ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Jonathan Trent - Scientist and biofuel guru
Not only does Jonathan Trent grow algae for biofuel, he wants to do so by cleansing wastewater and trapping carbon dioxide in the process. And it’s all solar-powered.

Why you should listen

Jonathan Trent works at NASA’s nanotechnology department, where he builds microscopic devices out of proteins from extremophiles -- bacteria that live in the world’s harshest environments. It isn’t the logical place to start a biofuel project. But in 2008, after watching enzymes chomp through plant cells, Trent started thinking about biofuels. And, because he has a background in marine biology, he started thinking about algae and the oceans.

Thus was born OMEGA, or the Offshore Membrane Enclosure for Growing Algae. This technology aims at re-using the wastewater of coastal cities that is currently piped out and disposed into the seas. Fueled by the sun and carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, the algae eat the waste and produce oils that can be converted to fuel. Unlike growing corn for ethanol, OMEGA doesn’t threaten the world’s food supply.

More profile about the speaker
Jonathan Trent | Speaker | TED.com
TEDGlobal 2012

Jonathan Trent: Energy from floating algae pods

Jonathan Trent: 来自漂浮微藻的能源

Filmed:
1,037,057 views

它被称作“没有化石的燃料”:Jonathan Trent正在研究如何利用来自城市的废水在沿海养殖微藻并生产新型生物燃料。来听听他团队的大胆设想方案OMEGA(Offshore Membrane Enclosures for Growing Algae)是如何能够为未来提供能源的。
- Scientist and biofuel guru
Not only does Jonathan Trent grow algae for biofuel, he wants to do so by cleansing wastewater and trapping carbon dioxide in the process. And it’s all solar-powered. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:16
Some years年份 ago, I set out to try to understand理解
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几年前,我试图去了解
00:19
if there was a possibility可能性 to develop发展 biofuels生物燃料
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是否大规模开发生物燃料是可行的
00:21
on a scale规模 that would actually其实 compete竞争 with fossil化石 fuels燃料
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这种生物燃料会与化石燃料竞争
00:26
but not compete竞争 with agriculture农业 for water,
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而不会与农业竞争水源,
00:30
fertilizer肥料 or land土地.
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肥料或者土地
00:32
So here's这里的 what I came来了 up with.
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这是我想出来的
00:34
Imagine想像 that we build建立 an enclosure附件 where we put it
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想像一下,我们制造一个封闭的容器
00:35
just underwater水下, and we fill it with wastewater废水
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我们将它放在水下,用废水
00:38
and some form形成 of microalgae微藻 that produces产生 oil,
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以及某些产油的微藻填充它
00:41
and we make it out of some kind of flexible灵活 material材料
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这个容器是用某种柔韧的材质做的
00:43
that moves移动 with waves波浪 underwater水下,
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所以它会在水下随波流动
00:45
and the system系统 that we're going to build建立, of course课程,
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当然,我们要造的这个系统
00:47
will use solar太阳能 energy能源 to grow增长 the algae藻类,
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依靠太阳能来使海藻生长
00:49
and they use COCO2, which哪一个 is good,
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有一点很好,海藻吸收二氧化碳
00:51
and they produce生产 oxygen as they grow增长.
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当海藻生长时,它们产生氧气
00:54
The algae藻类 that grow增长 are in a container容器 that
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生长在容器里的海藻
00:57
distributes分配 the heat to the surrounding周围 water,
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将热量散发到周围水域
01:00
and you can harvest收成 them and make biofuels生物燃料
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你可以获取它们,从而制造生物燃料,
01:03
and cosmetics化妆品 and fertilizer肥料 and animal动物 feed饲料,
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化妆品,肥料和动物饲料
01:05
and of course课程 you'd have to make a large area of this,
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当然,这个容器的体积必须要足够大
01:08
so you'd have to worry担心 about other stakeholders利益相关者
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所以你就得考虑其它的利益相关者
01:11
like fishermen渔民 and ships船舶 and such这样 things, but hey,
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譬如渔民和船只,诸如此类,但各位
01:15
we're talking about biofuels生物燃料,
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我们现在谈论的是生物燃料
01:17
and we know the importance重要性 of potentially可能 getting得到
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我们也知道
01:19
an alternative替代 liquid液体 fuel汽油.
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获得一种的替代液体燃料的重要性
01:22
Why are we talking about microalgae微藻?
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可为什么我们一定要用微藻?
