Chapter 459 - 210: Light at the End of the Tunnel

Chapter 459: Chapter 210: Light at the End of the Tunnel

’Microbial fuel cell technology is suitable for underdeveloped regions. But we aren’t responsible for their underdevelopment. Besides, this technology won’t make them wealthy. Instead, it might just be stolen by Western powers.’

’Preventing technology from proliferating abroad was something Jiang Miao was constantly working on.’

’If ordinary fruit and vegetable seeds were stolen, it wouldn’t be a huge problem. But if Immortal Bean Seeds or the Electricity-Generating Bacteria Strain were stolen, the negative impact would be enormous.’

’Take our few neighbors in Xinan, for example. Those places already have massive populations. If they were to solve their food security issues, their national power could rise rapidly.’

’That was an outcome Jiang Miao did not want to see.’

’He had several countermeasures prepared specifically to check these regions.’

’Although these regions were a mess in many respects, their potential was undeniable. Even though they were currently mired in stagnation, that was no reason for us to look down on them.’

’When it came to technology exports, Jiang Miao’s stance was extremely conservative: key technologies should not be exported, if at all possible, to avoid aiding a potential enemy.’

’The world is just that pragmatic.’

’You treat others as friends, and they treat you like a sucker.’

’Some places aren’t worth helping. It’s best to let them remain mired in their backwardness, to stay in their primeval forests and vast grasslands, continuing their primitive, slash-and-burn way of life.’

’We just need to focus on ourselves.’

...

「January 8th.」

Zhang Haitao, who was accompanying the father-son duo of Gu Haijing and Gu Baoming on their tour of the Gongping Town biofuel base, gave them a concise overview of the facility and how the technology was applied.

Gu Baoming, who had recently taken over the daily management of Seaview Company, asked with some uncertainty, "Manager Zhang, I have a few questions. I was wondering if you could clear them up for me?"

"General Manager Gu, please speak freely. As long as it’s something I know and doesn’t involve company secrets, I’ll tell you everything I can," Zhang Haitao said, refilling their teacups.

"Alright, I’ll be direct then." Gu Baoming voiced the question on his mind. "Your company’s microbial fuel cell technology is certainly impressive, but why not use large vats, similar to biogas digesters? Wouldn’t that reduce costs significantly?"

Zhang Haitao could tell from the question that Gu Baoming was not a technical expert. He smiled and explained,

"General Manager Gu, it’s not that we don’t want to use them. The issue is that overly large battery tanks actually reduce the effective utilization rate of the organic matter. A volume of one cubic meter is a relatively ideal size. The reaction process of the microbial fuel cell technology itself requires that the reactor vessel’s volume not be too large."

"I see." Upon hearing this, Gu Baoming knew he had been overthinking it. After all, Hailufeng Company had surely researched what container specifications to use and wouldn’t make such a basic mistake.

He took a sip of tea to ease his embarrassment, then changed the subject.

"Manager Zhang, do you think our company could make use of this technology?"

Zhang Haitao shook his head. "Your company doesn’t have that much organic waste. To use this technology, you’d need a large, stable source of organic matter. Otherwise, I wouldn’t recommend you build a biofuel power station."

Beside him, Gu Haijing also looked troubled. "Sigh! If we hadn’t made good money from aquaculture these past two years, I’d be tempted to tear down the solar panels at our farms."

Hearing this, Zhang Haitao thought for a moment. He guessed they were most likely struggling with the grid feed-in quota. "Oh? Is the power grid not giving you a high enough feed-in quota?"

At the mention of this, Gu Haijing looked helpless. "Exactly! The grid only gives us a 50% quota. Right now, our company’s farms and factories can’t consume all this unstable electricity, so it just goes to waste. I don’t know when we’ll ever recoup our investment."

Zhang Haitao put on an expression of helplessness. "There’s not much to be done. It’s the same for new energy generation companies all over the country right now. Some regions only get a 30% quota, and some don’t get approval to connect to the grid at all."

Gu Haijing shared his original idea, "I was hoping to see if your company’s microbial fuel cell technology could adjust its power generation, which might persuade the grid to give us a higher feed-in quota. But it seems I was getting ahead of myself."

Suddenly, Zhang Haitao fell into deep thought.

Seeing this, Gu Haijing quickly tugged at his son, who was about to speak.

After a moment, Zhang Haitao looked up. "Sorry, something just occurred to me. Actually, it might be possible to solve your company’s problem."

Gu Baoming couldn’t contain his eagerness and asked hurriedly, "Oh? What’s your idea, Manager Zhang?"

"You’re familiar with algae, I assume?"

"Yes, many of our farms have to regularly clear out overgrown algae."

"And how do you handle the wastewater from your farms?"

Gu Baoming answered directly, "We filter it and reuse it. After all, fresh water costs money."

"What about the sludge left after filtration?"

"We usually just pile it on nearby farmland or embankments. It’s nutrient-rich and makes good fertilizer."

"Our company has actually developed a set of related technologies, but given your situation, you could only use a simplified version."

"And what technology is that?" Gu Baoming grew more and more curious.

"It involves using your aquaculture wastewater to cultivate algae, and then using that algae as fuel for the microbial fuel cells."

"The efficiency can’t be very high, can it?"

"It’s not. Especially the simplified version. You’re basically at the mercy of the elements. The return on investment is very low; you might even lose money."