原文标题：Recycling tyresFuel from your wheelsTurning old tyres into new, low-emission fuel轮胎回收从轮胎中获取燃料将旧轮胎变成新的、低排放的燃料Old tyres can become a climate-friendly fuel废旧轮胎可转化成气候友好型燃料[Paragraph 1]GETTING RID of old tyres has long been a problem. Every year more than a billion reach the end of the road. 长期以来，处理旧轮胎一直是个问题。每年都有10多亿个轮胎被丢弃在道路尽头。Until recently, most were thrown into landfills or piled up in storage yards, which occasionally caught fire. 大多数轮胎被扔进垃圾填埋场或堆放在储存场，这些堆放场地偶尔会发生火灾，直到最近才有所改观。Tougher environmental laws mean many countries now insist tyres are recycled.许多国家出台了更严格的环境法，这意味着他们会坚持回收轮胎。 And they are, sort of. Some of the methods might be better than dumping them, but they are not especially green.有些产生了效果。虽然有些方法比将轮胎倾倒在垃圾场更好，但它们并不是很环保。
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Energy recovery is one common method.
能源回收是一种常见的方法。
This involves burning tyres in an incineratorto generate electricity, or as a supplementary fuel to provide heat for cement kilnsand other industrial processes. But that produces planet-warming pollution.
例如通过焚烧轮胎来发电，或作为补充燃料为水泥窑和其他工业过程提供热量。但这会产生导致地球变暖的污染物。
Tyres can be used whole or shredded in construction projects, such as building embankments or repairing roads.
轮胎可以整个或切碎用于建设项目，如建造堤坝或修路。
There are, however, concerns about chemicals from the tyres leaching out and contaminating the ground.
然而，人们担心轮胎中的化学物质会渗出并污染地面。
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Some firms, therefore, have begun exploring an alternative, pleasingly symmetricalidea.
因此，一些公司已经开始探索另一种令人愉悦的对称性理念。
Since tyres are mostly made from hydrocarbons, it should be possible in principle to turn old tyres into low-carbon fuel which can be used to run the vehicles they came from. 由于轮胎主要由碳氢化合物制成，因此原则上应该可以将旧轮胎转化为低碳燃料，这些燃料可用于驱动车辆。
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One of the most ambitious firms pursuing the idea is Wastefront, which is based in Oslo, in Norway.
挪威奥斯陆的Wastefront公司是追求这一理念的最具雄心壮志的公司之一。
Later this year the company will start building a giant tyre-recycling plant in Sunderland in north-east England.
今年晚些时候，该公司将开始在英格兰东北部的桑德兰建造一个巨大的轮胎回收厂。
In a couple of years, when the plant is fully operational, it will be able to turn 8m old tyres into new products, including some 25,000 tonnes of a gooeyblack liquid called tyre derivedoil (TDO).几年后，当工厂全面投入运营时，它将能够把800万个旧轮胎转化为新产品，其中包括大约2.5万吨粘稠的黑色液体，称为轮胎衍生油（TDO）。
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The process works by deconstructing a tyre into its three main components.
该工艺的工作原理是将轮胎分解成3种主要成分。
One is steel, which is used to brace the structure of a tyre and which can be readily recycled.
第一种是用于支撑轮胎结构的钢，这部分可以很容易回收利用。
The second is carbon black, a powdery, soot-like form of carbon used to improve the durability of the tyre.
第二种是炭黑，一种粉状、煤烟状的碳，用于提高轮胎的耐用性。
The third is rubber. Some of that will be natural rubber obtained from the sap of rubber trees. Some will be the syntheticsort, which is made in factories from crude oil.第三种是橡胶。其中有些是从橡胶树的汁液中提取的天然橡胶。有些是合成橡胶，即在工厂里用原油炼制而成。
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In order to do the deconstructing, the tyres are first shredded and the steel bracing removed.
为了进行解构，首先将轮胎切碎并拆除钢支架。
The remaining material then goes through a process called pyrolysis.
然后，剩余的材料要经过“热解”过程。
This involves exposing a material to high temperatures in the absence of air.
这个过程是将材料暴露在高温且真空的环境中。
That causes the rubber to decompose into a mix of hydrocarbon gases, which are drawn off. What is left behind is pure carbon black. 这使橡胶分解成碳氢化合物气体的混合物，这些气体被抽走，剩下的物质是纯碳黑。
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Once the drawn-off gas has cooled down, a proportion of it liquefies into TDO.
一旦抽出的气体冷却下来，其中一部分气体就会液化成轮胎衍生油。
The remaining gases, which include methane, are funnelled back around to be burned, fuelling the reactor.
剩余的甲烷等气体被输送回热解周围，为反应器提供燃料。
This, says Vianney Valès, Wastefront’s boss, creates a closed-loop system that prevents emissions.
Wastefront的老板维亚尼·瓦雷斯说，这创造了一个零排放的闭环系统。
The overall output of the process by weight is 40% TDO, 30% carbon black, 20% steel and 10% gas.
