生相互作用;使起化学反应; negative:adj.[数]负的;消极的;否定的;阴性的;n.否定;负数;[摄]底片;v.否定;拒绝;
So thanks to chemistry and waste CO2, we're trying to convert the concrete industry, the second-most-used material on the planet, into a carbon sink for the planet. 利用化学反应和二氧化碳废气, 我们正试图将混凝土, 这个地球上用量第二大的材料, 转变为地球的碳汇。
Thank you. 谢谢。
convert:v.转换; n.改变宗教(或信仰、观点)的人;