科學家們研發(fā)出一種方法，將廢水轉化為可負擔得起的可再生能源

科學家們研發(fā)出一種方法，將廢水轉化為可負擔得起的可再生能源

Researchers have developed a cheap technology that could become a major source of renewable energy in the future.

研究人員已經開發(fā)出一種廉價的技術，有望成為未來可再生能源的主要來源。

Stanford University scientists have tested a prototype of a battery that could tap into the mix of salty seawater and freshwater — known as “blue energy” — at wastewater treatments plants. Globally, according to the scholars, the recoverable energy from coastal wastewater treatment plants is about 18 gigawatts, which would be enough to power 1,700 homes for a full year.

斯坦福大學的科學家們已經在污水處理廠測試了一種電池的原型，這種電池可以利用咸水和淡水的混合物——被稱為“藍色能源”。根據學者們的研究，全球范圍內，沿海污水處理廠的可回收能源約為180千兆瓦，足以為1700戶家庭提供全年的電力。

“Blue energy is an immense and untapped source of renewable energy,” said study coauthor Kristian Dubrawski, a postdoctoral scholar in civil and environmental engineering at Stanford, in a statement. “Our battery is a major step toward practically capturing that energy without membranes, moving parts or energy input.”

“藍色能源是一種巨大的、尚未開發(fā)的可再生能源，”該研究的共同作者、斯坦福大學土木和環(huán)境工程博士后克里斯蒂安·杜布羅斯基在一份聲明中說。“我們的電池是在沒有薄膜、移動部件或能量輸入的情況下，實現(xiàn)實際捕捉這種能量的重要一步。”

As the researchers explain in their paper, they monitored the battery prototype’s energy production while flushing it with wastewater effluent from the Palo Alto Regional Water Quality Control Plant and seawater collected nearby from Half Moon Bay. The battery materials maintained 97% effectiveness in capturing the salinity gradient energy, according to Stanford University.

正如研究人員在論文中所解釋的那樣，他們監(jiān)測了電池原型機的能源生產，同時用帕洛阿爾托地區(qū)水質控制工廠的廢水和半月灣附近收集的海水沖洗電池。斯坦福大學的數(shù)據顯示，這種電池材料在捕捉鹽度梯度能量方面保持了97%的效率。

Wastewater treatment plants are known to be energy-intensive and vulnerable to power grid shutdowns which have happened in California amid its wildfire crisis; however, as the researchers note, making them energy independent would cut down on emissions and free them from potential blackouts.

眾所周知，廢水處理廠是能源密集型行業(yè)，容易受到電網關閉的影響。加州在發(fā)生森林大火危機期間就發(fā)生過這種情況。然而，正如研究人員所指出的那樣，讓它們實現(xiàn)能源獨立將減少排放，并使它們免于潛在的停電問題的影響。

According to the researchers, the process of capturing “blue energy” releases sodium and chloride ions from the battery’s electrodes into the solution, making a current flow from one electrode to another; after that, a quick exchange of wastewater effluent with seawater leads the electrode to reincorporate sodium and chloride ions and reverse the current flow.

研究人員稱，捕捉“藍色能量”的過程會將電池電極中的鈉離子和氯離子釋放到溶液中，使電流從一個電極流向另一個電極;然后，廢水與海水的快速交換使電極重新注入鈉離子和氯離子，使電流反向流動。

Energy gets recovered during the freshwater and seawater flushes, with no upfront investment or charging required. However, the researchers cautioned that the concept needs to be tested more.

在淡水和海水沖洗過程中，不需要預先投資或充電，就可以回收能源。然而，研究人員提醒說，這個概念還需要更多的測試。

“It is a scientifically elegant solution to a complex problem,” Dubrawski said. “It needs to be tested at scale and it doesn’t address the challenge of tapping blue energy at the global scale — rivers running into the ocean — but it is a good starting point that could spur these advances.”

杜布羅斯基說:“這是一個復雜問題的科學優(yōu)雅的解決方案。還需要大量的測試，雖但不能解決在全球范圍內開發(fā)藍色能源的挑戰(zhàn)——河流流入海洋——但這仍然是一個很好的起點，可以推動這些進步。”