香港工廠如何將地溝油變廢爲寶

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.

由於批評人士指責生物柴油行業破壞土地、推高糧食價格，近年來該行業一直遭到抵制。但在競爭者陷入困境之際，一家香港公司卻在推進一個規模1.65億美元的工廠，該廠可以將回收的食用油變成生物柴油。公司說，該工廠最終有望爲香港這個被霧霾籠罩的城市中所有的柴油車提供動力。

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)首席執行長狄克遜(Anthony Dixon)說，這個面積18,000平方英尺（約合1,672平方米）的工廠本月投入運營，它將成爲全球十多個此類工廠之一。該廠由大股東巴林的伊斯蘭銀行(Al Salam Bank-Bahrain)控股，它將利用香港的人口密集佈局從該地區及全市4,000家餐館收集廢棄的食用油，這比當地生物柴油產能高出一倍以上。

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.

狄克遜說，該公司之所以選擇在香港建造自己的首個此類工廠，是因爲香港有良好的基礎設施和物流，並且香港還有治理空氣污染的需求。

'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.

狄克遜說，我們與其他95%的生物柴油廠的區別在於，我們有能力處理非常難處理的廢物，比如地溝油和二手食用油。他說，與其他處理純油菜籽、棕櫚油或其他糧食作物的工廠相比，我們的工廠可以減少自己的碳足跡。廢油製成的生物柴油燃燒後造成的空氣污染通常也比柴油要小，包括顆粒物在內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.

地區而言，據全球可再生燃料聯盟(Global Renewable Fuels Alliance)說，從馬來西亞到菲律賓等國家正在要求燃料的構成中包括含一定比例生物柴油的混合油。不過，ASB 生物柴油將把自己在香港生產的生物柴油運往歐洲銷售。在歐洲，歐盟要求，2020年前交通能源必須有10%爲可再生能源，此外，在歐洲由廢油製成的生物柴油價格也更高。

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，政府發言人說，該市並未積極考慮出臺類似的要求。香港屬中國路邊空氣污染最嚴重的城市之一。香港有約12萬輛柴油商用車，政府說其中最老舊的車輛造成80%的路邊空氣污染，政府計劃2020年前利用一項規模15億美元的補貼計劃將這些車輛淘汰。

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產商泰榮環保科技國際有限公司(Dynamic Progress International)的執行董事蔡秀焱(Steve Choi)說，由於沒有政府的授權，該市的生物柴油產業一直舉步維艱。獲取廢油格外困難，因爲相比內地買家爲廢棄食用油支付的每桶100港元（合13美元）的價格，生物柴油生產者支付得起的價格要低得多。這些廢棄的食用油隨後被轉賣，用於內地的餐館，儘管這種油常常是有毒的。

'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.

蔡秀焱說，狀況就是這麼艱難。他還說，他公司旗下的虧損廠每個月生產約60噸生物柴油，遠遠低於當初預計的每天50噸的產量。他說，有錢能使鬼推磨，沒錢則寸步難行。該公司將生產的全部生物柴油都銷售給當地的私營企業。

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生物柴油計劃從香港獲得約20%的廢油，剩餘的廢油則計劃從新加坡和馬來西亞等國家獲得。該公司希望香港的比例最終能夠上升到約45%。

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

與蔡秀焱一樣，ASB的狄克遜說，內地買家提出的更高價格對該行業內的一些公司來說構成了挑戰。

'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.

他說，沒人能夠與肆無忌憚地回收廢油用於食品市場的對手相競爭。不過，他說，該公司正在吸引餐館和老牌連鎖店，這些餐館不想因把廢油賣給可疑的供應鏈而損害自身形象。

'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.'

他說，我們能夠在透明和可靠的基礎上展開競爭。我們收集的每一升廢棄的食用油，我都能告訴你它來自哪裏，最後去了哪裏。

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.

一些環保組織讚揚回收食用油的做法，其他人則表達了保留意見。歐洲地球之友(Friends of the Earth Europe)生物燃料倡導者布萊克(Robbie Blake)以歐盟的擔憂爲證，歐盟中有人擔心，企業將初榨棕櫚油當做廢油銷售，因爲這樣的價格更高。

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.

他還指出，2011年的一個從阿姆斯特丹至巴黎的往返航班試飛用含50%生物柴油的混合油驅動，它所用的生物柴油量需用到相當於全部乘客10年的食用油使用量。他說，問題是食用油只能讓你飛這麼遠。

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

香港大學(University of Hong Kong)教授樑耀彰(Dennis Leung)說，如果沒有更多的政府支持，香港的生物柴油產業可能會繼續低迷。

'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.'

他說，香港的駕車者是否使用生物柴油，這要取決於他們自己的意願。生物柴油仍比普通柴油要貴，所以顯然並非每個人都選擇使用生物柴油。