该工艺的总产量按重量计分别是 40% 轮胎衍生油、30%炭黑、20% 钢和 10% 气体。
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The carbon black can be re-used to make new tyres.
炭黑可重新用于制造新轮胎。
That is of interest to tyre-makers because it helps efforts to become carbon neutral.
轮胎制造商对此很感兴趣，因为这有助于实现碳中和。
Producing new carbon black requires the partial burning of heavy oil residues or coal, which produces plenty of greenhouse-gas emissions. 而且新的炭黑生产需要部分燃烧重油残渣或煤炭，这会产生大量的温室气体排放。
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The recovered TDO is similar to crude oil fresh from the ground, and is well-suited for making diesel.
回收的轮胎衍生油类似于从地下开采的新原油，很适合用于制造柴油。
To do that, Wastefront is working with Vitol, a Swiss company that is the world’s largest independent oil trader, and which operates a number of refineries around the world.为此，Wastefront公司正在与瑞士维托尔公司开展合作。后者是世界上最大的独立石油贸易商，在世界各地经营着多家炼油厂。
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While not completely carbon-neutral, diesel made from TDO does produce an 80-90% reduction in emissions of carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas, compared with the conventional fuel.
虽然不能达到完全碳中和，但与传统燃料相比，用轮胎衍生油制造的柴油确实能减少80-90%的二氧化碳排放，而二氧化碳是主要的温室气体。
The future market for cleaner fuels is likely to remain substantial, even though electric vehicles are steadily replacing those with combustion engines.
尽管电动汽车正在稳步取代燃油汽车，但清洁燃料的未来市场可能仍然很大。
Fossil-fuelled vehicles will remain on the road for decades to come, particularly large commercial vehicles like lorries, which are harder to electrify and which are big burners of diesel. The fuel will also be needed by trains and ships.
在未来的几十年里，路上仍有化石燃油车辆行驶，尤其是像卡车这样大型商用车，它们更难实现电气化，而且它们是柴油的大消耗者。火车和轮船也将需要这种燃料。
So, anything that helps to clean up overall emissions during what will be a long transition to the electrification of transport is useful—especially if it also shrinks a mountainous waste problem. 因此，在交通工具电气化的漫长过渡过程中，任何有助于减少整体排放的方法都是有用的--特别是如果它还能减少推积如山的废旧轮胎问题。（恭喜读完，本篇英语词汇量690左右）原文出自：2023年5月27日《The Economist》Science & technology版块
精读笔记来源于：自由英语之路
本文翻译整理: Irene本文编辑校对: Irene仅供个人英语学习交流使用。
【补充资料】（来自于网络）炭黑Carbon Black是一种黑色的粉末状物质，通常由煤炭、木材或石油等有机原材料在高温下裂解或氧化制成。它的主要成分是碳元素，具有良好的抗紫外线、导电、耐磨等特性，因此广泛应用于橡胶、塑料、油墨、颜料、化妆品等行业中。轮胎衍生油Tyre Derived Oil是一种从废旧轮胎中提取的能源，通常通过轮胎热解或轮胎焚烧来生产。轮胎衍生油可以作为燃料，用于发电、加热和生产化学品。它是一种可再生能源，有助于减少废弃物的数量和环境污染。与传统石油相比，轮胎衍生油的碳排放少，并且可以在工业和交通领域的许多应用中替代传统燃料。但是，轮胎衍生油也存在一些挑战，例如生产成本高、技术难度大以及质量不稳定等问题。因此，轮胎衍生油的开发和应用需要综合考虑生产成本、技术可行性、环境影响等因素。碳中和Carbon Neutral是指将自身所排放的碳排放量与其所吸收或减少的碳排放量相抵消，从而在环境上达到零碳排放的状态。这意味着在生产或消费过程中产生的碳排放量将被抵消或减少，以减少对环境的影响。碳中和是实现可持续发展与减少温室气体排放的关键。企业、城市和国家都可以采用碳中和的方法来达到减少碳排放和环境保护的目标。碳中和的实现方式包括使用可再生能源、提高能源效率、种植树木、投资碳抵消项目等。【重点句子】（3个）And they are, sort of. Some of the methods might be better than dumping them, but they are not especially green.有些产生了效果。虽然有些方法比将轮胎倾倒在垃圾场更好，但它们并不是很环保。The overall output of the process by weight is 40% TDO, 30% carbon black, 20% steel and 10% gas.该工艺的总产量按重量计分别是 40% 轮胎衍生油、30%炭黑、20% 钢和 10% 气体。So, anything that helps to clean up overall emissions during what will be a long transition to the electrification of transport is useful—especially if it also shrinks a mountainous waste problem. 因此，在交通工具电气化的漫长过渡过程中，任何有助于减少整体排放的方法都是有用的--特别是如果它还能减少推积如山的废旧轮胎问题。
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