TED2012
Damian Palin: Mining minerals from seawater
Damian Palin: 从海水中开采矿物质
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这个世界需要干净的水，而我们开始更多的从海洋中抽水，脱盐并饮用它。但我们拿剩下的浓盐水怎么办？在这个短小有趣的演讲中，TED 成员 Damian Palin 提出了一个想法： 和吸收金属的细胞合作，从中提取其他我们需要的矿物质。
Damian Palin - Biological miner
Damian Palin is developing a way to use bacteria to biologically "mine" minerals from water -- specifically, out of the brine left over from the desalinization process. Full bio
Damian Palin is developing a way to use bacteria to biologically "mine" minerals from water -- specifically, out of the brine left over from the desalinization process. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:16
I collaborate with bacteria.
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我和细菌们合作。
00:18
And I'm about to show you
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而我即将向你们展示
00:19
some stop-motion footage that I made recently
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一些我最近拍摄的
00:21
where you'll see bacteria accumulating minerals
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关于细菌如何在一个小时里从周围环境
00:23
from their environment
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累积矿物质的单格片段。
00:25
over the period of an hour.
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累积矿物质的单格片段。
00:27
So what you're seeing here
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你看到的
00:28
is the bacteria metabolizing,
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是细菌的新陈代谢，
00:30
and as they do so
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在这个过程中
00:31
they create an electrical charge.
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它们产生了电流。
00:33
And this attracts metals
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而电流会吸引周围的金属。
00:35
from their local environment.
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而电流会吸引周围的金属。
00:38
And these metals accumulate as minerals
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这些金属会以矿物质的形式
00:40
on the surface of the bacteria.
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积覆在细菌上。
00:42
One of the most pervasive problems
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今天的世界最普遍的问题之一
00:45
in the world today for people
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今天的世界最普遍的问题之一
00:46
is inadequate access
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便是缺乏干净的饮用水。
00:48
to clean drinking water.
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便是缺乏干净的饮用水。
00:49
And the desalination process
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海水淡化的工序
00:51
is one where we take out salts.
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让我们过滤掉海水里的盐分。
00:53
We can use it for drinking and agriculture.
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这种水可以用来饮用或者灌溉农田。
00:55
Removing the salts from water --
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通过反向过滤
00:57
particularly seawater --
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从水中 ，特别是海水中
00:59
through reverse osmosis
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移除盐分
01:00
is a critical technique
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是一个无比重要的技术。
01:02
for countries who do not have access to clean drinking water
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这对那些没有办法获取干净的饮用水的国家。
01:05
around the globe.
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尤为重要。
01:06
So seawater reverse osmosis
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海水反向过滤是一种使用隔膜过滤的技术。
01:07
is a membrane-filtration technology.
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海水反向过滤是一种使用隔膜过滤的技术。
01:10
We take the water from the sea
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我们抽取海水并施以压力，
01:12
and we apply pressure.
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我们抽取海水并施以压力，
01:14
And this pressure forces the seawater
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而这个压力强迫海水通过隔膜。
01:17
through a membrane.
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而这个压力强迫海水通过隔膜。
01:18
This takes energy,
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这是通过消耗能量来得到干净的水。
01:19
producing clean water.
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这是通过消耗能量来得到干净的水。
01:22
But we're also left with a concentrated salt solution, or brine.
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但我们同时也有很浓的盐水剩下。
01:26
But the process is very expensive
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而且整个过程非常的昂贵，
01:27
and it's cost-prohibitive for many countries around the globe.
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它高昂的代价吓退了世界上很多的国家。
01:30
And also, the brine that's produced
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不仅如此，产生的浓盐水常常被直接送回海洋中。
01:31
is oftentimes just pumped back out into the sea.
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不仅如此，产生的浓盐水常常被直接送回海洋中。
01:34
And this is detrimental to the local ecology
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对当地的海洋生态有破坏性的影响，
01:37
of the sea area that it's pumped back out into.
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对当地的海洋生态有破坏性的影响，
01:39
So I work in Singapore at the moment,
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我现在在新加坡工作，
01:41
and this is a place that's really a leading place
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这是现在在脱盐科技领于领先位置的地方。
01:44
for desalination technology.
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这是现在在脱盐科技处于领先位置的地方。
01:46
And Singapore proposes by 2060
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新加坡计划在2060年之前
01:49
to produce [900] million liters per day
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达到每天生产9亿升的脱盐水的目标。
01:52
of desalinated water.
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达到每天生产9亿升的脱盐水的目标。
01:54
But this will produce an equally massive amount
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但这同时也会生产出同样大量的浓盐水。
01:57
of desalination brine.
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但这同时也会生产出同样大量的浓盐水。
01:59
And this is where my collaboration with bacteria comes into play.
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而这就是我和细菌合作的开始。
02:02
So what we're doing at the moment
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我们现在正在做的
02:04
is we're accumulating metals
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便是从浓盐水中累积像钙、钾和镁的一样的金属。
02:07
like calcium, potassium and magnesium
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便是从浓盐水中累积像钙、钾和镁的一样的金属。
02:09
from out of desalination brine.
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便是从浓盐水中累积像钙、钾和镁的一样的金属。
02:11
And this, in terms of magnesium
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而这……就拿镁来说吧。
02:13
and the amount of water that I just mentioned,
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通过处理9亿升的浓盐水，
02:16
equates to a $4.5 billion
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我们能生产价值45亿美元的镁。
02:19
mining industry for Singapore --
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而新加坡本身
02:21
a place that doesn't have any natural resources.
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是一个没有任何自然资源的地方。
02:23
So I'd like you to image a mining industry
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所以我希望你们可以想象一个
02:26
in a way that one hasn't existed before;
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前所未有的矿业；
02:28
imagine a mining industry
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想象一个不需要污损地球土地的矿业；
02:30
that doesn't mean defiling the Earth;
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想象一个不需要污损地球土地的矿物业；
02:33
imagine bacteria helping us do this
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想象细菌帮我们从浓盐水中
02:35
by accumulating and precipitating
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想象细菌帮我们从浓盐水中
02:38
and sedimenting minerals
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累积、凝结以及沉淀矿物质。
02:41
out of desalination brine.
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累积、凝结以及沉淀矿物质。
02:42
And what you can see here
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而你现在可以看到的是
02:44
is the beginning of an industry in a test tube,
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一个从试管中升起的行业，
02:46
a mining industry that is in harmony with nature.
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一个和自然和谐共存的矿业。
02:50
Thank you.
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谢谢。
02:51
(Applause)
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（掌声）
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Damian Palin - Biological minerDamian Palin is developing a way to use bacteria to biologically "mine" minerals from water -- specifically, out of the brine left over from the desalinization process.
Why you should listen
Research engineer Damian Palin has long been fascinated by the process of biomineralization–with particular attention on the mechanisms involved for mineral precipitation. At the Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology (in collaboration with Nanyang Technical University, Singapore), he conducts experiments to assess the ability of microorganisms to mine selected minerals out of seawater desalination brine. This study was based on compelling and burgeoning evidence from the field of geomicrobiology, which shows the ubiquitous role that microorganisms play in the cycling of minerals on the planet.
He says: "It is my aim to continue to research in the field of biomineralization, while exploring the mechanisms responsible for mild energetic mineral (including metal) precipitation for the production of mineral composites."
Read our in-depth Q&A with Damian Palin >>
Damian Palin | Speaker | TED.com