01:24
Here you see a graph图形 showing展示 you the different不同 types类型
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这个图表展示了不同种类的
01:28
of crops作物 that are being存在 considered考虑 for making制造 biofuels生物燃料,
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被认为能够制造生物燃料的农作物
01:32
so you can see some things like soybean黄豆,
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你可以看到一些熟悉的农作物,比如最左边的大豆
01:35
which哪一个 makes品牌 50 gallons加仑 per acre英亩 per year,
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每英亩大豆每年出产50加仑生物燃料
01:37
or sunflower向日葵 or canola油菜 or jatropha麻风树 or palm棕榈, and that
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再往右看还有向日葵,油菜,麻风树,棕榈树
然后最右边
01:42
tall graph图形 there shows节目 what microalgae微藻 can contribute有助于.
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那根最高的柱子展示了微藻的贡献
01:46
That is to say, microalgae微藻 contributes有助于 between之间 2,000
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也就是说,每年每英亩面积的海藻能贡献
01:49
and 5,000 gallons加仑 per acre英亩 per year,
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2000至5000加仑生物燃料
01:52
compared相比 to the 50 gallons加仑 per acre英亩 per year from soy黄豆.
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大豆只产50加仑,(和它相比简直是微不足道)
01:55
So what are microalgae微藻? Microalgae微藻 are micro --
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那么什么是微藻呢?微藻是微小的东西
01:58
that is, they're extremely非常 small, as you can see here
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非常非常小,正如你们现在看到的
02:01
a picture图片 of those single-celled单细胞 organisms生物
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单细胞生物体——微藻
02:04
compared相比 to a human人的 hair头发.
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与人类毛发的对比图
02:06
Those small organisms生物 have been around
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那些微藻已经在地球上存在几百万年了
02:09
for millions百万 of years年份 and there's thousands数千
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而且世界上有上千种
02:11
of different不同 species种类 of microalgae微藻 in the world世界,
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不同种类的微藻
02:13
some of which哪一个 are the fastest-growing增长最快 plants植物 on the planet行星,
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有一些是地球上生长速度最快的植物
02:16
and produce生产, as I just showed显示 you, lots and lots of oil.
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它们生产,正如我刚才给大家看的,大量的油
02:19
Now, why do we want to do this offshore海上?
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那么下一个问题:为什么我们要在沿海地区做这个呢?
02:23
Well, the reason原因 we're doing this offshore海上 is because
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我们在沿海地区做的原因是
02:26
if you look at our coastal沿海 cities城市, there isn't a choice选择,
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除了那些沿海城市,我们没有选择
02:30
because we're going to use waste浪费 water, as I suggested建议,
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因为我们要使用废水,正如我刚才说的
02:33
and if you look at where most of the waste浪费 water
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看一下大多数被废水灌溉的植物的所在地
02:35
treatment治疗 plants植物 are, they're embedded嵌入式 in the cities城市.
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它们都在城市里
02:38
This is the city of San Francisco弗朗西斯科, which哪一个 has 900 miles英里
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这里是旧金山,拥有900英里的污水管
02:42
of sewer下水道 pipes管道 under the city already已经,
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位于城市底下
02:45
and it releases发布 its waste浪费 water offshore海上.
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这些污水管把污水排放到沿海地区
02:49
So different不同 cities城市 around the world世界 treat对待 their waste浪费 water
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尽管世界上不同的城市用不同方法处理污水
02:53
differently不同. Some cities城市 process处理 it.
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一些城市将污水加工
02:55
Some cities城市 just release发布 the water.
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一些城市只是排放污水
02:57
But in all cases, the water that's released发布 is
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但是不管是哪种情况,排放的污水
02:59
perfectly完美 adequate充足 for growing生长 microalgae微藻.
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都完全足够微藻生长
03:02
So let's envision预见 what the system系统 might威力 look like.
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让我们设想一下这个系统的样子
03:04
We call it OMEGAOMEGA, which哪一个 is an acronym缩写 for
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我们称之为OMEGA
03:06
Offshore海上 Membrane Enclosures外壳 for Growing生长 Algae藻类.
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是Offshore Membrane Enclosures for Growing Algae
(沿海微藻生长围场)的缩写
03:10
At NASANASA, you have to have good acronyms缩略词.
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在NASA(美国国家航空航天局)
你必须有好的缩写名字
03:13
So how does it work? I sort分类 of showed显示 you how it works作品 already已经.
