得益於這種新的電化學工藝，太陽能製氫現已成為現實

值得注意的是，創造清潔能源可能是一項艱鉅的任務，在某些情況下，這會嚴重降低使用它的優勢。

Solar-powered hydrogen production has been a goal of engineers for decades, but the task has proven expensive and very difficult to complete, causing the science to fall behind other ways to produce green energy, such as solar and geothermal options.

幾十年來，太陽能製氫一直是工程師的目標，但事實證明，這項任務成本高且難以完成，導致科學落後於其他生產綠色能源的方法，例如太陽能和地熱能。

This month marks a major development in this research as a team of engineers based out of the EU introduced an electrochemical plastic recycling process that produces hydrogen as a clean byproduct. Here's what you need to know

本月標誌著這項研究的重大進展，來自歐盟的工程師團隊推出了一種電化學塑膠回收工藝，可生產氫氣作為清潔副產品。這是你需要知道的

Notably, creating clean energy can be a difficult task that, in some scenarios, heavily reduces the advantage of using it in the first place. Systems like solar panels and wind farms can cost a lot to set up, monitor, and maintain. Additionally, they require lots of space and often rely on older manufacturing methods that aren't green to produce. This research seeks to transform this paradigm, keeping the production methods and strategies in line with the overall goal of achieving clean energy.

值得注意的是，創造清潔能源可能是一項艱鉅的任務，在某些情況下，這會嚴重降低使用它的優勢。太陽能板和風電場等系統的設置、監控和維護成本很高。此外，它們需要大量空間，並且通常依賴非綠色生產的舊製造方法。本研究旨在改變這種範式，使生產方法和策略與實現清潔能源的總體目標保持一致。

Plastic Waste

塑膠垃圾

Levels of plastic waste have hit historic proportions globally. Already in 2024, analysts predict 220M tonnes of plastic waste will be produced. Sadly, only around 10% of this waste will ever make it to a recycling plant. Consequently, the remaining 90% of waste sits in landfills, waterways, and on city streets.

全球塑膠垃圾數量已達到歷史最高水準。分析師預測，到 2024 年，將產生 2.2 億噸塑膠垃圾。遺憾的是，只有大約 10% 的廢棄物能夠進入回收廠。因此，剩餘 90% 的廢棄物被埋在垃圾掩埋場、水道和城市街道上。

Could Get Worse

情況可能會變得更糟

According to environmentalists and researchers, the plastic waste dilemma is only going to get worse in the coming years. For one, every year provides improved production capacity, resulting in more use and waste.

環保人士和研究人員表示，塑膠垃圾的困境在未來幾年只會變得更糟。其一，生產能力逐年提高，導致更多的使用和浪費。

Plastic Dangers Intensify

塑膠危險加劇

Over time, plastic breaks down into harmful byproducts that can result in health issues like cancer and antibiotic resistance, in addition to the obvious environmental impacts. Tiny plastic pollutants have been found in the food chain.

隨著時間的推移，塑膠會分解成有害的副產品，除了明顯的環境影響外，還可能導致癌症和抗生素抗藥性等健康問題。食物鏈中發現了微小的塑膠污染物。

Notably, a large portion of this plastic waste includes polystyrene, which is the product that engineers targeted for their carbon recycling strategy that led them to the solar-powered hydrogen production strategy.

值得注意的是，這些塑膠廢棄物中很大一部分包括聚苯乙烯，這是工程師用於碳回收策略的目標產品，從而引導他們採取了太陽能製氫策略。

Carbon Recycling Seeks to Reduce Waste

碳回收旨在減少浪費

There are currently many different recycling methods available to help reduce waste. One of the most celebrated and effective is carbon recycling. This strategy revolves around breaking down waste and using it to create new materials that can then be used in other manufacturing processes.

目前有許多不同的回收方法可以幫助減少浪費。最著名和最有效的方法之一是碳回收。該策略圍繞著分解廢物並利用其製造新材料，然後將其用於其他製造流程。

The goal of carbon recycling is to eliminate waste one day by transforming useless plastic waste and giving it new life in the form of early-stage industrial material. Here are the most common types of carbon recycling in use today.

碳回收的目標是有一天透過轉化無用的塑膠廢物並以早期工業材料的形式賦予其新生命來消除廢物。以下是當今最常見的碳回收類型。

Electrochemical Degradation

電化學降解

Electrochemical degradation uses a mix of certain chemicals and varying electrical charges to separate and create new chemical bonds within the waste plastic. This method requires a lot of electricity to successfully break down the chemical bonds and leave smaller, more useful molecules.

