加拿大科學家把二氧化碳轉化爲有用的產物
Carlo Montemagno is seen with a foam bioreactor for carbon capture in Edmonton on Friday, Jan. 6, 2017.
2017年1月6日星期五，在埃德蒙頓，Carlo Montemagno和碳捕獲的泡沫生物反應器在一起。Dr. Montemagno has engineered a new way to capture CO2 from industrial-gas emissions.
Montemagno博士已經設計了一個新方法從工業排放的氣體中進行碳捕獲。What if carbon-dioxide emissions could be transformed from a liability into an asset?
當二氧化碳排放量從負債轉化爲資產會怎麼樣呢？
That’s the $20-million question behind the NRG COSIA Carbon XPrize, a global competition to create technology that converts CO2 into valuable products.
這就是加拿大油砂創新聯盟(COSIA)和NRG能源所設立的2000萬美元的碳清潔技術獎（XPrize）所提出的問題，這是一項全球性的關於將二氧化碳轉化爲有價值的產物的科技競賽。“In energy and climate, few ideas are as potentially transformative as the idea of turning the economics of CO2 and climate change on its head,” said Marcius Extavour, director of technical operations for the prize.
本次獎項的技術實施負責人Marcius Extavour表示：“在能源和氣候領域，沒有什麼點子能在變革型的潛力上和轉化二氧化碳和改造氣候相提並論。”Nine Canadian companies are among the 27 teams that have advanced to the semifinals.
有9家加拿大公司所屬的27支隊伍入圍了半決賽。Ten finalists will be announced in 2018 and a winner will be revealed in 2020.
2018年將決出進入最後決賽的十強隊伍，冠軍則將於2020年公佈。Here’s a look at some of the Canadian semifinalists.
以下是一些入圍的加拿大隊伍：Ingenuity Lab, Edmonton
來自埃德蒙頓的"心靈手巧實驗室"Ingenuity Lab director Carlo Montemagno has engineered a new way to capture CO2 from industrial-gas emissions. His technology harnesses photosynthesis, the process plants use to convert carbon dioxide into chemical energy using light.
該實驗室負責人Carlo Montemagno已經設計了一個新方法從工業排放的氣體中進行碳捕獲。他的技術是利用光合作用，通過使用光照射植物將二氧化碳轉化爲化學能。
The technology mimics the biochemical reactions of photosynthesis in non-living materials to generate the energy to transform the carbon dioxide into valuable products. It takes the CO2 from flue gas and builds the carbons up into long chains, with the result being that 47 different specialty chemicals can be produced.
這項科技模擬了光合作用的在非生活物質環境中的生化反應，以產生能量將二氧化碳轉化爲有價值的產物。Dr. Montemagno added that plants require a significant amount of energy to grow, so they’re not very efficient at sequestering carbon to produce value-added chemicals. But in his technology, no energy has to be spent to keep an organism alive, so all the output can go toward the products that one wants to create.
Montemagno博士補充道，由於植物需要大量能量才能生長，這樣它們在進行碳封存以製造具備附加值的化學品時效率就不是很高。但是在他的技術裏，無需任何能量就可以保證有機體存活，這樣所有的能量產出就將用於製造目標產物。“This efficiency is game-changing, opening up new opportunities for the sustainable production of products we all need from waste,” he said in an e-mail.
他在一份Email中表示：“這個效率是顛覆性的，爲我們生產從廢物裏回收的所有我們所需的可持續產品打開了新的機會之門。”Terra CO2 Technologies, Vancouver
來自溫哥華的“地球二氧化碳科技公司”Terra CO2 Technologies is developing a technique to transform acid rock drainage and carbon-dioxide emissions – two damaging byproducts of mining – into a stable substance.
該公司正在開發一項科技以轉化礦山酸性排放以及二氧化碳排放量——兩個由於採礦所帶來的具有破壞性的副產物——成爲一種穩定物質。Acid rock drainage refers to the acidic water that results when sulphide minerals are exposed to air and water and produce sulphuric acid, which is harmful to wildlife if it leaks into waterways. Mining companies must use costly methods to contain the drainage, including treating it with lime and storing it in large tailings ponds.
礦山酸性排放指的是含有硫化物的礦物暴露於空氣、水中時，將產生硫酸，硫酸如果泄露到水體裏將成爲對野生動物造成危險的酸性水。礦業公司必須使用價格不菲的方法來控制排放，包括使用石灰來處理或者將其儲存於大型尾礦池中。Terra CEO Dylan Jones said the company aims to solve the environmental threat of acid rock drainage and save mining companies money. Their technology treats the drainage through an electrochemical process that separates the sulphur from the mineral.
