科学家们研发出一种方法，将废水转化为可负担得起的可再生能源

科学家们研发出一种方法，将废水转化为可负担得起的可再生能源

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

研究人员已经开发出一种廉价的技术，有望成为未来可再生能源的主要来源。

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.

斯坦福大学的科学家们已经在污水处理厂测试了一种电池的原型，这种电池可以利用咸水和淡水的混合物——被称为“蓝色能源”。根据学者们的研究，全球范围内，沿海污水处理厂的可回收能源约为180千兆瓦，足以为1700户家庭提供全年的电力。

“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.”

“蓝色能源是一种巨大的、尚未开发的可再生能源，”该研究的共同作者、斯坦福大学土木和环境工程博士后克里斯蒂安·杜布罗斯基在一份声明中说。“我们的电池是在没有薄膜、移动部件或能量输入的情况下，实现实际捕捉这种能量的重要一步。”

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.

正如研究人员在论文中所解释的那样，他们监测了电池原型机的能源生产，同时用帕洛阿尔托地区水质控制工厂的废水和半月湾附近收集的海水冲洗电池。斯坦福大学的数据显示，这种电池材料在捕捉盐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.

众所周知，废水处理厂是能源密集型行业，容易受到电网关闭的影响。加州在发生森林大火危机期间就发生过这种情况。然而，正如研究人员所指出的那样，让它们实现能源独立将减少排放，并使它们免于潜在的停电问题的影响。

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.

研究人员称，捕捉“蓝色能量”的过程会将电池电极中的钠离子和氯离子释放到溶液中，使电流从一个电极流向另一个电极;然后，废水与海水的快速交换使电极重新注入钠离子和氯离子，使电流反向流动。

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.

在淡水和海水冲洗过程中，不需要预先投资或充电，就可以回收能源。然而，研究人员提醒说，这个概念还需要更多的测试。

“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.”

杜布罗斯基说:“这是一个复杂问题的科学优雅的解决方案。还需要大量的测试，虽但不能解决在全球范围内开发蓝色能源的挑战——河流流入海洋——但这仍然是一个很好的起点，可以推动这些进步。”