VOA慢速英语2015 用苏格兰威士忌制造新燃料

AS IT IS 2015-11-23 Scottish Whisky Tested as Alternative to Fossil Fuels 用苏格兰威士忌制造新燃料

Waste products from a popular alcoholic¹ drink could be used in the future to make biofuel.

不久的将来，人们就可以利用威士忌的副产品研制出一种新型生物燃料。

Researchers say the new fuel, based on whisky, could reduce demand for oil. They say using less oil could cut pollution that studies have linked to climate change. 

研究人员表示研发以威士忌为基础的新燃料可以减少石油的需求量。研究表明气候变化与石油的用量过度有关，因此石油用量减少，污染也会随之减轻。

Scotland is the largest producer of whisky in the world. And a Scottish professor has found how to take the byproducts from distilling² whisky and turn them into a form of alcohol called biobutanol. Biobutanol can be used as fuel.

苏格兰是全球最大的威士忌生产国。一位苏格兰教授将威士忌蒸馏后得到副产品，然后再从中提取出生物燃料——生化丁醇。生化丁醇可以用作燃料。

Whisky comes from grain, such as corn, rye or wheat. First, the liquid is purified. It is heated until it becomes a gas. The gas is then cooled, and the resulting liquid collected.

威士忌是由玉米、黑麦或小麦等谷物酿制而成的。首先液体需要经过提纯。然后再加热使之变为气体。待气体冷却后，再将剩下的液体收集起来。

Martin Tangney is director of the Biofuel Research Centre at Napier University in Edinburgh. He says less than 10 percent of what comes out can be considered whisky. The rest is mainly one of two unwanted byproducts: pot ale and barley³.

马丁.唐尼（Martin Tangney）是爱丁堡龙比亚大学生物燃料研究中心的主任。他说最终只有不到10%制成了威士忌。剩下的这些都是没什么用处的副产品：酒糟和大麦。

Tangney says the two byproducts can be produced to create a new material: biobutanol.

而现在这两种副产品却可以制成一种新型燃料：生化丁醇。

He says the whisky-based biofuel provides more power than bioethanol, a fuel made from plants like corn or sugar cane⁴. He says it has almost the same amount of energy as the gasoline used to power automobiles⁶.

他说这种从威士忌中提炼出的生物燃料比以甘蔗、玉米等植物为原料的生物乙醇更加高效。所提供的能量可以与驱动电摩的汽油相比。

Tangney says bioethanol has only 70 percent of the energy produced from gasoline. He adds that automobile⁵ engines do not need to be changed for biobutanol to work.

唐尼表示生物乙醇所产生的能量只是汽油的70%。他还补充说汽车发动机不需要改用生化丁醇来运作。

The Scottish professor is also the founder⁷ of Celtic Renewables. The company produces biobutanol at a factory in Belgium. Tangney does not expect biobutanol to replace gasoline, but thinks the two fuels can be mixed together. He says it is possible the fuel may also be used in airplanes, ships and in heaters.

这位苏格兰教授还是凯尔特可再生能源公司（Celtic Renewables）的创始人。该公司在比利时建厂制造生化丁醇。唐尼称生化丁醇是不能完全替代汽油的，但是两种燃料可以混合使用。他还表示飞机、轮船和加热器都可以将生化丁醇作为燃料。

He says drivers would also be helping⁸ the environment by "reducing the oil that we consume by putting this into their cars."

唐尼认为司机也要为保护环境出一份力，“减少石油的使用，改用生化丁醇。”。

Celtic Renewables has received $17 million from the British government to build a production facility in Scotland. The center is expected to be operational within three years.  

英国政府为支持凯尔特可再生能源公司在苏格兰建厂并生产生化丁醇而提供了一千七百万美元的资金支持。该厂将于在三年内建好并开始运作。

Words in This Story

distilling – v. to purify a liquid

facility – n. something such as a building or large piece of equipment that is built for a specific purpose

1 alcoholic   

adj.（含）酒精的，由酒精引起的；n.酗酒者

参考例句：

• The alcoholic strength of brandy far exceeds that of wine.白兰地的酒精浓度远远超过葡萄酒。
• Alcoholic drinks act as a poison to a child.酒精饮料对小孩犹如毒药。

2 distilling   

n.蒸馏（作用）v.蒸馏( distil的过去式和过去分词 )( distilled的过去分词 )；从…提取精华

参考例句：

• Water can be made pure by distilling it. 水经蒸馏可变得纯净。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• More ammonium sulphate solution is being recovered in the process of distilling oil shale. 在提炼油页岩的过程中回收的硫酸铵液比过去多了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 barley   

n.大麦，大麦粒

参考例句：

• They looked out across the fields of waving barley.他们朝田里望去,只见大麦随风摇摆。
• He cropped several acres with barley.他种了几英亩大麦。

4 cane   

n.手杖，细长的茎，藤条；v.以杖击，以藤编制的

参考例句：

• This sugar cane is quite a sweet and juicy.这甘蔗既甜又多汁。
• English schoolmasters used to cane the boys as a punishment.英国小学老师过去常用教鞭打男学生作为惩罚。

5 automobile   

n.汽车，机动车

参考例句：

• He is repairing the brake lever of an automobile.他正在修理汽车的刹车杆。
• The automobile slowed down to go around the curves in the road.汽车在路上转弯时放慢了速度。

6 automobiles   

n.汽车( automobile的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• When automobiles become popular,the use of the horse and buggy passed away. 汽车普及后，就不再使用马和马车了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Automobiles speed in an endless stream along the boulevard. 宽阔的林荫道上，汽车川流不息。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

7 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

8 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。