VOA慢速英語:巴勒斯坦人將有機廢物轉化為天然氣供烹飪使用

Rural communities in developing countries often have trouble securing dependable supplies of energy for cooking and lighting. But energy exists every where organic waste is breaking down. It is just a question of how to harness or make use of it.

在發(fā)展中國家，農村社區(qū)通常很難獲得可靠供應的能源供做飯與照明使用。有機廢物分解的地方就會產生能源。這只是一個如何利用它的問題。

A Palestinian community in the West Bank has been successfully testing a device that turns food and animal wastes into biogas. The village of al-Awja has no running water or electric power. Solar panels provide energy from the sun, but not enough for cooking equipment. But as in many other parts of the world, villagers keep chickens, cows or other animals.

位于約旦河西岸的巴勒斯坦社區(qū)，已經(jīng)成功地測試一項設備，該設備可以將食物與動物糞便轉化為沼氣。奧賈村不通水電。太陽能電池板提供太陽能，但這對于烹飪設備而言遠遠不夠。但與世界上其他地區(qū)一樣，村民們飼養(yǎng)雞、奶牛及其他動物。

Portable Device Turns Organic Waste into Biogas

Recently, about 40 families started usingportable devices that turn food and animal waste into methane gas. The European Union and the Peres Center for Peace provided money to pay for the devices.

最近，約有40多個家庭開始使用該便攜式設備，將食物與動物糞便轉化為沼氣。歐盟及佩雷斯和平中心提供資金來購買該設備。

One villager says, "This is a very good machine... The machine provides us with 70 to 80 percent of the gas that we need for our household."

一位村民表示，“這臺機器很不錯！它為我們提供了70%到80%的天然氣，供家庭所需。

An Israeli company, HomeBioGas, designed the machine, called a bio-digester. Anaerobic bacteria are added to the device the first time it is used. The bacteria helps break down organic waste. The bio-digester creates enough methane for cooking three meals a day. It also produces about 10 liters of liquid organic fertilizer. Visit the website www.chinavoa.com to get more information!

一家以色列公司，HomeBioGas，設計了該機器，名為生物沼氣池。第一次使用該設備時，添加了厭氧菌。厭氧菌有助于分解有機廢物。生物沼氣池能夠產生足夠的甲烷供一日三餐使用。它還能生產約10升的液體有機肥料。

Biogas is smokeless and has no smell. In addition to cooking, biogas can be used to heat water and for lighting devices. A built-in, hand-powered grinder helps break down the solid parts in household waste.

沼氣無煙，也沒有氣味。除烹飪之外，沼氣還可用于燒水及照明設備。內置的手動砂輪機有助于分解堅硬的生活垃圾。

The HomeBioGas system is designed for areas where the daily temperature does not drop below 15 degrees Celsius. The price is about $2,500, a somewhat pricey amount for most families. So, communities must depend on aid from governments or private donors.

HomeBioGas系統(tǒng)適用于那些日常溫度不低于15攝氏度的地區(qū)。價格約為2500美元。對大多數(shù)家庭而言，有點昂貴。因此，社區(qū)必須依靠來自政府或私人捐助者的援助。

But the designers note the system can also be useful in more wealthy communities that have organic waste which can be turned into clean energy.

但設計師指出，該系統(tǒng)對于一些比較富裕的社區(qū)同樣有幫助，那些社區(qū)里的有機廢物可轉化為清潔能源。

I'm Jonathan Evans.

我是喬納森·埃文斯。

VOA's George Putic reported this story from Washington. Jonathan Evans adapted it for Learning English. George Grow was the editor.

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Words in this Story

organic – adj. related to living things; not using man-made chemicals

harness – v. to use something for a purpose

solar panel – n. a large, flat piece of equipment that uses the sun's light or heat to create electricity

portable – adj. something that can be moved or transported

anaerobic– adj. living without air (for bacteria); strengthening muscles by forcing them to work very hard in a brief time (for exercise)