[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:00.31,0:00:02.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I collaborate with bacteria.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:02.45,0:00:03.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I'm about to show you
Dialogue: 0,0:00:03.33,0:00:05.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,some stop-motion footage that I made recently
Dialogue: 0,0:00:05.51,0:00:07.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,where you'll see bacteria accumulating minerals
Dialogue: 0,0:00:07.75,0:00:09.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from their environment
Dialogue: 0,0:00:09.30,0:00:11.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,over the period of an hour.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:11.23,0:00:12.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So what you're seeing here
Dialogue: 0,0:00:12.60,0:00:14.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is the bacteria metabolizing,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:14.81,0:00:16.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and as they do so
Dialogue: 0,0:00:16.01,0:00:17.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they create an electrical charge.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:17.62,0:00:19.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And this attracts metals
Dialogue: 0,0:00:19.95,0:00:22.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from their local environment.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:22.12,0:00:25.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And these metals accumulate as minerals
Dialogue: 0,0:00:25.04,0:00:26.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on the surface of the bacteria.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:26.95,0:00:29.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,One of the most pervasive problems
Dialogue: 0,0:00:29.12,0:00:30.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in the world today for people
Dialogue: 0,0:00:30.87,0:00:32.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is inadequate access
Dialogue: 0,0:00:32.28,0:00:34.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to clean drinking water.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:34.04,0:00:35.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And the desalination process
Dialogue: 0,0:00:35.70,0:00:37.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is one where we take out salts.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:37.49,0:00:40.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We can use it for drinking and agriculture.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:40.00,0:00:42.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Removing the salts from water --
Dialogue: 0,0:00:42.09,0:00:43.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,particularly seawater --
Dialogue: 0,0:00:43.35,0:00:44.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,through reverse osmosis
Dialogue: 0,0:00:44.95,0:00:46.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is a critical technique
Dialogue: 0,0:00:46.27,0:00:49.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for countries who do not have access to clean drinking water
Dialogue: 0,0:00:49.50,0:00:50.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,around the globe.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:50.62,0:00:52.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So seawater reverse osmosis
Dialogue: 0,0:00:52.08,0:00:54.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is a membrane-filtration technology.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:54.25,0:00:56.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We take the water from the sea
Dialogue: 0,0:00:56.82,0:00:58.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and we apply pressure.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:58.35,0:01:01.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And this pressure forces the seawater
Dialogue: 0,0:01:01.28,0:01:02.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,through a membrane.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:02.58,0:01:04.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This takes energy,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:04.01,0:01:06.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,producing clean water.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:06.54,0:01:10.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But we're also left with a concentrated salt solution, or brine.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:10.24,0:01:11.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But the process is very expensive
Dialogue: 0,0:01:11.66,0:01:14.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and it's cost-prohibitive for many countries around the globe.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:14.29,0:01:16.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And also, the brine that's produced
Dialogue: 0,0:01:16.07,0:01:18.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is oftentimes just pumped back out into the sea.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:18.96,0:01:21.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And this is detrimental to the local ecology
Dialogue: 0,0:01:21.50,0:01:23.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of the sea area that it's pumped back out into.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:23.94,0:01:25.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So I work in Singapore at the moment,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:25.96,0:01:28.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and this is a place that's really a leading place
Dialogue: 0,0:01:28.72,0:01:30.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for desalination technology.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:30.72,0:01:33.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And Singapore proposes by 2060
Dialogue: 0,0:01:33.27,0:01:36.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to produce [900] million liters per day
Dialogue: 0,0:01:36.37,0:01:38.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of desalinated water.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:38.21,0:01:41.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But this will produce an equally massive amount
Dialogue: 0,0:01:41.56,0:01:43.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of desalination brine.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:43.31,0:01:46.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And this is where my collaboration with bacteria comes into play.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:46.51,0:01:48.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So what we're doing at the moment
Dialogue: 0,0:01:48.46,0:01:51.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is we're accumulating metals
Dialogue: 0,0:01:51.12,0:01:53.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,like calcium, potassium and magnesium
Dialogue: 0,0:01:53.11,0:01:55.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from out of desalination brine.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:55.34,0:01:57.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And this, in terms of magnesium
Dialogue: 0,0:01:57.62,0:02:00.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the amount of water that I just mentioned,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:00.17,0:02:03.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,equates to a $4.5 billion
Dialogue: 0,0:02:03.12,0:02:05.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,mining industry for Singapore --
Dialogue: 0,0:02:05.54,0:02:08.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a place that doesn't have any natural resources.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:08.07,0:02:10.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So I'd like you to image a mining industry
Dialogue: 0,0:02:10.72,0:02:12.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in a way that one hasn't existed before;
Dialogue: 0,0:02:12.81,0:02:14.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,imagine a mining industry
Dialogue: 0,0:02:14.98,0:02:17.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that doesn't mean defiling the Earth;
Dialogue: 0,0:02:17.24,0:02:19.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,imagine bacteria helping us do this
Dialogue: 0,0:02:19.35,0:02:22.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,by accumulating and precipitating
Dialogue: 0,0:02:22.83,0:02:25.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and sedimenting minerals
Dialogue: 0,0:02:25.24,0:02:27.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,out of desalination brine.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:27.09,0:02:28.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And what you can see here
Dialogue: 0,0:02:28.51,0:02:30.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is the beginning of an industry in a test tube,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:30.99,0:02:34.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a mining industry that is in harmony with nature.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:34.34,0:02:35.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Thank you.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:35.69,0:02:39.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Applause)