VOA慢速英语:巴勒斯坦人将有机废物转化为天然气供烹饪使用

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.

在发展中国家，农村社区通常很难获得可靠供应的能源供做饭与照明使用。有机废物分解的地方就会产生能源。这只是一个如何利用它的问题。

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.

位于约旦河西岸的巴勒斯坦社区，已经成功地测试一项设备，该设备可以将食物与动物粪便转化为沼气。奥贾村不通水电。太阳能电池板提供太阳能，但这对于烹饪设备而言远远不够。但与世界上其他地区一样，村民们饲养鸡、奶牛及其他动物。

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，约有40多个家庭开始使用该便携式设备，将食物与动物粪便转化为沼气。欧盟及佩雷斯和平中心提供资金来购买该设备。

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，“这台机器很不错！它为我们提供了70%到80%的天然气，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，设计了该机器，名为生物沼气池。第一次使用该设备时，添加了厌氧菌。厌氧菌有助于分解有机废物。生物沼气池能够产生足够的甲烷供一日三餐使用。它还能生产约10升的液体有机肥料。

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.

沼气无烟，也没有气味。除烹饪之外，沼气还可用于烧水及照明设备。内置的手动砂轮机有助于分解坚硬的生活垃圾。

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系统适用于那些日常温度不低于15摄氏度的地区。价格约为2500美元。对大多数家庭而言，有点昂贵。因此，社区必须依靠来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.

但设计师指出，该系统对于一些比较富裕的社区同样有帮助，那些社区里的有机废物可转化为清洁能源。

I'm Jonathan Evans.

我是乔纳森·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)