公司負責人Dylan Jones表示，公司的目標是解決礦山酸性排放所導致的環境威脅，並節省礦業公司的開支。它們的技術將排放物通過一個電化學裝置以將硫化物從礦石中分離出來。The company uses a common iron-sulphide mineral called pyrite or “fool’s gold” as an example. It pulls CO2 out of the air and combines with the iron to make an iron carbonate, which is stable in normal atmospheric conditions and doesn’t produce any acid.
公司使用一種常見的硫鐵礦物，即黃鐵礦，亦稱“愚人金”作爲示範。它將空氣中的二氧化碳抽出，並和鐵結合生成鐵的碳酸鹽，這個產物在自然空氣中可以穩定存在，而且不再產生任何酸類物質。“Our application for the technology is huge for the mining industry,” Mr. Jones said. “We’re looking at it as a cost-saving technology.”
Jones先生表示：”我們的應用科技對於礦業公司而言意義重大，我們將其視爲一項節省開支的技術。“Carbicrete, Montreal
來自蒙特利爾的”碳凝土“Cement produces a great deal of greenhouse gas emissions – about one tonne of CO2 for every tonne of cement.
水泥生產產生大量的溫室氣體排放——差不多每生產一噸水泥就會排放一噸的二氧化碳。That’s why Carbicrete invented a way to make concrete without using cement.
這就是爲什麼這家公司發明了一個新方法，即不使用水泥的情況下來製作混凝土。Instead of using cement to bind together the concrete, the company uses steel slag, a byproduct of the steel-making process that mostly ends up in landfills. In doing so, it avoids the CO2 emissions associated with cement.
這家公司使用鋼渣來取代混凝土中的水泥，鋼渣是鍊鋼過程中產生的副產物，大部分時候都被當垃圾填埋了。這麼做的結果就是避免了因生產水泥而產生的二氧化碳排放。Mehrdad Mahoutian, who originally invented the technology at McGill University, added that precast concrete products are normally cured with heat and steam, but Carbicrete cures its concrete with CO2 gas, which permanently sequesters the CO2 and keeps it out of the atmosphere.
在McGill大學發明這項技術的Mahrdad Mahoutian補充道，預製的混凝土產品一般來說都是通過熱源和蒸汽來加工，但是公司使用的是二氧化碳來構造混凝土，其永久性的將大氣中的二氧化碳封存起來。In effect, the product is carbon-negative concrete.
結果就是，這個產物就是無碳的混凝土。“We’re taking garbage, and we’re turning it into a valuable product and solving climate change all in one step,” CEO Chris Stern said.
負責人Chris Stern表示：”我們拿走了垃圾，一步就將他們轉化成了具有價值的產物，而且同時還解決了氣候變化問題。“CarbonCure Technologies, Dartmouth, N.S.
來自新斯科舍省達特茅斯市的”碳加工科技公司“Nova Scotia-based CarbonCure Technologies has also developed a way to use CO2 to make better concrete.
坐落於新斯科舍省的該公司也是通過開發了一個新方法來將二氧化碳變成更好的混凝土。The company takes CO2 from any industrial source – a power plant or a refinery, for example – and injects it into concrete, where it is sequestered and turned into a solid. The process reduces the carbon footprint of the product by taking CO2 out of the air and turning it into a solid material, which happens to make concrete stronger, and also cuts down the concrete producer’s costs.
這家公司從任何工業來源，比如發電廠或者冶煉廠，獲取的二氧化碳注入混凝土，然後二氧化碳就被封存起來變成了固態。這個過程通過將二氧化碳從空氣中剝離並轉化爲一種固態物質以實現碳封裝，這種固態物質還能讓混凝土的強度變大，同時可以降低混凝土製造商的成本。There is more concrete manufactured on the earth than any other material, so this technology has the potential to reduce significant quantities of CO2, vice-president of sustainability Jennifer Wagner said.
負責可持續發展的副主管Jennifer Wagner表示，在地球上，混凝土生產得比其他材料多得多，所以此項技術有潛力減少大量的二氧化碳。“The technology makes concrete stronger, greener and less expensive to manufacture.”
”這項技術讓混凝土的強度變大、更環保也讓生產變得更便宜。“