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这个系统怎么运作?我刚才已经透露给你们一些了
03:16
We put waste浪费 water and some source资源 of COCO2
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我们把废水和二氧化碳放入
03:20
into our floating漂浮的 structure结构体,
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流动的结构中
03:23
and the waste浪费 water provides提供 nutrients营养成分 for the algae藻类 to grow增长,
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废水为微藻提供生长所需的营养物质
03:26
and they sequester隔离 COCO2 that would otherwise除此以外 go off
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他们隔绝二氧化碳,阻滞它们
03:29
into the atmosphere大气层 as a greenhouse温室 gas加油站.
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作为温室气体进入大气中。
03:32
They of course课程 use solar太阳能 energy能源 to grow增长,
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当然,他们适用能量来帮助生长,
03:34
and the wave energy能源 on the surface表面 provides提供 energy能源
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表面的波浪能量提供能量
03:36
for mixing混合 the algae藻类, and the temperature温度
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混合海藻,温度
03:39
is controlled受控 by the surrounding周围 water temperature温度.
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被周围水温所控制。
03:41
The algae藻类 that grow增长 produce生产 oxygen, as I've mentioned提到,
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就像我刚才所说,海藻产生氧气,
03:45
and they also produce生产 biofuels生物燃料 and fertilizer肥料 and food餐饮 and
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他们也产生生物燃料,化肥,和食物
03:48
other bi-algal双藻 products制品 of interest利益.
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以及其它海藻副产品
03:51
And the system系统 is contained. What do I mean by that?
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这个系统是封闭的。是什么意思呢?
03:55
It's modular模块化. Let's say something happens发生 that's
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它是模型化的。让我们做一个
03:57
totally完全 unexpected意外 to one of the modules模块.
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完全出乎意料的假设。
03:59
It leaks泄漏. It's struck来袭 by lightning闪电.
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假设它漏了。或假设它被闪电击中。
04:01
The waste浪费 water that leaks泄漏 out is water that already已经 now
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流出来的废水是
04:04
goes into that coastal沿海 environment环境, and
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原本就应被排放到海里的,
04:06
the algae藻类 that leak泄漏 out are biodegradable可生物降解,
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而那些藻类是会自然分解的,
04:09
and because they're living活的 in waste浪费 water,
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因为他们本来就生活在废水中,
04:10
they're fresh新鲜 water algae藻类, which哪一个 means手段 they can't
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他们是淡水藻类,也就是说,他们无法
04:13
live生活 in salt water, so they die.
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生活在咸水中,他们就会死去。
04:15
The plastic塑料 we'll build建立 it out of is some kind of
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我们制造出的塑料是一种
04:17
well-known知名 plastic塑料 that we have good experience经验 with, and
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广泛使用的材料,效果很好,
04:19
we'll rebuild重建 our modules模块 to be able能够 to reuse重用 them again.
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为了能使之重复利用,我们会重新构建模型。
04:24
So we may可能 be able能够 to go beyond that when thinking思维 about
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所以,当我们考虑我给你们展示的这个系统时,
04:28
this system系统 that I'm showing展示 you, and that is to say
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我们可能要想个更远些,也就是说,
04:30
we need to think in terms条款 of the water, the fresh新鲜 water,
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我们需要从水,特别是淡水入手,
04:33
which哪一个 is also going to be an issue问题 in the future未来,
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因为淡水将是未来一个亟待解决的问题,
04:35
and we're working加工 on methods方法 now
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我们现在就在研究开发
04:37
for recovering恢复 the waste浪费 water.
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重新利用废水的方法。
04:40
The other thing to consider考虑 is the structure结构体 itself本身.
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另一个需要考虑的就是这个结构本身,
04:43
It provides提供 a surface表面 for things in the ocean海洋,
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它在海洋中为生物提供一个表层,
04:46
and this surface表面, which哪一个 is covered覆盖 by seaweeds海藻
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在海洋中,这个被海草和其他生物
04:49
and other organisms生物 in the ocean海洋,
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覆盖的表层,
04:51
will become成为 enhanced增强 marine海洋 habitat栖息地
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会改善海洋栖息地,
04:55
so it increases增加 biodiversity生物多样性.
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所以他会促进生物多样性的发展。
04:57
And finally最后, because it's an offshore海上 structure结构体,
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最终,因为它是海岸边的结构,
04:59
we can think in terms条款 of how it might威力 contribute有助于
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我们还可以思考它如何促进
05:02
to an aquaculture水产养殖 activity活动 offshore海上.
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海岸边的水产养殖多样性。
05:06
So you're probably大概 thinking思维, "Gee啧啧, this sounds声音
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你可能会觉得,“天哪,这听起来
05:07
like a good idea理念. What can we do to try to see if it's real真实?"
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真是个好主意。而我们又该如何知道它是否成功呢?”
