Carlo Montemagno is seen with a foam bioreactor for carbon capture in Edmonton on Friday, Jan. 6, 2017.2017年1月6日星期五，在埃德蒙顿，Carlo Montemagno和碳捕捉的泡沫生物反应器在一起。Dr. Montemagno has engineered a new way to capture CO2 from industrial-gas emissions.Montemagno博士早已设计了一个新方法从工业废气的气体中展开碳捕捉。

What if carbon-dioxide emissions could be transformed from a liability into an asset?当二氧化碳排放量从负债转化成为资产不会怎么样呢？That’s the $20-million question behind the NRG COSIA Carbon XPrize, a global competition to create technology that converts CO2 into valuable products.这就是加拿大油砂创意联盟(COSIA)和NRG能源所成立的2000万美元的碳洗手技术奖（XPrize）所明确提出的问题，这是一项全球性的关于将二氧化碳转化成为有价值的产物的科技竞赛。“In energy and climate, few ideas are as potentially transformative as the idea of turning the economics of CO2 and climate change on its head,” said Marcius Extavour, director of technical operations for the prize.本次奖项的技术实行负责人Marcius Extavour回应：“在能源和气候领域，没什么点子能在变革型的潜力上和转化成二氧化碳和改建气候相提并论。”Nine Canadian companies are among the 27 teams that have advanced to the semifinals.有9家加拿大公司所属的27支队伍获奖了半决赛。

Ten finalists will be announced in 2018 and a winner will be revealed in 2020.2018年将淘汰赛转入最后决赛的十强队伍，冠军则将于2020年发布。Here’s a look at some of the Canadian semifinalists.以下是一些获奖的加拿大队伍：Ingenuity Lab, Edmonton来自埃德蒙顿的心灵手巧实验室Ingenuity Lab director Carlo Montemagno has engineered a new way to capture CO2 from industrial-gas emissions. His technology harnesses photosynthesis, the process plants use to convert carbon dioxide into chemical energy using light.该实验室负责人Carlo Montemagno早已设计了一个新方法从工业废气的气体中展开碳捕捉。

他的技术是利用光合作用，通过用于光太阳光植物将二氧化碳转化成为化学能。The technology mimics the biochemical reactions of photosynthesis in non-living materials to generate the energy to transform the carbon dioxide into valuable products. It takes the CO2 from flue gas and builds the carbons up into long chains, with the result being that 47 different specialty chemicals can be produced.这项科技仿真了光合作用的在非生活物质环境中的生化反应，以产生能量将二氧化碳转化成为有价值的产物。Dr. Montemagno added that plants require a significant amount of energy to grow, so they’re not very efficient at sequestering carbon to produce value-added chemicals. But in his technology, no energy has to be spent to keep an organism alive, so all the output can go toward the products that one wants to create.Montemagno博士补足道，由于植物必须大量能量才能生长，这样它们在展开碳报废以生产不具备附加值的化学品时效率就不是很高。

但是在他的技术里，需要任何能量就可以确保有机体存活，这样所有的能量生产量就将用作生产目标产物。“This efficiency is game-changing, opening up new opportunities for the sustainable production of products we all need from waste,” he said in an e-mail.他在一份Email中回应：“这个效率是颠覆性的，为我们生产从废物里重复使用的所有我们所需的可持续产品关上了新的机会之门。”Terra CO2 Technologies, Vancouver来自温哥华的“地球二氧化碳科技公司”Terra CO2 Technologies is developing a technique to transform acid rock drainage and carbon-dioxide emissions – two damaging byproducts of mining – into a stable substance.该公司正在研发一项科技以转化成矿山酸性废气以及二氧化碳排放量——两个由于矿业所带给的具备破坏性的副产物——沦为一种平稳物质。

Acid rock drainage refers to the acidic water that results when sulphide minerals are exposed to air and water and produce sulphuric acid, which is harmful to wildlife if it leaks into waterways. Mining companies must use costly methods to contain the drainage, including treating it with lime and storing it in large tailings ponds.矿山酸性废气所指的是所含硫化物的矿物曝露于空气、水中时，将产生硫酸，硫酸如果泄漏到水体里将沦为对野生动物导致危险性的酸性水。矿业公司必需用于价格不菲的方法来掌控废气，还包括用于石灰来处置或者将其储存于大型尾矿池中。Terra CEO Dylan Jones said the company aims to solve the environmental threat of acid rock drainage and save mining companies money. Their technology treats the drainage through an electrochemical process that separates the sulphur from the mineral.公司负责人Dylan Jones回应，公司的目标是解决问题矿山酸性废气所造成的环境威胁，并节省矿业公司的支出。它们的技术将排放物通过一个电化学装置以将硫化物从矿石中分离出来。

