VOA常速英语2018---让塑料进入循环经济或成未来主导方向

Places like these are where most of the world’s plastics end up in landfills and a fair amount of it ends up in the world’s oceans. But a new British recycling firm wants it to end up here.

这种地方是世界上大多数垃圾最终的归处——垃圾填埋场，而其中相当一部分垃圾会进入海洋。但一家英国新型的回收公司却希望垃圾的终点站是这里。

There is a great demand right now for recycled material. There’s a great deal of interest in getting recycling into the plastics industry specially¹, and so we are really going to facilitate the ability to get plastic into the circular economy.

现在市场对回收物质的需求很高。有很多人对塑料行业回收尤为感兴趣，所以我们正在加强能力，让塑料进入循环经济。

The firm called Recycling Technologies is breaking down plastic, then turning it into fuel oils or feedstock to make new plastics. Basically, currently all we do is we make a hydrocarbon² soup and then we distill³ that out at different temperatures, so the higher temperatures, the waxes separate out, then we cool it a bit more, and the heavy oils then we call it, a bit more the light oils, and then the rest comes out. It’s naphtha, the gases that don’t condense out. We actually use the fuel for the process. Their process is creating a heavy fuel oil that works for marine⁴ vessels⁵. We call it a clean crude, because it has very little sulfur⁶ in it, in fact almost none, which certainly also fits with the new regulations for marine fill, where they’re asking for much lower sulfur around the world. So it’s a very valuable product.

这家名为“回收技术”的公司正在分解塑料，将塑料转化为燃料油或原料，来制作新的塑料。可以说，我们现在做的事情就是一锅碳氢化合物的汤，然后在不同的温度下进行提炼。所以，温度较高的时候，会提炼出蜡；温度稍微降低一些，会提炼出重油，然后是轻油，然后是其他成分，也就是石脑油——不会浓缩的气体。我们实际上会用燃料来进行这个流程。这个流程会产生重油，用于海洋船舶。我们称之为清洁原油，因为硫的燃料很少，相当于没有。这一点当然也符合海洋填充物的新规定，即减少全球范围内硫的使用。所以这个产品非常有价值。

Right now, the firm is recycling about 7,000 tons of plastic a year, but says it can quickly ramp⁷ up. We are designing to a four-day installation. We will basically come in six ice-free containers which will stand on end, clip together, and we plug in play mode and the intent is to be up and running within four days. So this is definitely not a refinery⁸ concept.

目前，该公司每年会回收近7000吨的塑料，同时也表示会迅速增加回收量。我们设计的是只有4天的使用期。会有6个不会结冰的容器竖立地固定在一起。然后我们启动运行模式，让容器运行4天的时间。这绝对不是提炼厂的概念。

This is much more a piece of stand-alone industrial equipment. The company has set the ambitious goal of selling 1300 of their recycling units around the world during the next decade, and expect they will be able to recycle 9 million tons of plastic each year.

这是可以独立运作的工业设备。该公司有一个宏大的目标——在未来10年销售1300个这样的回收装置，以及每年回收900万吨塑料垃圾。

1 specially   

adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地

参考例句：

• They are specially packaged so that they stack easily.它们经过特别包装以便于堆放。
• The machine was designed specially for demolishing old buildings.这种机器是专为拆毁旧楼房而设计的。

2 hydrocarbon   

n.烃，碳氢化合物

参考例句：

• During incomplete combustion some of the hydrocarbon fuel is cracked.在不完全的燃烧中，一些烃燃料裂解。
• The hydrocarbon must be an alkene.这个碳氢化合物必定是烯烃。

3 distill   

vt.蒸馏，用蒸馏法提取，吸取，提炼

参考例句：

• This standard set determine the method of petroleum products distill.本标准规定了测定石油产品蒸馏的方法。
• Distill the crucial points of the book.从书中提炼出关键的几点。

4 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

5 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 sulfur   

n.硫，硫磺（=sulphur）

参考例句：

• Sulfur emissions from steel mills become acid rain.炼钢厂排放出的硫形成了酸雨。
• Burning may produce sulfur oxides.燃烧可能会产生硫氧化物。

7 ramp   

n.暴怒，斜坡，坡道；vi.作恐吓姿势，暴怒，加速；vt.加速

参考例句：

• That driver drove the car up the ramp.那司机将车开上了斜坡。
• The factory don't have that capacity to ramp up.这家工厂没有能力加速生产。

8 refinery   

n.精炼厂，提炼厂

参考例句：

• They built a sugar refinery.他们建起了一座榨糖厂。
• The purpose of oil refinery is to refine crude petroleum.炼油厂的主要工作是提炼原油。