05:12
Well, I set up laboratories实验室 in Santa圣诞老人 Cruz克鲁兹
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我在圣克鲁斯设立了一个实验室
05:16
at the California加州 Fish and Game游戏 facility设施,
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我的实验室就在加州渔猎局的场地,
05:19
and that facility设施 allowed允许 us to have big seawater海水 tanks坦克
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那个研究室可以提供给我们大型的海水池
05:22
to test测试 some of these ideas思路.
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来测试我们的一些想法。
05:24
We also set up experiments实验 in San Francisco弗朗西斯科
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我们还在旧金山设了实验室,
05:26
at one of the three waste浪费 water treatment治疗 plants植物,
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实验室就在三个处理废水的工厂之一,
05:29
again a facility设施 to test测试 ideas思路.
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这里也是用来测试我们的想法的。
05:32
And finally最后, we wanted to see where we could look at
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最后,由于我们想知道我们在哪里可以看到
05:35
what the impact碰撞 of this structure结构体 would be
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这个结构对海洋环境的影响,
05:38
in the marine海洋 environment环境, and we set up a field领域 site现场
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我们在一个叫做斯兰海洋实验室的地方
05:41
at a place地点 called Moss苔藓 Landing降落 Marine海洋 Lab实验室
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设立了一个野外基地,
05:44
in Monterey蒙特雷 Bay, where we worked工作 in a harbor港口
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这个基地就在蒙特雷湾,我们在那的一个海港
05:46
to see what impact碰撞 this would have on marine海洋 organisms生物.
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研究这个结构对海洋生物的影响。
05:51
The laboratory实验室 that we set up in Santa圣诞老人 Cruz克鲁兹 was our skunkworks科研重地.
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我们设立在圣克鲁什的实验室是我们的臭鼬工厂。
05:54
It was a place地点 where we were growing生长 algae藻类
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我们在那培育藻类,
05:57
and welding焊接 plastic塑料 and building建造 tools工具
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焊接塑料制品,制造工具,
06:00
and making制造 a lot of mistakes错误,
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而我们也犯了许多错误
06:01
or, as Edison爱迪生 said, we were
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或者,像爱迪生说的那样,我们
06:03
finding发现 the 10,000 ways方法 that the system系统 wouldn't不会 work.
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是在寻找失败的10000种方法。
06:06
Now, we grew成长 algae藻类 in waste浪费 water, and we built内置 tools工具
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现在,我们在废水中培养藻类,制造可以
06:11
that allowed允许 us to get into the lives生活 of algae藻类
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干预藻类生活的工具,
06:14
so that we could monitor监控 the way they grow增长,
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这样我们就能监控他们的生长方式,
06:16
what makes品牌 them happy快乐, how do we make sure that
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并知道什么使他们快乐和怎样确保
06:19
we're going to have a culture文化 that will survive生存 and thrive兴旺.
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我们将创造一种环境让他们存活和壮大。
06:22
So the most important重要 feature特征 that we needed需要 to develop发展 were these
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所以,我们需要开发的最重要的设备
06:26
so-called所谓 photobioreactors光生物反应器, or PBRsPBRS.
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就是光生物反应器,简称为PBRs。
06:28
These were the structures结构 that would be floating漂浮的 at the
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这些光生物反应器可以漂浮在
06:30
surface表面 made制作 out of some inexpensive便宜 plastic塑料 material材料
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由廉价的塑料材料覆盖的水面上,
06:33
that'll那会 allow允许 the algae藻类 to grow增长, and we had built内置 lots and lots
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这些塑料材料可以让藻类生长,我们进行了
06:36
of designs设计, most of which哪一个 were horrible可怕 failures故障,
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许多次的设计,但大部分都失败了,
06:39
and when we finally最后 got to a design设计 that worked工作,
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当我们的设计最终成功时
06:41
at about 30 gallons加仑, we scaled缩放 it up
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我们用的只是30加仑的容器,在旧金山,
06:43
to 450 gallons加仑 in San Francisco弗朗西斯科.
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我们按比例增加到了450加仑。
06:47
So let me show显示 you how the system系统 works作品.
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让我给你们展示这个系统是怎样工作的。
06:49
We basically基本上 take waste浪费 water with algae藻类 of our choice选择 in it,
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我们将含有我们选择的藻类的废水注入其中,
06:53
and we circulate流通 it through通过 this floating漂浮的 structure结构体,
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然后我们让他们循环在这个漂浮着,
06:56
this tubular管状的, flexible灵活 plastic塑料 structure结构体,
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管状的,可折叠的塑料结构中,
06:58
and it circulates循环 through通过 this thing,
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废水在这个东西中循环
07:00
and there's sunlight阳光 of course课程, it's at the surface表面,
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当然要在太阳照射下,因为它是在水面上的
07:03
and the algae藻类 grow增长 on the nutrients营养成分.
