如何让地沟油变身数据中心能源？
Turn your ugly fat into data center power?
By Peter Judge
译 者 说
曾经在单位食堂吃过几年地沟油炒菜，那种油腻和反胃呕吐的恶臭令人不堪回首。今天，随着技术发展，恶心的地沟油却可以变成数据中心的能源，不但让地沟油走下餐桌，还能减少数据中心碳排放。但问题来了，我们有这么多地沟油吗？
数据中心柴油机不必使用化石燃料,现在有了可回收产品。
Data center diesels don’t have to run on fossil fuels. There’s a recycled product on offer.
在为数据中心供电的可能方法中，您不太可能考虑使用过的食用油。然而，地沟油是一种令人惊讶的可再生燃料来源，它甚至可以进入数据中心的备用电源。由回收油脂制成的燃料已经在伦敦和里加的数据中心使用，运营商正在使用“可再生柴油”作为后备发电机燃料。
Among the possible ways to power a data center, it is unlikely that you will have considered used cooking oil. However, waste fat is a surprising source of renewable fuel, which could find its way into your data center’s backup power. Fuel made from recycled fats is already in use at data centers in London and Riga, where operators are using “renewable diesel” for the backup generators.
在拉脱维亚，数据中心运营商 DEAC 直接从邻国芬兰的制造商 Neste 购买可再生柴油。在英国哈洛，Kao Data 正在通过英国经销商 Crown Oil 购买 Neste 的氢化植物油，以取代 45,000 升柴油，当园区完全建成时，这一数字将超过 750,000 升。
In Latvia, data center operator DEAC is buying renewable diesel direct from its manufacturer Neste, in neighboring Finland.In Harlow, UK, Kao Data is buying Neste’s hydrogenated vegetable oil through UK distributor Crown Oil to replace 45,000 liters of diesel initially and ramp up to more than 750,000 liters when the campus is fully developed.
低排放
Lower emissions
植物油的二氧化碳排放量与化石油料一样多，但由于植物已捕获碳，因此它们的碳排放量被认为比化石柴油少。由于它们通常混合了 10% 的化石燃料，因此它们的排放量被认为比化石燃料要少 90%。
Vegetable oils make just as much CO2 emissions as fossil oils but, because the carbon has been captured by plants, they are considered to have fewer emissions than fossil diesel. As they often have 10 percent fossil fuel blended in, they are reckoned to have 90 percent fewer emissions than their fossil equivalent.
生物燃料使用的历史与柴油发动机一样古老：Rudolf Diesel（鲁道夫·迪塞尔，柴油机的发明者） 为石油设计了他的发动机，但在 1893 年，他使用花生油进行了他的第一次测试。因为花生油是化石燃料的简单替代品，操作员不需要更换柴油发电机 ，这一举措将使用大量资源（更别说金钱）。
The use of biofuels is as old as the diesel engine: Rudolf Diesel designed his engine for petroleum, but ran his first tests in 1893 using peanut oil.Because they are a simple replacement for fossil fuels, operators don’t need to replace diesel generators, a move that would use significant resources (not to mention money).
使用地沟油避免了“食物还是燃料”的批评，将生物柴油市场变成循环经济
Using waste oil avoids the “food v fuel” criticism, and turns the biodiesel market into a circular economy
然而，一些生物柴油是由专门为此目的种植的植物制成的——使用的是可以养活人类的农田。一些生物柴油由棕榈油制成，通常生长在清除了热带雨林的土地上。使用地沟油避免了“食物还是燃料”的批评，并将生物柴油市场转变为循环经济。
However, some biodiesel is created from plants grown especially for the purpose - using agricultural land which could feed people. Some biodiesel is made from palm oil, is often grown in land cleared from rainforests.Using waste oil avoids the “food v fuel” criticism, and turns the biodiesel market into a circular economy.
柴油发电机是数据中心电源系统的一小部分，在测试或短暂停电的条件下，通常每年运行不到 24 小时。但是，如果一个设施想要声称使用 100% 的绿色能源运行，那么应该考虑它们。用燃料电池代替柴油是一种选择，或者使用可以切换为甲烷或绿色氢气的燃气发电机。但是，如果该站点使用的是柴油机，那么更换它们的成本会很高。
Diesel generators are a small part of data center power, normally running for less than 24 hours per year during tests or small outages. However, if a facility wants to claim to be running on 100 percent green energy, then they should be considered. Replacing the diesels with fuel cells is an option, or else using gas generators, which can be switched to methane or green hydrogen. However, if the site has diesels, changing them is expensive.