電化學降解使用某些化學物質和不同電荷的混合物來分離廢塑膠並在廢塑膠中產生新的化學鍵。這種方法需要大量電力才能成功分解化學鍵並留下更小、更有用的分子。

Biodegradation

生物降解

Biodegradation is another form of carbon recycling that has grown in popularity over the last few years. This method incorporates living organisms like fungi and bacteria.  These microorganisms feed off plastic waste on a molecular level which releases the carbon and oxygen molecules.

生物降解是碳回收的另一種形式，在過去幾年中越來越受歡迎。這種方法結合了真菌和細菌等活生物體。這些微生物在分子層面上以塑膠廢物為食，釋放碳和氧分子。

This approach has the advantage of not requiring massive amounts of electricity or dangerous chemicals. However, it can be slow, and there is no way to fully determine how long the breakdown process will take as environmental conditions and other factors could affect the microorganism's performance.

這種方法的優點是不需要大量電力或危險化學品。然而，它可能很慢，無法完全確定分解過程需要多長時間，因為環境條件和其他因素可能會影響微生物的表現。

Thermal Decomposition

熱分解

Thermal decomposition utilizes heat to break down the molecular bonds and free up carbon molecules using a process called pyrolysis. This method generates heat, steam, and electricity, which can be used to offset manufacturing requirements. Thermal decomposition provides low emissions, reduces air pollutants, and can produce bio-oil, carbon fibers, and many other valuable products.

熱分解利用熱量來破壞分子鍵並透過稱為熱解的過程釋放碳分子。這種方法產生熱、蒸汽和電力，可用於滿足製造需求。熱分解排放量低，減少了空氣污染物，並可以生產生物油、碳纖維和許多其他有價值的產品。

Hydrogen from Solar Panels Study

太陽能板產生的氫氣研究

This month a team of engineers from Friedrich Wöhler Research Institute for Sustainable Chemistry in Göttingen published a study in the journal Angewandte Chemie, detailing a new electrochemical process that requires minimal energy and doesn't produce any harmful byproducts.

本月，哥廷根弗里德里希·沃勒可持續化學研究所的一個工程師團隊在《Angewandte Chemie》雜誌上發表了一項研究，詳細介紹了一種新的電化學過程，該過程需要最少的能量，並且不會產生任何有害的副產物。

The method relies on a process known as Iron electrocatalysis, which stimulates the materials and aids in degradation. The study specifically reviews using an electrocatalytic method to provide a more efficient degradation of polystyrenes. The engineers successfully proved that converting waste plastic into industrial material like monomeric benzoyl products was possible, creating hydrogen as a bi-product along the way.

該方法依賴一種稱為鐵電催化的過程，該過程刺激材料並有助於降解。該研究特別回顧了使用電催化方法更有效地降解聚苯乙烯。工程師成功證明，將廢塑膠轉化為單體苯甲醯產品等工業材料是可能的，並在此過程中產生氫氣作為副產品。

Test

測試

The testing began with engineers attempting to convert plastic waste on a gram scale. Specifically, the team created an iron porphyrin complex that could cycle between different oxidation steps, enhancing the polystyrene degradation process.

測試開始時，工程師試圖以克為單位轉化塑膠廢棄物。具體來說，該團隊創建了一種鐵卟啉複合物，可以在不同的氧化步驟之間循環，從而增強聚苯乙烯的降解過程。

Results

結果

The testing proved that the researchers could successfully create hydrogen using this method alongside a host of other helpful industrial materials, such as benzoic acid, which is found in many preservatives, and benzaldehyde. Notably, they had not set out to produce hydrogen at all but rather to showcase the efficiency of their low-energy carbon recycling method.

測試證明，研究人員可以使用這種方法與許多其他有用的工業材料一起成功地製造氫氣，例如苯甲酸（許多防腐劑中含有苯甲酸）和苯甲醛。值得注意的是，他們根本沒有打算生產氫氣，而是展示其低能碳回收方法的效率。

Benefits

好處

There are a lot of different benefits that this research brings to the markets. For one, the process is entirely Iron-based. Iron isn't rare and can be found all over the world. This readily available ingredient is easy to obtain, inexpensive, and available in mass quantities.

這項研究為市場帶來了許多不同的好處。其一，該工藝完全基於鐵。鐵並不稀有，在世界各地都可以找到。這種現成的成分很容易取得，價格低廉，並且可以大量供應。

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