得益于这种新的电化学工艺，太阳能制氢现已成为现实

值得注意的是，创造清洁能源可能是一项艰巨的任务，在某些情况下，这会严重降低使用它的优势。

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.

几十年来，太阳能制氢一直是工程师的目标，但事实证明，这项任务成本高昂且很难完成，导致科学落后于其他生产绿色能源的方法，例如太阳能和地热能。

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

本月标志着这项研究的重大进展，来自欧盟的工程师团队推出了一种电化学塑料回收工艺，可生产氢气作为清洁副产品。这是你需要知道的

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，创造清洁能源可能是一项艰巨的任务，在某些情况下，这会严重降低使用它的优势。太阳能电池板和风电场等系统的设置、监控和维护成本很高。此外，它们需要大量空间，并且通常依赖于非绿色生产的旧制造方法。本研究旨在改变这种范式，使生产方法和策略与实现清洁能源的总体目标保持一致。

Plastic Waste

塑料垃圾

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.

全球塑料垃圾数量已达到历史最高水平。分析师预测，到 2024 年，将产生 2.2 亿吨塑料垃圾。遗憾的是，只有大约 10% 的废物能够进入回收厂。因此，剩余 90% 的废物被埋在垃圾填埋场、水道和城市街道上。

Could Get Worse

情况可能会变得更糟

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.

环保人士和研究人员表示，塑料垃圾的困境在未来几年只会变得更糟。其一，生产能力逐年提高，导致更多的使用和浪费。

Plastic Dangers Intensify

塑料危险加剧

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.

随着时间的推移，塑料会分解成有害的副产品，除了明显的环境影响外，还可能导致癌症和抗生素耐药性等健康问题。食物链中发现了微小的塑料污染物。

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，这些塑料废物中很大一部分包括聚苯乙烯，这是工程师们用于碳回收战略的目标产品，从而引导他们采取了太阳能制氢战略。

Carbon Recycling Seeks to Reduce Waste

碳回收旨在减少浪费

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.

目前有许多不同的回收方法可以帮助减少浪费。最著名和最有效的方法之一是碳回收。该策略围绕分解废物并利用其制造新材料，然后将其用于其他制造工艺。

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.

碳回收的目标是有一天通过转化无用的塑料废物并以早期工业材料的形式赋予其新生命来消除废物。以下是当今最常见的碳回收类型。

Electrochemical Degradation

电化学降解

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.

电化学降解使用某些化学物质和不同电荷的混合物来分离废塑料并在废塑料中产生新的化学键。这种方法需要大量电力才能成功分解化学键并留下更小、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种形式，在过去几年中越来越受欢迎。这种方法结合了真菌和细菌等活生物体。这些微生物在分子水平上以塑料废物为食，释放碳和氧分子。

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.

这种方法的优点是不需要大量电力或危险化学品。然而，它可能很慢，并且无法完全确定分解过程需要多长时间，因为环境条件和其他因素可能会影响微生物的性能。

Thermal Decomposition

热分解

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.

热分解利用热量来破坏分子键并通过称为热解的过程释放碳分子。这种方法产生热量、蒸汽和电力，可用于满足制造需求。热分解排放量低，减少了空气污染物，并可以生产生物油、碳纤维和许多其他有价值的产品。

Hydrogen from Solar Panels Study

太阳能电池板产生的氢气研究

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·沃勒可持续化学研究所的一个工程师团队在《Angewandte Chemie》杂志上发表了一项研究，详细介绍了一种新的电化学过程，该过程需要最少的能量，并且不会产生任何有害的副产物。

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.

该方法依赖于一种称为铁电催化的过程，该过程会刺激材料并有助于降解。该研究特别回顾了使用电催化方法更有效地降解聚苯乙烯。工程师们成功证明，将废塑料转化为单体苯甲酰产品等工业材料是可能的，并在此过程中产生氢气作为副产品。

Test

测试

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.

测试开始时，工程师们试图以克为单位转化塑料废物。具体来说，该团队创建了一种铁卟啉复合物，可以在不同的氧化步骤之间循环，从而增强聚苯乙烯的降解过程。

Results

结果

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.

测试证明，研究人员可以使用这种方法与许多其他有用的工业材料一起成功地制造氢气，例如苯甲酸（许多防腐剂中含有苯甲酸）和苯甲醛。值得注意的是，他们根本没有打算生产氢气，而是展示其低能碳回收方法的效率。

Benefits

好处

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.

这项研究给市场带来了很多不同的好处。其一，该工艺完全基于铁。铁并不稀有，在世界各地都可以找到。这种现成的成分很容易获得，价格低廉，并且可以大量供应。

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