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这些藻类靠营养物生长。
07:05
But this is a bit like putting your head in a plastic塑料 bag.
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但这个有点像把你的头放进塑料袋里。
07:07
The algae藻类 are not going to suffocate窒息 because of COCO2,
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只是藻类不会像我们一样
07:11
as we would.
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由于二氧化碳而窒息。
07:12
They suffocate窒息 because they produce生产 oxygen, and they
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他们窒息是因为他们产生了氧气,
07:14
don't really suffocate窒息, but the oxygen that they produce生产
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他们也不是真正的窒息,但是他们产生的氧气
07:16
is problematic问题, and they use up all the COCO2.
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成了他们的问题所在,他们用光了所有的二氧化碳。
07:19
So the next下一个 thing we had to figure数字 out was how we could
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所以,下一步需要做的是知道
07:22
remove去掉 the oxygen, which哪一个 we did by building建造 this column
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怎样把氧气排除,我们制造了一个圆柱体
07:25
which哪一个 circulated流传 some of the water,
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水在里面循环,
07:27
and put back COCO2, which哪一个 we did by bubbling冒泡 the system系统
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我们在水循环之前把气泡打进去
07:30
before we recirculated再循环 the water.
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因此CO2就被送了进去。
07:32
And what you see here is the prototype原型,
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你们现在看到的这个雏形
07:34
which哪一个 was the first attempt尝试 at building建造 this type类型 of column.
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就是我们第一次制造的圆柱体。
07:38
The larger column that we then installed安装 in San Francisco弗朗西斯科
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后来在旧金山
07:40
in the installed安装 system系统.
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我们安装了一个较大的圆柱体。
07:42
So the column actually其实 had another另一个 very nice不错 feature特征,
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因此,这个圆柱体事实上有一个非常好的特征,
07:45
and that is the algae藻类 settle解决 in the column,
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这是圆柱体里沉淀的水藻,
07:48
and this allowed允许 us to accumulate积累 the algal藻类 biomass生物质
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这样允许我们把藻类生物量
07:52
in a context上下文 where we could easily容易 harvest收成 it.
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积累在一个容易收获的容器里。
07:55
So we would remove去掉 the algaes海藻 that concentrated集中
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我们将把集中在底部的
07:58
in the bottom底部 of this column, and then we could
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藻类移走,我们就能按照程序
08:00
harvest收成 that by a procedure程序 where you float浮动 the algae藻类
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收获漂浮在表面的藻类
08:04
to the surface表面 and can skim撇去 it off with a net.
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并有网子捞取。
08:08
So we wanted to also investigate调查 what would be the impact碰撞
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我们也想调查这个系统
08:12
of this system系统 in the marine海洋 environment环境,
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对海洋环境会产生的影响,
08:15
and I mentioned提到 we set up this experiment实验 at a field领域 site现场
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我提到过,我们的野外试验基地是
08:18
in Moss苔藓 Landing降落 Marine海洋 Lab实验室.
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在Moss Landing海洋试验室。
08:20
Well, we found发现 of course课程 that this material材料 became成为
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当然我们发现这种材料
08:23
overgrown发育过度的 with algae藻类, and we needed需要 then to develop发展
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会被海藻覆盖,我们就需要去
08:26
a cleaning清洁的 procedure程序, and we also looked看着 at how
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设计一种清洁的方法,
08:29
seabirds海鸟 and marine海洋 mammals哺乳动物 interacted互动, and in fact事实 you
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我们也观察了海鸟类和海洋哺乳类的相互影响,
08:31
see here a sea otter that found发现 this incredibly令人难以置信 interesting有趣,
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你会看到一只海獭对此很感兴趣,
08:34
and would periodically定期 work its way across横过 this little
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它时不时地穿梭于
08:38
floating漂浮的 water bed, and we wanted to hire聘请 this guy
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这个小小的浮动水床,我们好想雇佣这个小家伙
08:40
or train培养 him to be able能够 to clean清洁 the surface表面
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或训练它能来清洁水面
08:43
of these things, but that's for the future未来.
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那只能等将来了。
08:45
Now really what we were doing,
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我们真正在做的是,
08:46
we were working加工 in four areas.
