VOA慢速英语2015 巴勒斯坦人将有机废物转化成天然气做饭（在线收听）

AS IT IS 2015-09-18 Palestinians Turn Organic Waste into Gas for Cooking 巴勒斯坦人将有机废物转化成天然气做饭

Rural communities in developing countries often have trouble securing dependable supplies ofenergy for cooking and lighting. But energy exists every where organic waste is breaking down. It is just a question of how to harness or make use of it.

A Palestinian community in the West Bank has been successfully testing a device that turns foodand animal wastes into biogas. The village of al-Awja has no running water or electric power. Solarpanels provide energy from the sun, but not enough for cooking equipment. But as in many otherparts of the world, villagers keep chickens, cows or other animals.

Recently, about 40 families started using portable devices that turn food and animal waste intomethane gas. The European Union and the Peres Center for Peace provided money to pay for thedevices.

One villager says, “This is a very good machine… The machine provides us with 70 to 80 percent of the gas that we need for our household."

An Israeli company, HomeBioGas, designed the machine, called a bio-digester. Anaerobic bacteriaare added to the device the first time it is used. The bacteria helps break down organic waste. Thebio-digester creates enough methane for cooking three meals a day. It also produces about 10liters of liquid organic fertilizer.

Biogas is smokeless and has no smell. In addition to cooking, biogas can be used to heat waterand for lighting devices. A built-in, hand-powered grinder helps break down the solid parts inhousehold waste.

The HomeBioGas system is designed for areas where the daily temperature does not drop below15 degrees Celsius. The price is about $2,500, a somewhat pricey amount for most families. So,communities must depend on aid from governments or private donors.

But the designers note the system can also be useful in more wealthy communities that haveorganic waste which can be turned into clean energy.

Words in this Story

organic – adj. related to living things; not using man-made chemicals

harness – v. to use something for a purpose

solar panel – n. a large, flat piece of equipment that uses the sun's light or heat to createelectricity

portable – adj. something that can be moved or transported

anaerobic – adj. living without air (for bacteria); strengthening muscles by forcing them to workvery hard in a brief time (for exercise)