I collaborate with bacteria. And I'm about to show you some stop-motion footage that I made recently where you'll see bacteria accumulating minerals from their environment over the period of an hour.
我和细菌们合作。 而我即将向你们展示 一些我最近拍摄的 关于细菌如何在一个小时里从周围环境 累积矿物质的单格片段。 累积矿物质的单格片段。
So what you're seeing here is the bacteria metabolizing, and as they do so they create an electrical charge. And this attracts metals from their local environment. And these metals accumulate as minerals on the surface of the bacteria.
你看到的 是细菌的新陈代谢, 在这个过程中 它们产生了电流。 而电流会吸引周围的金属。 而电流会吸引周围的金属。 这些金属会以矿物质的形式 积覆在细菌上。
One of the most pervasive problems in the world today for people is inadequate access to clean drinking water. And the desalination process is one where we take out salts. We can use it for drinking and agriculture. Removing the salts from water -- particularly seawater -- through reverse osmosis is a critical technique for countries who do not have access to clean drinking water around the globe.
今天的世界最普遍的问题之一 今天的世界最普遍的问题之一 便是缺乏干净的饮用水。 便是缺乏干净的饮用水。 海水淡化的工序 让我们过滤掉海水里的盐分。 这种水可以用来饮用或者灌溉农田。 通过反向过滤 从水中 ,特别是海水中 移除盐分 是一个无比重要的技术。 这对那些没有办法获取干净的饮用水的国家。 尤为重要。
So seawater reverse osmosis is a membrane-filtration technology. We take the water from the sea and we apply pressure. And this pressure forces the seawater through a membrane. This takes energy, producing clean water. But we're also left with a concentrated salt solution, or brine.
海水反向过滤是一种使用隔膜过滤的技术。 海水反向过滤是一种使用隔膜过滤的技术。 我们抽取海水并施以压力, 我们抽取海水并施以压力, 而这个压力强迫海水通过隔膜。 而这个压力强迫海水通过隔膜。 这是通过消耗能量来得到干净的水。 这是通过消耗能量来得到干净的水。 但我们同时也有很浓的盐水剩下。
But the process is very expensive and it's cost-prohibitive for many countries around the globe. And also, the brine that's produced is oftentimes just pumped back out into the sea. And this is detrimental to the local ecology of the sea area that it's pumped back out into.
而且整个过程非常的昂贵, 它高昂的代价吓退了世界上很多的国家。 不仅如此,产生的浓盐水常常被直接送回海洋中。 不仅如此,产生的浓盐水常常被直接送回海洋中。 对当地的海洋生态有破坏性的影响, 对当地的海洋生态有破坏性的影响,
So I work in Singapore at the moment, and this is a place that's really a leading place for desalination technology. And Singapore proposes by 2060 to produce [900] million liters per day of desalinated water. But this will produce an equally massive amount of desalination brine. And this is where my collaboration with bacteria comes into play.
我现在在新加坡工作, 这是现在在脱盐科技领于领先位置的地方。 这是现在在脱盐科技处于领先位置的地方。 新加坡计划在2060年之前 达到每天生产9亿升的脱盐水的目标。 达到每天生产9亿升的脱盐水的目标。 但这同时也会生产出同样大量的浓盐水。 但这同时也会生产出同样大量的浓盐水。 而这就是我和细菌合作的开始。
So what we're doing at the moment is we're accumulating metals like calcium, potassium and magnesium from out of desalination brine. And this, in terms of magnesium and the amount of water that I just mentioned, equates to a $4.5 billion mining industry for Singapore -- a place that doesn't have any natural resources.
我们现在正在做的 便是从浓盐水中累积像钙、钾和镁的一样的金属。 便是从浓盐水中累积像钙、钾和镁的一样的金属。 便是从浓盐水中累积像钙、钾和镁的一样的金属。 而这……就拿镁来说吧。 通过处理9亿升的浓盐水, 我们能生产价值45亿美元的镁。 而新加坡本身 是一个没有任何自然资源的地方。
So I'd like you to image a mining industry in a way that one hasn't existed before; imagine a mining industry that doesn't mean defiling the Earth; imagine bacteria helping us do this by accumulating and precipitating and sedimenting minerals out of desalination brine. And what you can see here is the beginning of an industry in a test tube, a mining industry that is in harmony with nature.
所以我希望你们可以想象一个 前所未有的矿业; 想象一个不需要污损地球土地的矿业; 想象一个不需要污损地球土地的矿物业; 想象细菌帮我们从浓盐水中 想象细菌帮我们从浓盐水中 累积、凝结以及沉淀矿物质。 累积、凝结以及沉淀矿物质。 而你现在可以看到的是 一个从试管中升起的行业, 一个和自然和谐共存的矿业。
Thank you.
谢谢。
(Applause)
(掌声)