香港工厂如何将地沟油变废为宝

　　Biodiesel has faced a backlash in recent years, as critics charge the industry with razing land and pushing up food costs. But as its competitors struggle, one Hong Kong-based company is moving ahead with a US$165 million plant that turns recycled cooking oil into biodiesel, which it says could eventually power every diesel-powered vehicle in this smog-addled city.

　　由于批评人士指责生物柴油行业破坏土地、推高粮食价格，近年来该行业一直遭到抵制。但在竞争者陷入困境之际，一家香港公司却在推进一个规模1.65亿美元的工厂，该厂可以将回收的食用油变成生物柴油。公司说，该工厂最终有望为香港这个被雾霾笼罩的城市中所有的柴油车提供动力。

　　When the 18, 000-square-foot plant begins operating this month, it will be one of about a dozen globally of its kind, says ASB Biodiesel CEO Anthony Dixon. Controlled by majority shareholder Al Salam Bank-Bahrain, the plant will utilize the city's densely packed scale to collect used cooking oil in the region and from 4, 000 restaurants across town, more than doubling local biodiesel production capacity.

　　ASB生物柴油(ASB Biodiesel)首席执行长狄克逊(Anthony Dixon)说，这个面积18,000平方英尺(约合1,672平方米)的工厂本月投入运营，它将成为全球十多个此类工厂之一。该厂由大股东巴林的伊斯兰银行(Al Salam Bank-Bahrain)控股，它将利用香港的人口密集布局从该地区及全市4,000家餐馆收集废弃的食用油，这比当地生物柴油产能高出一倍以上。

　　Mr. Dixon said the company chose to build its plant-ASB Biodiesel's first-in Hong Kong because of the city's infrastructure, logistics and a need to clean up its dirty air.

　　狄克逊说，该公司之所以选择在香港建造自己的首个此类工厂，是因为香港有良好的基础设施和物流，并且香港还有治理空气污染的需求。

　　'What sets us apart from 95% of all the other biodiesel plants is we have the ability to process really difficult wastes, ' such as grease trap oil as well as used cooking oil, Mr. Dixon said. That shrinks the plant's carbon footprint relative to others processing pure rapeseed, palm oil and or other food crops, he said. When burned, waste oil biodiesel is also generally cleaner for the air than diesel, emitting lower levels of pollutants, including particulate matter.

　　狄克逊说，我们与其他95%的生物柴油厂的区别在于，我们有能力处理非常难处理的废物，比如地沟油和二手食用油。他说，与其他处理纯油菜籽、棕榈油或其他粮食作物的工厂相比，我们的工厂可以减少自己的碳足迹。废油制成的生物柴油燃烧后造成的空气污染通常也比柴油要小，包括颗粒物在内的污染物的排放量更少。

　　Regionally, according to the Global Renewable Fuels Alliance, countries from Malaysia to the Philippines are requiring their fuel mix to include blends using some percentage of biodiesel. However, ASB Biodiesel will sell its biodiesel manufactured in Hong Kong in Europe, where the EU has mandated that by 2020, 10% of transport energy must be renewable, and where biodiesel made from waste also commands premium prices.

　　地区而言，据全球可再生燃料联盟(Global Renewable Fuels Alliance)说，从马来西亚到菲律宾等国家正在要求燃料的构成中包括含一定比例生物柴油的混合油。不过，ASB 生物柴油将把自己在香港生产的生物柴油运往欧洲销售。在欧洲，欧盟要求，2020年前交通能源必须有10%为可再生能源，此外，在欧洲由废油制成的生物柴油价格也更高。

　　Hong Kong does not require use of biodiesel, and a government spokesman said the city-home to some of China's worst roadside air pollution levels-isn't actively considering similar requirements. Hong Kong has some 120, 000 diesel-powered commercial vehicles, the oldest of which the government says cause 80% of roadside air pollution and which it intends to scrap by 2020 through a US$1.5 billion subsidy plan.

　　香港不要求使用生物柴油，政府发言人说，该市并未积极考虑出台类似的要求。香港属中国路边空气污染最严重的城市之一。香港有约12万辆柴油商用车，政府说其中最老旧的车辆造成80%的路边空气污染，政府计划2020年前利用一项规模15亿美元的补贴计划将这些车辆淘汰。

　　Steve Choi, executive director of fellow Hong Kong biodiesel producer Dynamic Progress International, said the city's biodiesel industry has struggled without government mandates. Obtaining waste oil is particularly difficult, as the amount producers can afford to pay per drum is considerably less than the HK$100 (US$13) mainland Chinese buyers will pay for used cooking oil, which is then resold-despite its often toxic nature-for use in restaurants across the border.

