Chapter 422: Vigilance

If someone really did that, the consequences would be far more than they could bear.

Besides, when it came to social obligations among friends and family, Jiang Miao’s parents were still around. It would be the same if they attended on his behalf.

Jiang Miao didn’t suggest improving their security arrangements himself. It wasn’t the right time. After all, beefing up security for no apparent reason would only make him look guilty, like he had something to hide.

He didn’t specifically target the Bridger Organization, nor the Amei Group that had bankrolled and orchestrated the recent events.

Instead, he bundled up a massive trove of intelligence. It included a wealth of information on various Western consortiums, secret agencies, and assassination rings. He then slipped the information on the Bridger Organization into the mix and, using one of his old aliases, secretly sent the package to Cyrus and Lucia.

For someone like Jiang Miao, who wielded information supremacy, the strategy of “killing with a borrowed knife” was a nearly foolproof masterstroke.

After sending the intel, he erased every trace of his activity.

Then, he acted as if he had just woken up.

He went downstairs for lunch.

The moment he got downstairs, he saw Shuya holding their daughter.

“Ah Ya.”

“Don’t you want to sleep a little longer?” Shuya asked as she nursed their daughter.

“No, I just took a short nap. I couldn’t really fall asleep.” Jiang Miao went to the washroom to splash some water on his face.

The family ate lunch together.

Since they had some time after lunch, he decided to talk with Shuya about their recent plans.

Inside the study, Jiang Miao listened as Shuya described her research from the past half-month.

After listening for a while, Jiang Miao found himself surprised. He realized that Shuya, in her research on the Owen Power Generation Bacteria, had discovered things he had previously overlooked.

“So, at a specific temperature and oxygen concentration, and with the help of certain enzymes, the power-generating bacteria can break down many types of plastic?”

“Yes, I stumbled upon it by accident. A large part of the fuel cell’s casing is plastic, you know. I didn’t pay it any mind at first. But then, during one experiment, I was using some papaya residue as fuel. I found that after the Owen Power Generation Bacteria consumed the papain, they produced a new kind of cellulase. This new enzyme, working with the bacteria, can break down polycarbonate (PC) into small organic molecules.”

“What’s the decomposition efficiency?”

“I’ve done the calculations. Ten kilograms of papaya enable the bacteria to decompose 30 to 40 kilograms of polycarbonate in about five days.”

“That fast?”

“The bacteria might be treating the polycarbonate as if it were lignin.”

Jiang Miao looked thoughtful. “How do the bacteria fare against other plastics?”

“They’re highly effective at breaking down natural resins. For synthetic resins, they can decompose about 70% of types, though it requires adjusting the temperature and oxygen levels. As for other plastics, they’re highly effective against polystyrene, polyphenylene sulfide, polyimide, and polyetheretherketone (PEEK). However, they haven’t shown any significant ability to break down plastics like polyethylene and polypropylene yet.”

“Have you tried any natural enzymes from other fruits or crops?”

Shuya nodded. “I have. I’ve tested ten common natural enzymes, including bromelain. Bromelain’s effect is pretty much the same as papain’s. The only real surprise was when I added sea buckthorn pulp as fuel. It prompted the bacteria to produce another new cellulase. This one, combined with the bacteria’s original various hydrolytic enzymes, can actually break down polyethylene and polypropylene. The efficiency is quite low, though. It can only break down one to three kilograms per power generation cycle.”

“‘Interesting.’ Jiang Miao jotted it down in his notebook, using a personal cipher that only he could read.

“There’s something else,” she added. “If you add plastic pellets to the fuel liquid—up to 1.5% of the volume—it can extend the fuel cell’s power generation time by about 120 hours.”

“Doesn’t that affect the power output?”

“It does, a little. The output actually increases to about 350 watts.”

Jiang Miao did a quick calculation. “350 watts, for a stable generation period of 460 hours… that’s a theoretical output of about 161 kilowatt-hours.”

“That’s a lot higher than before. But it’s obviously not cost-effective if we have to buy plastic pellets to add to the fuel.”

Jiang Miao was well aware of this.

Currently, recycled plastic pellets in the country cost between 1,500 and 6,000 per ton, depending on the type. Virgin plastic pellets are even more expensive, generally ranging from 8,000 to 15,000 per ton.

‘Therefore, this technology isn’t meant for use with purchased recycled or virgin plastic pellets. Its real application is in the waste recycling industry—for things like plastic bags, synthetic-blend clothing, and other complex plastic waste.’

‘After all, the easily recyclable plastics in household waste have already been picked through by sanitation workers and scrap collectors. The amount of valuable plastic left in the remaining garbage is minimal.’

Of course, Jiang Miao had no immediate plans to venture into the waste recycling industry.

‘A technology that only breaks down plastics and organic matter doesn’t solve the problem of heavy metals and other toxic components in the waste. If those aren’t dealt with, you just end up with contaminated soil and toxic wasteland.’

‘Household waste isn’t like agricultural waste, which has a much simpler composition.’

‘Things like rotten leaves, straw, livestock manure, and animal carcasses are all relatively uniform. After microbial fermentation, they become nutrient-rich topsoil.’

‘Household waste, on the other hand, is incredibly complex. It’s not just kitchen scraps; it contains all sorts of bizarre items like disposable batteries, synthetic fibers, and glass shards, not to mention heavy metals like lead, mercury, chromium, and cadmium.’

‘This makes recycling household waste extremely difficult and expensive. That’s why many cities either just send it to landfills or burn it in waste-to-energy incineration plants.’

‘Therefore, to enter this industry, one would need a sufficiently advanced technological arsenal. Ideally, you’d need a method to separate all the different components of the waste in one go. Only then could you reduce the difficulty and cost of dealing with the residual slag.’

Jiang Miao simply noted the matter down. He would perfect the technology slowly, over time.