科学家们找到了利用塑料垃圾发电的方法

Scientists may have discovered an environmentally friendly way to turn plastic waste into renewable energy.

科学家们可能已经发现了一种将塑料垃圾转化为可再生能源的环保方法。

In a series of lab experiments, researchers in Singapore successfully converted plastic into formic acid — a chemical that can be used to generate electricity in power plants and electric cars.

在一系列的实验室实验中，新加坡的研究人员成功地将塑料转化成甲酸——一种可用于发电厂和电动车发电的化学物质。

“We are able to turn plastics, which are of course polluting the oceans, into useful chemicals,” Soo Han Sen, head of the two-year research project at Nanyang Technological University, told AFP.

南洋理工大学这项为期两年的研究项目的负责人Soo Han Sen对法新社表示:“我们能够将污染海洋的塑料转化为有用的化学物质。”

“We’re hoping to turn this into a fully renewable process that’s carbon neutral.”

“我们希望把它变成一个完全可再生的过程，是碳中性的。”

To develop the process, the research team created a catalyst from vanadium — a cheap metal often used in steel alloys for vehicles that doesn’t damage the environment.

为了开发这一工艺，研究小组用钒制造了一种催化剂。钒是一种廉价的金属，通常用于制造汽车合金，不会破坏环境。

The catalyst is then dissolved in a solution containing the plastic and exposed to artificial sunlight, breaking down the carbon-carbon bonds inside the plastic and turning the once non-biodegradable material into formic acid.

然后，催化剂被溶解在含有塑料的溶液中，暴露在人工阳光下，分解塑料内部的碳-碳键，把曾经不可降解的材料变成甲酸。

The findings were published in Advanced Science.

研究结果发表在《先进科学》杂志上。

“This new chemical treatment is the first reported process that can completely break down a non-biodegradable plastic such as polyethylene using visible light and a catalyst that does not contain heavy metals,” Sen said in a press release.

森在一份新闻稿中说:“这种新的化学处理方法，是首次报道的利用可见光和不含重金属的催化剂，完全降解聚乙烯等不可生物降解塑料的方法。”

Sen and his team have only been able to convert tiny amounts of plastic into formic acid so far, adding that there will be challenges to replicating the process on a bigger scale.

森和他的团队到目前为止只能将少量的塑料转化成甲酸，并补充说，在更大的范围内复制这一过程将会面临挑战。