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在研究四个领域。
08:48
Our research研究 covered覆盖 the biology生物学 of the system系统,
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我们的研究包括这个系统的生物方面,
08:51
which哪一个 included包括 studying研究 the way algae藻类 grew成长,
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包括研究海藻的生长方式,
08:53
but also what eats the algae藻类, and what kills杀死 the algae藻类.
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也包括什么东西吃海藻,什么会杀死海藻。
08:57
We did engineering工程 to understand理解 what we would need
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我们用工程学来理解我们需要的东西
08:59
to be able能够 to do to build建立 this structure结构体,
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能来建造这个结构,
09:01
not only on the small scale规模, but how we would build建立 it
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并不是个小规模,而是将建造
09:04
on this enormous巨大 scale规模 that will ultimately最终 be required需要.
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我们最终需要的大规模的成品。
09:07
I mentioned提到 we looked看着 at birds鸟类 and marine海洋 mammals哺乳动物
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我提到过我们观察过鸟类和海洋哺乳类
09:10
and looked看着 at basically基本上 the environmental环境的 impact碰撞
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观察过这个系统对环境的影响
09:13
of the system系统, and finally最后 we looked看着 at the economics经济学,
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最终,我们也考虑了经济因素,
09:16
and what I mean by economics经济学 is,
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我所指的经济因素是,
09:18
what is the energy能源 required需要 to run the system系统?
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要运行这个系统需要什么能源?
09:21
Do you get more energy能源 out of the system系统
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你是获得的能量多
09:22
than you have to put into the system系统
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还是投入到这个系统的多
09:24
to be able能够 to make the system系统 run?
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来确保系统运转?
09:26
And what about operating操作 costs成本?
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那运作成本呢?
09:28
And what about capital首都 costs成本?
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资本又是多少呢?
09:30
And what about, just, the whole整个 economic经济 structure结构体?
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整个经济架构有如何?
09:34
So let me tell you that it's not going to be easy简单,
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这个可不是容易的,
09:37
and there's lots more work to do in all four
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在这四个领域中有大量的工作要做
09:39
of those areas to be able能够 to really make the system系统 work.
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才能保证这个系统工作。
09:43
But we don't have a lot of time, and I'd like to show显示 you
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但我们时间不多,我要给你们看的是
09:46
the artist's艺术家 conception概念 of how this system系统 might威力 look
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这看起来像是艺术家的构想,
09:49
if we find ourselves我们自己 in a protected保护 bay
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在一个受保护的海湾
09:52
somewhere某处 in the world世界, and we have in the background背景
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在某个地方,想象中我们的背景是
09:55
in this image图片, the waste浪费 water treatment治疗 plant
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污水处理场
09:58
and a source资源 of flue烟道 gas加油站 for the COCO2,
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和排放CO2的管道,
10:01
but when you do the economics经济学 of this system系统,
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但当你考虑到这个系统的经济因素,
10:03
you find that in fact事实 it will be difficult to make it work.
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你会发现这个很难运作的。
10:06
Unless除非 you look at the system系统 as a way to treat对待 waste浪费 water,
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除非你看这个系统只是废水处理,
10:11
sequester隔离 carbon, and potentially可能 for photovoltaic光伏 panels面板
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固碳,和潜在的太阳能光伏板
10:15
or wave energy能源 or even wind energy能源,
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或者海潮发电或风力发电的可能性,
10:18
and if you start开始 thinking思维 in terms条款 of
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如果你开始考虑
10:20
integrating整合 all of these different不同 activities活动,
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结合这些不同的活动,
10:23
you could also include包括 in such这样 a facility设施 aquaculture水产养殖.
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你也能把海水养殖算进去。
10:27
So we would have under this system系统 a shellfish贝类 aquaculture水产养殖
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所以我们会在这个系统中加上贝类养殖
10:30
where we're growing生长 mussels青口贝 or scallops扇贝.
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我们会生产蚌类或扇贝。
10:32
We'd星期三 be growing生长 oysters生蚝 and things
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我们会生产蛎
10:35
that would be producing生产 high value products制品 and food餐饮,
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和生产高价值的产品和食品,
10:38
and this would be a market市场 driver司机 as we build建立 the system系统
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那我们建造的这个系统将会带动市场
10:41
to larger and larger scales so that it becomes, ultimately最终,
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会发展越来越大,
10:44
competitive竞争的 with the idea理念 of doing it for fuels燃料.
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最终会与制作燃料的这个想法相竞争。
10:50
So there's always a big question that comes up,
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所以,总会带来一个大问题,
10:53
because plastic塑料 in the ocean海洋 has got a really bad reputation声誉
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因为在海洋里用塑料名声会很糟
10:56
right now, and so we've我们已经 been thinking思维 cradle摇篮 to cradle摇篮.
