VOA标准英语2010年-US Fighter Jet Powered by Plant Fuel

The roar of jet engines splits the air over the U.S. Navy's testing grounds in Patuxent River, Maryland, as an F-18 fighter plane takes to the skies. Powering this supersonic jet fighter is a fuel that is 50 percent petroleum¹-based and 50 percent derived² from a seed called camelina.

Amid concerns about climate change, volatile³ oil prices and, most recently, a massive spill in the Gulf⁴ of Mexico, the U.S. Navy and the commercial aviation industry are testing biofuels derived from camelina and other sources as an alternative to crude oil.

Rick Kamin, heads of the Navy's alternative-fuel testing program, has nothing against petroleum.

"Petroleum is great," he says. "We've developed all our systems forever to operate on petroleum. The issue with petroleum is, importing the petroleum, price volatility⁵ of petroleum, and shipping⁶ a lot of our dollars to buy the petroleum overseas."

Kamin says domestically produced biofuels could help make the Navy's fuel supply more secure -- and less dependent on imported oil -- while helping⁷ farmers and workers at home.

Massage⁸ oil to jet fuel

Powering supersonic jets is just the latest use for this ancient oilseed.

"If you were a Roman senator, after a hard day at the Forum⁹, you may have walked home and stopped in with your masseuse for a little relaxation¹⁰ and a good massage, and he may have used camelina oil as the lubricant," says

Scott Johnson, president of the biofuel company Sustainable Oils.

Johnson says in the 19th century camelina oil was a popular lamp fuel.

Today, Kamin says, it works just as well as petroleum fuel to power jet airplanes.

"Every test we've put these fuels into our systems, everything has looked no worse than petroleum and sometimes performed even better than our petroleum fuel," he says.

Chemically speaking, it's not surprising, says renewable fuels chief Jim Rekoske at refinery¹¹ equipment maker¹² Honeywell UOP, because the camelina-based fuel "is not that different from a diesel¹³ fuel or a jet fuel."

And fighter plane fuel is not that different from passenger plane fuel. Japan Airlines was one of several that successfully flight-tested biofuels last year.

High cost of petroleum

Recent spikes¹⁵ in oil prices are a big factor driving the interest in biofuels. The airlines still reeling from the 2008 spike¹⁴ in crude oil prices.

"I think with crude oil prices as high as they are, it incentivizes a lot of people to look for the alternative," says John Rau, head of fuels management for American Airlines. "When crude is at 100 dollars a barrel, it changes things pretty dramatically."

But environmental concerns are a factor, too. Burning fuel creates carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas. Growing plants absorb carbon dioxide as they grow.

Rekoske says the increasing interest in biofuels has created an opportunity to,"number one, extend our business into something that's very important for the environment, and number two, to extend it in an impactful and meaningful way."

In the next decade, Rekoske's goal is for up to one-third of all U.S. transportation fuels to be biofuels, including camelina oil.

Food vs. fuel

But Jim Bartis at the RAND Corporation is not convinced that growing camelina to replace crude oil is such a good idea. According to a study he co-authored at RAND, "Producing just one percent of the oil used in the United States would require 10 percent of all the crop land in the United States," he says. "All crop land. Not just crop land devoted¹⁶ to seed crops. That's a huge amount of displacement¹⁷."

Displacing all that crop land would affect food production. And if camelina displaces wheat, for example, he says, "That means somewhere else in the world, someone's going to be clearing a forest or grassland¹⁸ so wheat can grow."

Clearing a forest releases large amounts of greenhouse gases that may cancel out the benefits of replacing petroleum.

Right now, the question is moot¹⁹, because very few farmers grow camelina.

$15 per liter

And, says the Navy's Rick Kamen, "There are no full-scale production plants to make this type of fuel. So there needs to be a commercial investment."

Kamin says commercial investment would bring down the price. The Navy paid about $15 per liter to test camelina fuel, compared to about $1 per liter for petroleum fuel.

Camelina is just one candidate for the biofuel of the future. Others range from animal fats to algae²⁰. Honeywell UOP's Jim Rekoske says we'll need them all.

"Those can all provide, by themselves, only a small fraction. But in aggregate²¹, they can now start to make, again, an impactful difference."