The company uses a common iron-sulphide mineral called pyrite or “fool’s gold” as an example. It pulls CO2 out of the air and combines with the iron to make an iron carbonate, which is stable in normal atmospheric conditions and doesn’t produce any acid.公司用于一种少见的硫铁矿物，即黄铁矿，亦称“愚人金”作为样板。它将空气中的二氧化碳取出，并和铁融合分解铁的碳酸盐，这个产物在大自然空气中可以平稳不存在，而且仍然产生任何酸类物质。“Our application for the technology is huge for the mining industry,” Mr. Jones said. “We’re looking at it as a cost-saving technology.”Jones先生回应：”我们的应用于科技对于矿业公司而言意义根本性，我们将其视作一项节省开支的技术。

“Carbicrete, Montreal来自蒙特利尔的”碳凝土“Cement produces a great deal of greenhouse gas emissions – about one tonne of CO2 for every tonne of cement.水泥生产产生大量的温室气体废气——差不多每生产一吨水泥就不会废气一吨的二氧化碳。That’s why Carbicrete invented a way to make concrete without using cement.这就是为什么这家公司发明者了一个新方法，即不用于水泥的情况下来制作混凝土。Instead of using cement to bind together the concrete, the company uses steel slag, a byproduct of the steel-making process that mostly ends up in landfills. In doing so, it avoids the CO2 emissions associated with cement.这家公司用于钢渣来代替混凝土中的水泥，钢渣是炼钢过程中产生的副产物，大部分时候都被当垃圾填平了。这么做到的结果就是防止了因生产水泥而产生的二氧化碳废气。

Mehrdad Mahoutian, who originally invented the technology at McGill University, added that precast concrete products are normally cured with heat and steam, but Carbicrete cures its concrete with CO2 gas, which permanently sequesters the CO2 and keeps it out of the atmosphere.在McGill大学发明者这项技术的Mahrdad Mahoutian补足道，钢架的混凝土产品一般来说都是通过热源和蒸汽来加工，但是公司用于的是二氧化碳来结构混凝土，其永久性的将大气中的二氧化碳报废一起。In effect, the product is carbon-negative concrete.结果就是，这个产物就是无碳的混凝土。“We’re taking garbage, and we’re turning it into a valuable product and solving climate change all in one step,” CEO Chris Stern said.负责人Chris Stern回应：”我们偷走了垃圾，一步就将他们转化成了具备价值的产物，而且同时还解决问题了气候变化问题。

“CarbonCure Technologies, Dartmouth, N.S.来自新斯科舍省达特茅斯市的”碳加工科技公司“Nova Scotia-based CarbonCure Technologies has also developed a way to use CO2 to make better concrete.座落在新斯科舍省的该公司也是通过研发了一个新方法来将二氧化碳变为更佳的混凝土。The company takes CO2 from any industrial source – a power plant or a refinery, for example – and injects it into concrete, where it is sequestered and turned into a solid. The process reduces the carbon footprint of the product by taking CO2 out of the air and turning it into a solid material, which happens to make concrete stronger, and also cuts down the concrete producer’s costs.这家公司从任何工业来源，比如发电厂或者冶炼厂，提供的二氧化碳流经混凝土，然后二氧化碳就被报废一起变为了固态。这个过程通过将二氧化碳从空气中挤压并转化成为一种固态物质以构建碳PCB，这种固态物质还能让混凝土的强度逆大，同时可以减少混凝土制造商的成本。

There is more concrete manufactured on the earth than any other material, so this technology has the potential to reduce significant quantities of CO2, vice-president of sustainability Jennifer Wagner said.负责管理可持续发展的副主管Jennifer Wagner回应，在地球上，混凝土生产得比其他材料非常少，所以此项技术有潜力增加大量的二氧化碳。“The technology makes concrete stronger, greener and less expensive to manufacture.””这项技术让混凝土的强度逆大、更加环保也让生产显得更加低廉。

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