Biodiesel 生物柴油

　　Yuthachai of Thailand has invented a home-grown alternative to expensive imported diesel, a biodiesel derived from vegetable oil. Biodiesel is winning political backing in Thailand because it uses coconut and palm oil, both of which are in price slumps, and it limits the reliance on overseas petroleum source, which have become increasingly expensive.

　　Yuthachai, 56, has patented his coconut-oil fuel-making process. He developed his biodiesel 18 years ago, using knowledge he gained from working on a plantation and fixing farm machinery. He now sells his fuel at service stations, but refuses to sell his patent, despite attractive offers from overseas oil firms. He is determined to retain control of his formula and keep it accessible to farmers, so they can make their own fuel.

　　There are several formulations of biodiesel, but Yuthachai’s is one of the most basic, using 20 parts crude coconut oil to one part kerosene. It requires only simple, affordable technology to make and works in unmodified, slow-running engines.

　　Despite the public interest in biodiesel, the government has been cautious about Yuthachai’s fuel. Since there is currently no regulatory system for vegetable-oil fuels, Yuthachai fuel cannot be used in regular vehicles. But farmers and ferry operators are more enthusiastic, buying 700,000 liters a day of biodiesel made from crude vegetable oils to run farm machines and boats. Demand is growing: A liter of biodiesel is 4—6 US cents cheaper than diesel.

　　According to some scientists, the biodiesel produced from crude coconut oil may not run through engines as easily as diesel, and fatty-acid deposits can damage engines in the long run. A solution may soon come from using waste cooking oil. An experimental biodiesel plant to refine the waste oil is being built in Thailand. The plant will show the biodiesel-making potential of 60,000 tonnes of waste cooking oil that Bangkok generates daily.

　　Other Asian countries have been researching biodiesel — Malaysia, and the Philippines for 20 years — but Thailand is the first country to have public policy supporting its commercialization.

　　That trend looks like continuing, with the government in talks with a U.S. company to build a more advanced plant in Thailand. Until that’s working, homegrown biodiesels will help boost the fortunes of struggling Thais.

　　譯文：

　　泰國人Yuthachai發(fā)明了一種取自于植物油的生物柴油，這是一種可取代昂貴的進(jìn)口柴油的本地產(chǎn)的燃料。由于生物柴油的原料為價(jià)格正在下跌的椰油和棕櫚油，并且生物柴油還降低了國家對價(jià)格日趨昂貴的海外石油資源的依賴，所以生物柴油贏得了泰國政府的支持。

　　56歲的Yuthachai為其椰油燃料生產(chǎn)過程申請了專利。18年前，他利用自己在種植園工作中和維修農(nóng)場器具時(shí)所獲得的知識發(fā)明了生物柴油。目前，他在服務(wù)站銷售自己發(fā)明的燃料，但卻頂住了外國石油公司的誘惑，拒絕出售生產(chǎn)生物柴油的專利。他決心要控制住生物柴油的生產(chǎn)配方，使泰國農(nóng)民能利用他的配方，自行生產(chǎn)生物柴油。

　　生物柴油共有數(shù)種，但Yuthachai的生物柴油是最基本的一種，原料為20:1的天然椰油和煤油。生產(chǎn)這種生物柴油所需技術(shù)簡單且便宜，可在未經(jīng)改造的運(yùn)轉(zhuǎn)緩慢的發(fā)動機(jī)中可使用。

　　盡管公眾對Yuthachai發(fā)明的燃料頗感興趣，但政府卻抱以謹(jǐn)慎態(tài)度。由于目前還缺乏植物油燃料方面的管理體制，所以普通的車輛還不能使用Yuthachai的燃料。但是農(nóng)民和船主卻非常熱情，每天要購買70萬升的產(chǎn)自天然植物油的生物柴油作為農(nóng)場機(jī)器和船只的燃料。需求量在節(jié)節(jié)攀升：一升生物柴油比普通柴油要便宜4～6美分。

　　根據(jù)一些科學(xué)家的觀點(diǎn)，產(chǎn)自于天然椰油的生物柴油在發(fā)動機(jī)上不如普通柴油好用，并且脂肪酸沉積物最終會對發(fā)動機(jī)造成損害。不久我們就會擁有一種解決方法，用廢烹調(diào)油生產(chǎn)生物柴油。泰國正在建立一個(gè)提煉廢烹調(diào)油的實(shí)驗(yàn)性生物柴油制造廠，可將曼谷每天產(chǎn)生的6萬公噸廢烹調(diào)油提煉成生物柴油。

　　其他亞洲國家也在研究生物柴油的制造——其中馬來西亞和菲律賓已進(jìn)行了20年的研究，但是，泰國是用政府政策支持生物柴油商業(yè)化的第一個(gè)國家。

　　這種發(fā)展勢頭似乎還要繼續(xù)下去。泰國政府正在與一家美國公司進(jìn)行洽談，以期在泰國建立一家更加先進(jìn)的生物柴油制造廠。在該制造廠投人運(yùn)行之前，本地產(chǎn)生物柴油將會有助于改善苦苦掙扎的泰國人的命運(yùn)。

　　練習(xí)：

　　★1).Thailand suffers a lot due to the price slumps of its biodiesel.-N

　　★2).Biodiesel is superior in quality to traditional petroleum.-W

　　★3).Biodiesel can be made from coconut and palm oil, or from waste cooking oil.-R

　　★4).Malaysia, and the Philippines are the first countries in the world to have public policy supporting the commercialization of biodiesels.-W

　　★5).Yuthachai’s fuel is welcomed by both farmers and ferry operators for its low prices.-R

　　★6).Yuthachai, the inventor of biodiesel, is currently the general manager of a US-Thailand joint venture in Bangkok.-N

　　★7).It seems that Yuthachai places his fellow farmers’ interest before his own.-R