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所以我们一直在考虑从摇篮到摇篮(新的环保理念)
10:59
What are we going to do with all this plastic塑料 that we're
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我们如何处理这些
11:02
going to need to use in our marine海洋 environment环境?
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将要用在海洋环境里的塑料呢?
11:04
Well, I don't know if you know about this,
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我不清楚你是否知道,
11:06
but in California加州, there's a huge巨大 amount of plastic塑料
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在加州,有大量的塑料
11:09
that's used in fields领域 right now as plastic塑料 mulch护根,
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用于地膜,
11:12
and this is plastic塑料 that's making制造 these tiny little greenhouses大棚
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这些塑料就在制造这些小型的温室
11:15
right along沿 the surface表面 of the soil, and this provides提供
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是在地表面,
11:18
warming变暖 the soil to increase增加 the growing生长 season季节,
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也提供了土地的温暖从而增加了生长季节,
11:21
it allows允许 us to control控制 weeds杂草,
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也允许我们控制杂草,
11:24
and, of course课程, it makes品牌 the watering洒水 much more efficient高效.
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当然,也有效地利用了水分。
11:27
So the OMEGAOMEGA system系统 will be part部分
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所以,OMEGA系统将会加入
11:30
of this type类型 of an outcome结果, and that when we're finished
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这个成果,等我们完成
11:33
using运用 it in the marine海洋 environment环境, we'll be using运用 it,
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它在海洋环境的使用,
11:36
hopefully希望, on fields领域.
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希望我们会把它用于农地。
11:38
Where are we going to put this,
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我们要把它放哪,
11:39
and what will it look like offshore海上?
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它在近海会象个什么样子呢?
11:42
Here's这里的 an image图片 of what we could do in San Francisco弗朗西斯科 Bay.
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这是我们在旧金山海湾会做的一个图像。
11:45
San Francisco弗朗西斯科 produces产生 65 million百万 gallons加仑 a day
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旧金山一天产生六千五百万加仑的废水
11:48
of waste浪费 water. If we imagine想像 a five-day五天 retention保留 time
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我们假设这个系统的有5天的保水时间,
11:50
for this system系统, we'd星期三 need 325 million百万 gallons加仑
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我们就需要容纳三亿两千五百加仑
11:53
to accomodate适应, and that would be about 1,280 acres
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那将是大约1280英亩的地方
11:57
of these OMEGAOMEGA modules模块 floating漂浮的 in San Francisco弗朗西斯科 Bay.
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在旧金山湾漂浮着这些OMEGA模块。
12:00
Well, that's less than one percent百分
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比起整个海湾表面
12:02
of the surface表面 area of the bay.
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那只是不到百分之一。
12:04
It would produce生产, at 2,000 gallons加仑 per acre英亩 per year,
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每年每英亩按生产2000加仑来算,
12:08
it would produce生产 over 2 million百万 gallons加仑 of fuel汽油,
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它将生产两百万加仑以上的燃料,
12:11
which哪一个 is about 20 percent百分 of the biodiesel生物柴油,
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那是旧金山所需生物柴油的大约20%,
12:13
or of the diesel柴油机 that would be required需要 in San Francisco弗朗西斯科,
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或是旧金山所需柴油的20%,
12:16
and that's without doing anything about efficiency效率.
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这是没有算任何的效率。
12:19
Where else其他 could we potentially可能 put this system系统?
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这个系统还能放哪呢?
12:22
There's lots of possibilities可能性.
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也有很多可能性。
12:25
There's, of course课程, San Francisco弗朗西斯科 Bay, as I mentioned提到.
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当然我提过的旧金山湾。
12:27
San Diego迭戈 Bay is another另一个 example,
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圣地亚哥湾是另一个例子,
12:29
Mobile移动 Bay or Chesapeake切萨皮克 Bay, but the reality现实 is,
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莫比尔湾或切萨皮克湾,可现实是,
12:32
as sea level水平 rises上升, there's going to be lots and lots
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随着海平面的上升,将会有更多更多
12:34
of new opportunities机会 to consider考虑. (Laughter笑声)
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新的机会可以考虑。(笑)
12:38
So what I'm telling告诉 you about is a system系统
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我现在讲的是一个
12:41
of integrated集成 activities活动.
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融合各种活动的系统。
12:45
Biofuels生物燃料 production生产 is integrated集成 with alternative替代 energy能源
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生物燃料产品整合了另外的能源
12:47
is integrated集成 with aquaculture水产养殖.
