化石燃料除了雾霾还有CO2排放，难以捕捉二氧化碳

捕捉二氧化碳花费昂贵且非常困难

Capturing CO2 Is Costly and Difficult

Most scientists agree that increasing amounts of carbon-dioxide gas in Earth’s atmosphere is partly to blame for rising temperatures, also known as climate change.Changes in the atmosphere can have a big effect on weather conditions around the world.

大部分科学家都认为地球表面大气层二氧化碳含量升高，是造成气温升高或气候变化的主要原因。大气层的变化对地球天气状况的影响重大。

The most cost effective way to get power still comes from burning fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas.They are less costly than other forms of energy.

燃烧化石燃料，即燃烧煤、石油和天然气，仍然是获取能源最具成本效益的途径。与其他形式的能源相比，化石燃料的花费更低。

But burning fossil fuels releases carbon dioxide, known to scientists as CO2.Keeping excess CO2 from entering the atmosphere is a difficult and costly process.Scientists are looking for the best and least costly methods for capturing the gas and storing it away from the atmosphere.

但是化石燃料燃烧时释放二氧化碳，科学家将其称为CO2。阻止过多的CO2进入大气层的过程非常困难且花费昂贵。科学家们正在寻找捕捉并存储二氧化碳的最好且花费最低的方法。

Some of this research is taking place in western Norway.The Technology Center in Mongstad is the largest facility in the world for major testing of new CO2-capturing technologies.The center is called TCM.

部分研究在挪威西部进行。蒙斯塔德的科技中心是检测最新碳捕捉技术的最大实验室。该实验室被称为TCM。

Tore Amundsen is its chairman. He says TCM has produced important knowledge since it opened in 2012.

Tore Amundsen是该中心的主席。自2012年成立以来，TCM已经提出很多重要的知识。

We learned about selection of materials, we learned about design models, that has been improved considerably through these tests,and we learned a lot about operations of a facility which is a fairly large facility."

“我们研究了材料的选择以及设计模式，通过检验，这些都有了很大提高。此外，我们还了解了实验室的运作，该实验室相当大。”

Tore Amundsen says there are other things to be learned from operating large machinery designed to capture CO2 from power stations.

Tore Amundsen表示，一些大型机械捕捉发电厂释放的CO2，我们应从其过程中学习很多东西。

Simple things like how to start it up, how to run it at different modes, and how to close it down again.Simple things like that we didn’t have experience with beforehand."

“有些比较简单的事，如怎么启动机器，怎样在不同模式下运作，怎样关闭机器。以及我们之前没有经验的一些事。”

TCM is connected to a nearby electric power plant.Mr. Amundsen says the center treats exhaust fumes from the plant. It uses chemical solvents to capture CO2 from those gases.

TCM与附近一家发电厂合作。Amundsen表示该中心对电厂中排放的废气进行处理。采用化学溶剂捕捉废气中的CO2。

The solvent attracts the CO2 molecules from the exhaust gas and then we take the chemical with the CO2 molecules and boil the CO2 so to speak,so that we can separate the CO2 from the solvent that we used and we use the solvent again to capture more CO2."

“溶剂能够吸收废气中的CO2，然后煮沸带有CO2的溶剂，使CO2与溶剂分离。而我们可以用此溶剂捕捉更多的CO2。”

The goal is to capture 90 percent of the CO2 from the exhaust gases.But Mr. Amundsen says the process is still costly.

目标是捕捉废气中90%的CO2。但是Amundsen表示该过程的花费十分昂贵。

With the current state of technology it is something that will increase the cost of electricity between perhaps 30 to 40% when the technology is applied on a power plant.

“就目前科技而言，若发电厂使用该科技，那么电费将会升高30%至40%。”

Experts say the best way to store the captured gas is to place it underground into areas left empty after the removal of oil or natural gas.

专家表示，储存这些捕捉气体的最好方法是，用这些气体填补开采石油和天然气造成的地下的空洞。

But the Technology Center Mongstad does not pump the CO2 it captures underground. Instead, it releases the gas into the atmosphere.

但是TCM并没有将捕捉到的CO2打入地下。而是将其释放到大气中。

Tore Amundsen says only highly developed industrial nations have the money to pay for this kind of technology.So far, only Canada has a power plant that pumps CO2 gas underground. Other countries are building similar power plants.

Tore Amundsen表示只有高度发达的工业国才能支付得起此科技。目前，只有加拿大的一家电厂将CO2气体打入地下。其他国家正纷纷建立类似的电厂。

I’m Jonathan Evans.

Jonathan Evans为你 道。

Words in this Story

excess – n., an amount that is more than the usual or necessary amount

n. 超过，超额

exhaust – n., the gases produced by an engine

n.废气

power plant – n., a building or factory in which electricity is produced for a large area

发电厂

solvent – n., a liquid that is used to break up another substance

n. 溶剂

2015-03-04 爱语吧,VOA慢速英语