“在 2021 年，DEAC 已经从风电场转向 100% 的可再生电力来管理日常数据存储，”DEAC 首席执行官 Andris Gailitis说。他说，凭借柴油中的可再生燃料，DEAC 可以“转向使用100%可再生能源的目标。”
“In 2021, DEAC already switched to 100 percent renewable electricity from wind farms for managing the day-to-day data storage," said DEAC CEO Andris Gailitis. With renewable fuels in its diesels, he says DEAC can “mark the switch to 100 percent renewable energy sources."
Neste 是世界上最大的可再生柴油和从废物和残渣中提炼可持续航空燃料的生产商，年收入接近 120 亿欧元（即134 亿美元；相比之下，2021 年石油行业的总收入为 2.1 万亿美元）。它在芬兰、鹿特丹和新加坡设有炼油厂，并计划随着原料的增加而扩大生产规模。
Neste is the world’s largest producer of renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel refined from waste and residues, with a revenue of nearly €12 billion ($13.4bn; for comparison, the total revenue of the oil industry in 2021 was $2.1 trillion). It has refineries in Finland, Rotterdam, and Singapore, and is planning to expand, as more feedstock becomes available.
DEAC 是 Neste 在数据中心领域的第一个直接合作伙伴，该公司在营销和服务方面的可持续合作伙伴关系负责人 Heidi Peltonen 说。“我们很高兴，作为数字世界的支柱的全球数据中心正在为更可持续的未来寻找解决方案，”她对 DCD 说。“我们一直专注于交通运输和物流排放，”Peltonen 说，“但我们现在关注的是非道路用柴油。”
DEAC is Neste’s first direct partner in data centers, says Heidi Peltonen, who leads on sustainable partnerships in marketing and services at the company."We are pleased that global data centers, the backbone of the digital world, are looking for solutions for a more sustainable future,” she said to DCD.“We’ve been focusing on road transportation and logistics emissions,” said Peltonen, “ but we now have off-road diesel.”
这并不是一个巨大的进步，因为道路燃料和非道路燃料之间的区别主要在于各国适用于不同应用的税收制度。“我们为非道路使用的燃料进行染色，但仍然难以区分。”
That’s not a huge step, as the difference between on-road and off-road fuels is mostly in the tax regimes countries apply to the different applications. “We color the product for off-road use, but it’s very similar.”
她说，数据中心运营商专注于减少排放，因为他们的客户要求这样做，而更加关注后备系统可能会激励他们采取更可持续的运营。“那里的交易量并不大，但该行业采取行动确实很重要，”她说。
Data center operators are focused on reducing emissions, she says, because their customers are demanding it, and increasing the focus on their backup systems might inspire them to more sustainable operations. “There’s not a huge volume there, but it’s really important for that sector to make actions,” she said.
随着燃料电池等其他选择的出现，运营商可能不会认识到，在没有大量硬件投资之下他们可以做出的改变。“我们需要所有不同的解决方案，”她说，“柴油机之所以如此出色，是因为它们现在就在这里。”她承认，在可再生燃料完全取代化石燃料之前，还有很长的路要走，但她认为“ 它已经在发生了”。
With other options such as fuel cells appearing, operators might not be aware of the change they can make without a massive hardware investment. “We need all the different solutions,” she said, “and what makes diesels so great is they are here right now.”There’s a long way to go before renewable fuels can fully displace the fossil equivalent, she accepts, but she thinks “it is happening already”.
在交通运输方面，Neste 正在实施一项合作伙伴计划，将电动汽车充电站与可再生柴油动力汽车相结合。“电动汽车可以覆盖尽可能多的汽车，但即使新注册的汽车都是电动或混合动力汽车，仍然有很多柴油汽车需要转化为低排放、可再生的柴油汽车。”
In transportation, Neste is running a partner scheme that combines charging stations for EVs with renewable diesel-powered vehicles. “Electric vehicles can cover as much as they can but even if newly registered cars are all electric or hybrid, there are still a lot of diesel vehicles, which need to turn into low emission, renewable diesels.”
可再生燃料行业正在积极寻找新的原料，未来可能包括污水污泥
The renewable fuel industry is actively looking at new feedstocks, which could in future include sewage sludge
在航空市场，波罗的海航空正在试点使用高达 20% 的可再生柴油：“这是未来能源调色板的重要组成部分。”
In the aviation market, Air Baltic is piloting the use of up to 20 percent renewable diesel: “It’s a big part of the energy palette in the future.”
假冒
Palm off
“在 2021 年上半年，我们 92% 的原料是废物和残渣，”她告诉我们。剩下 8% 来自为此目的而种植的生物燃料，包括棕榈油，但她说：“我们已承诺在 2025 年放弃使用棕榈油，”
“During the first half of 2021, 92 percent of our feedstock was waste and residue,” she told us. That leaves eight percent from bio-fuel grown for the purpose, including palm oil, but she said: “We have promised to give up using palm oil in 2025,”
可再生燃料行业正在积极寻找新的原料，未来可能包括污水污泥。这将带来多种好处，因为从污水中提取油脂可以避免形成可以完全阻塞下水道系统的“油污团”。
The renewable fuel industry is actively looking at new feedstocks, which could in future include sewage sludge. This would have multiple benefits as extracting fats from sewage could avoid the formation of “fatbergs” that can completely block sewer systems.
