2013年经济学人 有废铁吗?

 

Science and technology

科学与技术

Water purification

水的净化

Any old iron?

有废铁吗？

A little-known chemical may provide a new way to clean water

一种鲜为人知的化学物质可能为清洁水源带来一线希望

IRON in water is normally regarded a pollutant¹.

水中的铁原子通常被认为是一种污染源。

Luke Daly, the boss of Ferrate Treatment Technologies of Orlando, Florida, however, plans to turn that thought on its head.

然而，弗罗里达州奥兰多高铁酸盐技术处理所所长Luke Daly，计划颠倒这一认知。

He intends to use a chemically unusual form of iron to clean water up, not make it dirty.

他将利用铁原子的一种非通常化学形态来净化水源，而非污染水源。

Iron is found in the part of the periodic table known as the transition metals.

铁是化学元素周期表中的一部分，也被熟知为过渡金属。

Like all metals, these react with other elements by giving up electrons to form positively² charged ions.

像所有的金属一样，铁原子与其他元素反应，释放电子形成带正电的离子。

Transition metals, though, give up different numbers of electrons in different circumstances, and thus have ions of various charges.

但过渡金属在不同的情况下释放不同数量的电子，因此就形成乐携带不同数目正电的离子。

Usually, iron loses two or three electrons.

通常情况下，铁原子丧失2-3个电子。

But in ferrates, which are compounds of iron and oxygen with non-transition metals like sodium³ and calcium⁴, it loses six.

但是在高铁酸盐中是铁原子、氧原子以及非过渡金属如纳原子、钙原子的化合物，它失去了6个电子。

That makes ferrates extremely reactive, and it is this reactivity which Mr Daly hopes to exploit.

这使得高铁酸盐极其具有活性，而这也是Daly先生希望挖掘出的活性。

First, ferrates are strong oxidising agents.

首先，高铁酸盐是强氧化剂。

That means they destroy bacteria and viruses, and break up organic molecules⁵ with alacrity⁶.

也就是说，它们能够破坏细菌和病毒，并能迅速分解有机分子。

Second, they are coagulants and flocculating agents.

其次，它们也是凝结剂和絮凝剂，

They attract other chemicals in the water, including dissolved metals, and precipitate⁷ them for easy removal.

吸引水中其他的化学物质并生成沉淀就可以毫不费力的去除掉。

Moreover, once it has done its job, the iron in ferrates precipitates⁸ too, as iron oxide⁹, leaving pure water behind.

此外，当它的使命结束后，高铁酸盐中的铁离子也会以氧化铁的形式沉淀，过滤后就是洁净的水了。

The reason these wonder materials have not been used as water purifiers before is that their reactivity makes them unstable¹⁰ and thus difficult to store.

先前这些神奇的物质并没有用来做水源净化剂，因为它们的活性使得本身不稳定，也难以储存。

Thomas Waite of the Florida Institute of Technology, an academic scientist on whose work the company has drawn¹¹, jokes that in the early days of his research he kept the whole world's supply of ferrates in a cabinet in his laboratory.

佛罗里达理工学院的理论科学家Thomas Waite，开玩笑的说，在他的早期研究中，当年全世界量的高铁酸盐供应量都在他的实验室橱柜中。

Ferrate Treatment Technologies' trick is to make ferrates on site, for instant use, rather than attempting to transport them to where they are needed.

高铁酸盐技术处理所所玩的戏法就是将高铁酸盐现场即用，而非运送到异地再使用。

The firm's Ferrator uses three cheap raw materials—bleach, ferric chloride and caustic¹² soda—to produce sodium and calcium ferrate at a price competitive, in terms of oxidising power, with more familiar water-cleaners like chlorine and ozone¹³.

公司的高铁酸盐系统是用三种便宜的原材料—漂白剂、氯化铁以及氢氧化钠—来制造高铁酸钠和高铁酸钙，并使其价格，在氧化效果来看，媲美于氯水和臭氧这类的水源清洁剂。

A machine small enough to be carried around in a pickup¹⁴ truck, Mr Daly claims, could generate enough ferrates to purify 75m litres of water a day.

Daly先生称，一个足以让小货车携带的小型机器，能够制造出足够的高铁酸盐一天净化7500万公升的水。

The system is now being tested at two plants in Florida.