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与水产业相融合。
12:50
I set out to find a pathway
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我将寻找一个途径
12:54
to innovative创新 production生产 of sustainable可持续发展 biofuels生物燃料,
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创新可持续生物燃料的生产,
13:00
and en route路线 I discovered发现 that what's really required需要
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途中我发现真正持续性需要的是
13:03
for sustainability可持续性 is integration积分 more than innovation革新.
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整合多过创新。
13:10
Long term术语, I have great faith信仰
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长远来说,
13:14
in our collective集体 and connected连接的 ingenuity创造力.
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我对我们的集体和连接的独创性很有信心。
13:19
I think there is almost几乎 no limit限制 to what we can accomplish完成
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我认为我们能够完成的几乎没有限制
13:23
if we are radically根本 open打开
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如果我们是完全开放的
13:25
and we don't care关心 who gets得到 the credit信用.
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我们也不介意谁得到了荣誉。
13:29
Sustainable可持续发展 solutions解决方案 for our future未来 problems问题
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未来问题的可持续解决方案
13:33
are going to be diverse多种
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将会多种多样
13:36
and are going to be many许多.
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并会有很多。
13:38
I think we need to consider考虑 everything,
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我们需要样样都考虑
13:41
everything from alphaα to OMEGAOMEGA.
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从alpha(开头)到 OMEGA(结束).
13:44
Thank you. (Applause掌声)
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谢谢!(掌声)
13:47
(Applause掌声)
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(掌声)
13:53
Chris克里斯 Anderson安德森: Just a quick question for you, Jonathan乔纳森.
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Chris Anderson:Jonathan,我有个小问题
13:56
Can this project项目 continue继续 to move移动 forward前锋 within
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这个项目能继续在NASA内部进行
13:58
NASANASA or do you need some very ambitious有雄心
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或你需要一些有雄心的绿色能源基金
14:02
green绿色 energy能源 fund基金 to come and take it by the throat?
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参与来掌管它的命运。
14:06
Jonathan乔纳森 Trent特伦特: So it's really gotten得到 to a stage阶段 now
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Jonathan Trent:现在在NASA已经到了一个阶段
14:08
in NASANASA where they would like to spin it out into something
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他们有意将这个在近海搞出点名堂
14:11
which哪一个 would go offshore海上, and there are a lot of issues问题
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在美国境内做这个有很多的问题
14:13
with doing it in the United联合的 States状态 because of limited有限
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因为很多许可限制
14:15
permitting允许 issues问题 and the time required需要 to get permits许可证
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和取得许可需要的时间限制
14:18
to do things offshore海上.
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在近海做实验。
14:19
It really requires要求, at this point, people on the outside,
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现在,真的需要,业外人士
14:22
and we're being存在 radically根本 open打开 with this technology技术
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我们将彻底开放这个技术
14:24
in which哪一个 we're going to launch发射 it out there
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我们要在外面启动它
14:26
for anybody任何人 and everybody每个人 who's谁是 interested有兴趣
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对任何对此感兴趣的人
14:28
to take it on and try to make it real真实.
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承担起来让它成为现实。
14:30
CACA: So that's interesting有趣. You're not patenting专利 it.
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CA:这很有趣。你们并不想申请专利。
14:33
You're publishing出版 it.
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你要公布它。
14:34
JTJT: Absolutely绝对.
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JT:是的。
14:35
CACA: All right. Thank you so much.
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CA:好,非常感谢。
14:37
JTJT: Thank you. (Applause掌声)
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谢谢。(鼓掌)
Translated by Emma Zhao
Reviewed by 嘉宇 王

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Jonathan Trent - Scientist and biofuel guru
Not only does Jonathan Trent grow algae for biofuel, he wants to do so by cleansing wastewater and trapping carbon dioxide in the process. And it’s all solar-powered.

Why you should listen

Jonathan Trent works at NASA’s nanotechnology department, where he builds microscopic devices out of proteins from extremophiles -- bacteria that live in the world’s harshest environments. It isn’t the logical place to start a biofuel project. But in 2008, after watching enzymes chomp through plant cells, Trent started thinking about biofuels. And, because he has a background in marine biology, he started thinking about algae and the oceans.

Thus was born OMEGA, or the Offshore Membrane Enclosure for Growing Algae. This technology aims at re-using the wastewater of coastal cities that is currently piped out and disposed into the seas. Fueled by the sun and carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, the algae eat the waste and produce oils that can be converted to fuel. Unlike growing corn for ethanol, OMEGA doesn’t threaten the world’s food supply.

More profile about the speaker
Jonathan Trent | Speaker | TED.com