“我们正在世界各地收集十种不同的原材料，”Peltonen 说。“在这里，关键是创新使用不同种类的材料和全球采购，以尝试找到尽可能灵活的收集流程。有很多新的废物需要收集。”
“We are collecting ten different kinds of raw materials round the world,” says Peltonen. “Here, the key is innovation to use different kinds of materials, and global sourcing, to try to find collection processes which are as elastic and flexible as possible. There is a lot of new waste to gather.”
“有研发过程中新发现的潜在新原材料，以及一些非常强大的未来创新平台，”她说。同时，现有的原料有增长的能力：“在有发展潜力的地方，我们正在增产我们的产品。”
“There are potential new raw materials, coming from research and development, with some really strong future innovation platforms,” she said. Meanwhile, existing feedstocks have capacity to grow: “where there is potential to scale up, we are expanding our products.”
Neste 自己的流程显然需要能源，但该公司计划到 2035 年使其炼油厂实现碳中和生产。
Neste’s own processes obviously need energy, but the company plans to make its refineries carbon neutral production by 2035.
这够用吗？
Is there enough though?
有一个大问题：地沟油够用吗？从表面上看，地沟油比所需的燃料量要少得多。根据美国能源部能源信息署的数据，美国估计有 1.6 亿吨化石燃料用于运输和取暖。与此同时，该国生产了约 1100 万吨各种用途的植物油和 530 万吨动物油。
There’s a big question: can there be enough waste oil? On the face of it, there’s a lot less waste oil going around than the amount of fuel required.The US uses an estimated 160 million tons of fossil fuel for transportation and heating according to the Energy Information Administration, US Department of Energy. At the same time, the country produces about 11 million tons of vegetable oil for all uses and 5.3 million tons of animal fat.
在美国的试验中，已经用其他场景下无法使用的鸡的脂肪制造燃料。明尼苏达大学（University of Minnesota）专门研究生物燃料行业的经济学教授弗农·艾德曼（Vernon Eidman）认为这很有发展前景。艾德曼预测，美国生产超过 10 亿加仑的生物柴油，其中一半来自动物油。目前，废弃油脂被制成肥皂和宠物食品，而生物柴油则使用优质大豆油。
In the US trials have made fuel from otherwise unusable chicken fat. Vernon Eidman, a professor of economics at the University of Minnesota who specializes in the biofuels industry, reckons that has potential.The United States produces more than a billion gallons of biodiesel, and could make half of it from animal fat, Eidman predicts. Currently, the waste fat is rendered down for soap and pet food, while biodiesels use high-quality soybean oil.
给我们你的废油
Give us your fat
这个市场如何发展？与所有循环经济计划一样，需要有一个活跃的生态系统，潜在客户在其中购买回收产品，而那些有废弃原料的人会因回收而不是丢弃而获得奖励。Neste 正在努力建立该生态系统，积极寻求 可以为其提供原料的公司，包括用过的食用油、废弃的动物油和其他可再生原材料。
How does this market grow? As with all circular economy initiatives, there needs to be an active ecosystem, in which potential customers buy the recycled product, and those with waste material are rewarded for recycling it instead of throwing it away.Neste is trying to build that ecosystem, actively seeking firms that can supply it with feedstock, including used cooking oil, waste animal fat, and other renewable raw materials.
我们一直在寻找新的可再生原材料供应商，与我们一起可持续发展，”该公司的网站说。“我们将您的原材料转化为可再生燃料和其他产品，这有助于减少生活中各个领域对化石燃料和温室气体排放的依赖性。”
“We are continuously searching for new suppliers of renewable raw materials to grow sustainably with us,” says the company’s site. “We convert your raw material to renewable fuels and other products that help reduce reliance on fossil oil and greenhouse gas emissions in various areas of life.”
公司不收集这些原材料，但如果你有足够的地沟油，并且可以将其送到Neste的设施，那么恶心的地沟油真的可以变成数据中心的能源。
The company does not collect these raw materials, but if you have enough waste oil, and can get it to Neste’s facilities, then your ugly fat really could turn into data center power.
写 在 最 后
瀚蓝环境南海固废处理环保产业园（以下简称“南海产业园”）——佛山市内最大的工业危险废弃物处理中心。
南海产业园创新地对园区内各项目进行数字化和智能化设计，建成全国第一家数字化垃圾焚烧发电厂。实现了南海全区生活垃圾100%无害化处理，提炼生物柴油替代化石柴油实现超过1.6万吨二氧化碳减排。