下一代生物燃料

一个令我们逐步摆脱对石油依赖的途径就是研制出可再生的运输燃料。这意味着从非食品作物中研制出新一代的生物燃料。

NEXT-GENERATION BIOFUELS

One way to wean ourselves from oil is to come up with renewable sources of transportation fuel. That means a new generation of biofuels made from nonfood crops.

研究人员正在想办法将木材、作物废料、垃圾以及柳枝稷等不可食用植物转化为具有价格优势的燃料。但前景最为看好的新一代生物燃料来自于藻类。

Researchers are devising ways to turn lumber and crop wastes, garbage and inedible perennials like switchgrass into competitively priced fuels. But the most promising next-generation biofuel comes from algae.

藻类生长迅速，会消耗二氧化碳，一英亩藻类每年可以生成超过5,000加仑的生物燃料，而一英亩玉米每年只能生产350加仑的乙醇。

Algae grow fast, consume carbon dioxide and can generate more than 5,000 gallons a year per acre of biofuel, compared with 350 gallons a year for corn-based ethanol.

藻类燃料可以直接添加进当前的提炼和分销系统。理论上来说，美国可以生产大量的藻类燃料，足以满足美国所有的交通运输需求。

Algae-based fuel can be added directly into existing refining and distribution systems; in theory, the U.S. could produce enough of it to meet all of the nation's transportation needs.

但现在还为时过早。数十家公司已经开始了试点项目和小规模生产。但量产藻类燃料意味着要寻找到可靠的、价格低廉的养分和水资源，控制可能导致减产的病原体，研发和培育产量最高的藻株。

But it's early. Dozens of companies have begun pilot projects and small-scale production. But producing algae biofuels in quantity means finding reliable sources of inexpensive nutrients and water, managing pathogens that could reduce yield, and developing and cultivating the most productive algae strains.