　　另一家香港生物柴油生产商泰荣环保科技国际有限公司(Dynamic Progress International)的执行董事蔡秀焱(Steve Choi)说，由于没有政府的授权，该市的生物柴油产业一直举步维艰。获取废油格外困难，因为相比内地买家为废弃食用油支付的每桶100港元(合13美元)的价格，生物柴油生产者支付得起的价格要低得多。这些废弃的食用油随后被转卖，用于内地的餐馆，尽管这种油常常是有毒的。

　　'It's just so painful, ' said Mr. Choi, adding that his company's money-losing plant produces about 60 tons of biodiesel per month, well below its initial projection of 50 daily tons. 'Money talks, and people walk, ' he said. Dynamic Progress sells all its biodiesel locally to private companies.

　　蔡秀焱说，状况就是这么艰难。他还说，他公司旗下的亏损厂每个月生产约60吨生物柴油，远远低于当初预计的每天50吨的产量。他说，有钱能使鬼推磨，没钱则寸步难行。该公司将生产的全部生物柴油都销售给当地的私营企业。

　　During its first year, ASB Biodiesel expects to get about 20% of its waste oil from Hong Kong-a figure it hopes to eventually raise to around 45%-and plans to source the rest from countries such as Singapore and Malaysia.

　　第一年，ASB生物柴油计划从香港获得约20%的废油，剩余的废油则计划从新加坡和马来西亚等国家获得。该公司希望香港的比例最终能够上升到约45%。

　　Like Mr. Choi, Mr. Dixon of ASB said higher prices offered by mainland buyers are a challenge for some in the industry.

　　与蔡秀焱一样，ASB的狄克逊说，内地买家提出的更高价格对该行业内的一些公司来说构成了挑战。

　　'Nobody can compete with unscrupulous recycling of waste oil into the food market, ' he said. Still, he said the company is attracting restaurants and established chains that don't want to taint themselves by selling into a dubious supply chain.

　　他说，没人能够与肆无忌惮地回收废油用于食品市场的对手相竞争。不过，他说，该公司正在吸引餐馆和老牌连锁店，这些餐馆不想因把废油卖给可疑的供应链而损害自身形象。

　　'We're able to compete on the basis of transparency and reliability, ' he said. 'Every single liter of waste cooking oil that we collect, I can tell you where it came from and where it ends up.'

　　他说，我们能够在透明和可靠的基础上展开竞争。我们收集的每一升废弃的食用油，我都能告诉你它来自哪里，最后去了哪里。

　　While some green groups have praised the recycling of cooking oil, others have expressed reservations. Friends of the Earth Europe biofuels campaigner Robbie Blake cites concerns in the EU that companies have sold virgin palm oil as waste oil because it sells for a higher premium.

　　一些环保组织赞扬回收食用油的做法，其他人则表达了保留意见。欧洲地球之友(Friends of the Earth Europe)生物燃料倡导者布莱克(Robbie Blake)以欧盟的担忧为证，欧盟中有人担心，企业将初榨棕榈油当做废油销售，因为这样的价格更高。

　　He also noted that a trial round-trip flight from Amsterdam to Paris powered by a 50% biodiesel mix in 2011 required the equivalent of 10 years' worth of used cooking oil from each passenger. 'The trouble is that cooking fat will only drive you so far, ' he said.

　　他还指出，2011年的一个从阿姆斯特丹至巴黎的往返航班试飞用含50%生物柴油的混合油驱动，它所用的生物柴油量需用到相当于全部乘客10年的食用油使用量。他说，问题是食用油只能让你飞这么远。

　　Without more government support, said University of Hong Kong professor Dennis Leung, Hong Kong's industry is likely to sputter.

　　香港大学(University of Hong Kong)教授梁耀彰(Dennis Leung)说，如果没有更多的政府支持，香港的生物柴油产业可能会继续低迷。

　　'Whether a driver in Hong Kong uses biodiesel or not depends on their own wishes, ' he said. 'And it's still more expensive than normal diesel, so of course not everyone makes that choice.'

　　他说，香港的驾车者是否使用生物柴油，这要取决于他们自己的意愿。生物柴油仍比普通柴油要贵，所以显然并非每个人都选择使用生物柴油。