A difference that may help change what powers the Navy's fighters, as well as the American economy.
 

1 petroleum   

n.原油，石油

参考例句：

• The Government of Iran advanced the price of petroleum last week.上星期伊朗政府提高了石油价格。
• The purpose of oil refinery is to refine crude petroleum.炼油厂的主要工作是提炼原油。

2 derived   

vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取

参考例句：

• Many English words are derived from Latin and Greek. 英语很多词源出于拉丁文和希腊文。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He derived his enthusiasm for literature from his father. 他对文学的爱好是受他父亲的影响。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 volatile   

adj.反复无常的，挥发性的，稍纵即逝的，脾气火爆的；n.挥发性物质

参考例句：

• With the markets being so volatile,investments are at great risk.由于市场那么变化不定，投资冒着很大的风险。
• His character was weak and volatile.他这个人意志薄弱，喜怒无常。

4 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

5 volatility   

n.挥发性，挥发度，轻快，（性格）反复无常

参考例句：

• That was one reason why volatility was so low last year.这也是去年波动性如此低的原因之一。
• Yet because volatility remained low for so long,disaster myopia prevailed.然而，由于相当长的时间里波动性小，灾难短视就获胜了。

6 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

7 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

8 massage   

n.按摩，揉；vt.按摩，揉，美化，奉承，篡改数据

参考例句：

• He is really quite skilled in doing massage.他的按摩技术确实不错。
• Massage helps relieve the tension in one's muscles.按摩可使僵硬的肌肉松弛。

9 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

10 relaxation   

n.松弛，放松；休息；消遣；娱乐

参考例句：

• The minister has consistently opposed any relaxation in the law.部长一向反对法律上的任何放宽。
• She listens to classical music for relaxation.她听古典音乐放松。

11 refinery   

n.精炼厂，提炼厂

参考例句：

• They built a sugar refinery.他们建起了一座榨糖厂。
• The purpose of oil refinery is to refine crude petroleum.炼油厂的主要工作是提炼原油。

12 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

13 diesel   

n.柴油发动机，内燃机

参考例句：

• We experimented with diesel engines to drive the pumps.我们试着用柴油机来带动水泵。
• My tractor operates on diesel oil.我的那台拖拉机用柴油开动。

14 spike   

n.长钉，钉鞋；v.以大钉钉牢，使...失效

参考例句：

• The spike pierced the receipts and held them in order.那个钉子穿过那些收据并使之按顺序排列。
• They'll do anything to spike the guns of the opposition.他们会使出各种手段来挫败对手。

15 spikes   

n.穗( spike的名词复数 )；跑鞋；（防滑）鞋钉；尖状物v.加烈酒于( spike的第三人称单数 )；偷偷地给某人的饮料加入（更多）酒精（ 或药物）；把尖状物钉入；打乱某人的计划

参考例句：

• a row of iron spikes on a wall 墙头的一排尖铁
• There is a row of spikes on top of the prison wall to prevent the prisoners escaping. 监狱墙头装有一排尖钉，以防犯人逃跑。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

17 displacement   

n.移置，取代，位移，排水量

参考例句：

• They said that time is the feeling of spatial displacement.他们说时间是空间位移的感觉。
• The displacement of all my energy into caring for the baby.我所有精力都放在了照顾宝宝上。

18 grassland   

n.牧场，草地，草原

参考例句：

• There is a reach of grassland in the distance.远处是连绵一片的草原。
• The snowstorm swept the vast expanse of grassland.暴风雪袭击了辽阔的草原。

19 moot   

v.提出；adj.未决议的；n.大会；辩论会

参考例句：

• The question mooted in the board meeting is still a moot point.那个在董事会上提出讨论的问题仍未决的。
• The oil versus nuclear equation is largely moot.石油和核能之间的关系还很有争议。

20 algae   

n.水藻，海藻

参考例句：

• Most algae live in water.多数藻类生长在水中。
• Algae grow and spread quickly in the lake.湖中水藻滋蔓。

21 aggregate   

adj.总计的，集合的；n.总数；v.合计；集合

参考例句：

• The football team had a low goal aggregate last season.这支足球队上个赛季的进球总数很少。
• The money collected will aggregate a thousand dollars.进帐总额将达一千美元。