这套系统现正在接受位于弗罗里达州两座工厂的测试。

If all goes well, the first commercial Ferrators will be up and running later this year.

如果一切正常的话，第一个商业性高铁酸盐系统将建立并且于年后投入运营。

词语解释

1.chemical n.药品；化学物

The government has banned the use of chemical weapons.

政府已经禁止使用化学武器。

2.pollutant n.污染物质

The strategy specifies¹⁵ the maximum concentration of a pollutant which is allowed to be emitted.

这个策略确定了一种允许排放的污染物质的最高浓度。

3.periodic a.周期的；定期的

Long long ago, we knew the periodic motion of a planet.

很久以前, 我们就知道行星的周期运动。

4.transition n.转变；过渡

Such a sudden transition must affect her.

这样的一个突然变化一定会影响她。

5.electron n.电子

Let us return to electron waves now.

现在我们再回到电子波上来。

1 pollutant   

n.污染物质，散布污染物质者

参考例句：

• Coal itself is a heavy pollutant.煤本身就是一种严重的污染物。
• Carbon dioxide may not be a typical air pollutant.二氧化碳可能不是一种典型的污染物。

2 positively   

adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实

参考例句：

• She was positively glowing with happiness.她满脸幸福。
• The weather was positively poisonous.这天气着实讨厌。

3 sodium   

n.（化）钠

参考例句：

• Out over the town the sodium lights were lit.在外面，全城的钠光灯都亮了。
• Common salt is a compound of sodium and chlorine.食盐是钠和氯的复合物。

4 calcium   

n.钙(化学符号Ca)

参考例句：

• We need calcium to make bones.我们需要钙来壮骨。
• Calcium is found most abundantly in milk.奶含钙最丰富。

5 molecules   

分子( molecule的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The structure of molecules can be seen under an electron microscope. 分子的结构可在电子显微镜下观察到。
• Inside the reactor the large molecules are cracked into smaller molecules. 在反应堆里，大分子裂变为小分子。

6 alacrity   

n.敏捷，轻快，乐意

参考例句：

• Although the man was very old,he still moved with alacrity.他虽然很老，动作仍很敏捷。
• He accepted my invitation with alacrity.他欣然接受我的邀请。

7 precipitate   

adj.突如其来的；vt.使突然发生；n.沉淀物

参考例句：

• I don't think we should make precipitate decisions.我认为我们不应该贸然作出决定。
• The king was too precipitate in declaring war.国王在宣战一事上过于轻率。

8 precipitates   

v.（突如其来地）使发生( precipitate的第三人称单数 )；促成；猛然摔下；使沉淀

参考例句：

• Water precipitates camphor from its alcoholic solution. 水能把樟脑从其酒精溶液中淀析出来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Precipitates are usually collected by centrifugation at intervals. 常常是用离心法分段收集沉淀的。 来自辞典例句

9 oxide   

n.氧化物

参考例句：

• Oxide is usually seen in our daily life.在我们的日常生活中氧化物很常见。
• How can you get rid of this oxide coating?你们该怎样除去这些氧化皮？

10 unstable   

adj.不稳定的，易变的

参考例句：

• This bookcase is too unstable to hold so many books.这书橱很不结实，装不了这么多书。
• The patient's condition was unstable.那患者的病情不稳定。

11 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

12 caustic   

adj.刻薄的，腐蚀性的

参考例句：

• He opened his mouth to make a caustic retort.他张嘴开始进行刻薄的反击。
• He enjoys making caustic remarks about other people.他喜欢挖苦别人。

13 ozone   

n.臭氧，新鲜空气

参考例句：

• The ozone layer is a protective layer around the planet Earth.臭氧层是地球的保护层。
• The capacity of ozone can adjust according of requirement.臭氧的产量可根据需要或调节。

14 pickup   

n.拾起，获得

参考例句：

• I would love to trade this car for a pickup truck.我愿意用这辆汽车换一辆小型轻便卡车。||The luck guy is a choice pickup for the girls.那位幸运的男孩是女孩子们想勾搭上的人。

15 specifies   

v.指定( specify的第三人称单数 )；详述；提出…的条件；使具有特性

参考例句：

• The third clause of the contract specifies steel sashes for the windows. 合同的第三款指定使用钢窗。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The contract specifies red tiles, not slates, for the roof. 合同规定屋顶用红瓦，并非石板瓦。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》