人类粪便或成未来汽车燃料

 While experts are developing 'greener' alternative fuel sources, a group of undergrads are creating a more natural one.

当专家们还在研发更环保的燃料时，一群在校生已经开始制作一种天然的燃料。

The team is working towards producing a biofuel that uses human and animal excretion, with the hopes of replacing harmful gasoline, diesel¹ and jet fuel that dominate the market.

这个研究小组正在用人和动物的排泄物生产生物燃料。他们希望以此替代目前占据市场主导地位但却有害的汽油、柴油和喷气燃料。

By engineering Bacillus subtilis, researchers are able to break down proteins and transform the left over material into alcohol biofuels and ammonia.

通过对枯草杆菌进行处理，研究者们成功地分离了蛋白质，把排泄物转化为酒精生物燃料和氨气。

人类粪便或成未来汽车燃料

The US produces over 1 billion tons of animal and human waste every year, which does nothing but sit in an aerobically² compost giving off harmful emissions³.

美国每年产生超过10亿吨的动物和人类排泄物。它们原本没有任何用处，只能堆在耗氧肥料中释放有害气体。

David Wernick, a PhD candidate who graduated from the University of California, and his colleagues 'were struck by all the waste that is literally⁴ going to waste' and realized the material may have potential as a renewable fuel source, reports the University of California.

大卫·韦尼克是毕业于加州大学的博士生。据加州大学报道，有一天，他和同事们灵机一动，想到这些被浪费掉的排泄物或许可以转化为可再生燃料。

'We're working with anything such as agricultural waste like manure⁵, municipal waste like sewage, plant matter, cellulosic matter and even carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere,' said Wernick in a video discussing the research.

韦尼克在某个视频中讨论了这项研究：“我们正在不断地实验。肥料之类的农业废弃物，污水等城市垃圾，还有植物、纤维素，甚至是空气中的二氧化碳，我们都不放过。”

Wernick explained that the world is dominated by gasoline, diesel and jet fuel as the main transportation fuels.

韦尼克解释说，汽油、柴油和喷气燃料这些主要的交通燃料目前在世界上占据主导地位。

In 2014, the US consumed 375 million gallons of gasoline every day for the entire year, according to the US Energy Information Administration.

据美国能源情报署数据，2014年，美国每天消耗3.75亿加仑的汽油。

Gasoline isn't just a toxic⁶ and highly flammable liquid it also produces vapors⁷ that pollute our air.

汽油不仅是有毒、易燃液体，它还会释放气体，污染空气。

Burning this liquid releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere – the biggest culprit of climate change.

燃烧汽油会向大气排放二氧化碳，这也是如今气候变化的罪魁祸首。

And diesel and jet fuel do their part in polluting the air with polyaromatic hydrocarbons⁸ and nitrous oxides.

柴油和航空煤油使用过程中会释放多环芳烃和氮氧化物，同样会污染大气。

Vocabulary

excretion: 排泄物

ammonia: 氨

aerobically: 需氧的

compost: 堆肥

culprit: 罪魁祸首

1 diesel   

n.柴油发动机，内燃机

参考例句：

• We experimented with diesel engines to drive the pumps.我们试着用柴油机来带动水泵。
• My tractor operates on diesel oil.我的那台拖拉机用柴油开动。

2 aerobically   

adv.aerobic（需氧的，需气的，生存于氧气中的）的变形

参考例句：

• Nitrate was aerobically reduced to nitrite. 硝酸盐去氧后转化为亚硝酸盐。 来自互联网
• The main thing is to pick something you can aerobically, and do it! 重要的是挑个有氧活动，并且去做！ 来自互联网

3 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。

4 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

5 manure   

n.粪，肥，肥粒；vt.施肥

参考例句：

• The farmers were distributing manure over the field.农民们正在田间施肥。
• The farmers used manure to keep up the fertility of their land.农夫们用粪保持其土质的肥沃。

6 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

7 vapors   

n.水汽，水蒸气，无实质之物( vapor的名词复数 )；自夸者；幻想 [药]吸入剂 [古]忧郁（症）v.自夸，（使）蒸发( vapor的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• His emotions became vague and shifted about like vapors. 他的心情则如同一团雾气，变幻无常，捉摸不定。 来自辞典例句
• They have hysterics, they weep, they have the vapors. 他们歇斯底里，他们哭泣，他们精神忧郁。 来自辞典例句

8 hydrocarbons   

n.碳氢化合物，烃( hydrocarbon的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Hydrocarbons (HC), like carbon monoxide, represent unburned and wasted fuel. 碳氢化合物(HC)像一氧化碳一样，为未燃尽的和被浪费掉的燃料。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• With this restricted frequency range it is not applicable to hydrocarbons. 这个较紧缩的频率范围不适用于烃类。 来自辞典例句