Materials Revolution

Before they knew it, Children's Day had arrived.

After continually adjusting the production lines and gradually increasing the amount of waste transported in, the daily output of liquefied gas at Guizhuling Industrial Park had stabilized at an average of 50 to 60 tons.

Meanwhile, daily organic fertilizer production remained between 150 and 250 tons. The gas storage tanks and fertilizer warehouses had just been completed, and inventory was steadily rising.

After discussing it with Bao Sikang and the others, Lin Baijie decided to adjust the types of raw materials fed into the production lines. Plastic bags and plastic-laminated paper, which produced relatively large amounts of gas per unit, would be kept as reserve raw materials.

The gas production lines would prioritize kitchen waste, feces, and fallen leaves and branches. After all, if the organic matter in these materials was not processed promptly, it could have adverse effects.

That was because natural organic matter was broken down over time by microorganisms in the environment, causing its organic content to decrease.

Once broken down by microorganisms, it also produced leachate, foul-smelling gases, and the like.

Therefore, this kind of waste had to be processed promptly. Plastic bags and plastic-laminated paper, on the other hand, could be stored for longer and used as reserve raw materials.

However, the several thousand tons of organic fertilizer in the factory warehouse had also become a problem. With no other choice, Lin Baijie set up another subsidiary, dedicated to selling the fertilizer.

Even as the company continued to flourish,

Huang Xiuyuan, Lu Xuedong, and the others kept pressing forward.

Inside a makeshift workshop beside the Materials Laboratory,

a Nitrogen-16 production machine was rapidly producing white powder. Yet the powder it produced had everyone on high alert.

By adjusting the voltage and vacuum pressure, they had synthesized another new all-nitrogen substance: Nitrogen-20 (N20).

The three-dimensional molecular structure of Nitrogen-20 bore some resemblance to that of Nitrogen-16. Its molecules had four layers, each consisting of five nitrogen atoms arranged in a pentagon.

Beside the reactant storage tank was a passivation processing line that was completely shielded from light and filled with nitrogen. By adding a certain proportion of sodium chloride and calcium carbonate, they passivated the Nitrogen-20.

Without passivation, Nitrogen-20 would rapidly decompose and explode when exposed to ordinary levels of ultraviolet radiation, making it unsuitable for long-term storage.

After being passivated with sodium chloride and calcium carbonate, it could be compressed into various shapes. Preliminary laboratory tests showed that, under dark conditions at normal temperature and pressure, it could remain stable for 17 to 18 years.

The conditions needed to detonate passivated Nitrogen-20 were essentially the same as those for ordinary TNT.

However, per unit of energy, passivated Nitrogen-20 was nearly 17 times as powerful as ordinary TNT.

This stuff was terrifyingly dangerous. If Huang Xiuyuan hadn't known the details, an experiment like this could have gone disastrously wrong in an instant.

Looking at the dozen or so "bricks" that had been sealed away, He Wen quietly warned him, "Mr. Huang, this stuff could be a bit of a problem!"

Huang Xiuyuan understood. His company didn't have a license to manufacture explosives. He turned and instructed them, "Xuedong, Lao He, keep some samples for the company's research. Classify all the other research materials as top secret."

"I know what I'm doing." Lu Xuedong nodded. This material really was exceptionally sensitive. "So how are you going to handle it?"

Huang Xiuyuan smiled and joked, "Have you forgotten where I graduated from?"

Lu Xuedong immediately felt reassured. Huang Xiuyuan had graduated from Harbin Institute of Technology, which, like his alma mater, Northwestern Polytechnical University, was no ordinary school.

He Wen had worked at an official research institute in China, so he naturally understood what Harbin Institute of Technology represented.

After leaving the laboratory, Huang Xiuyuan told Zhang Lei, the assistant who had replaced Huang Weichang, to go to Bingcheng in Heilongjiang Province and set up an office. Then he was to rent a secure warehouse near Harbin Institute of Technology.

Next, they would disassemble the Nitrogen-20 production machine and passivation equipment into individual components, then arrange to have them shipped by air to Bingcheng.

The truly important parts of the equipment were the "Hexagonal Silicon Oxide–Graphene Film," the voltage and vacuum-pressure parameters, and the passivation formula.

So he took the film and parameter chip apart separately, intending to carry them with him.

While they waited,

Huang Xiuyuan, Lu Xuedong, and the others used the manufacturing process they had developed for Hexagonal Silicon Oxide to produce three more types of Polygonal Silicon Oxide: Pentagonal Silicon Oxide, Heptagonal Silicon Oxide, and Octagonal Silicon Oxide.

In the future, these nanoscale Polygonal Silicon Oxides would be grouped under a broad category in the field of nanomaterials. The full name was rather long: "Two-Dimensional Nanometer 4+n-Sided Silicon Oxide Materials."

Nanomaterials in this category all shared one property: they could use electrical control to sieve atoms or molecules, then, through the combined effects of electricity and other conditions, turn the particles that passed through into all kinds of nanomaterials.

For that reason, materials of this kind were also called "Nano-Molecular Sieves." Besides the silicon oxide family synthesized by Huang Xiuyuan, there were several other families as well.

The silicon oxide family of Nano-Molecular Sieves was the easiest to manufacture and the most readily suited to commercial mass production.

In the laboratory, after vapor deposition, they embedded a large quantity of Heptagonal Silicon Oxide into a Graphene Film.

They obtained a Heptagonal Silicon Oxide–Graphene Film. After a series of experiments,

Lu Xuedong looked delighted. "This thing is the ultimate water filter!"

In a modified piece of equipment, they applied pressure equal to about 1.7 times atmospheric pressure to the water. The pressure forced the water molecules to rapidly pass through the electrified Heptagonal Silicon Oxide–Graphene Film.

If they increased the pressure, the water molecules passed through even faster, while the other substances in the water remained on the opposite side.

He Wen was excited too. "Mr. Huang, wasn't our recycling plant struggling with all that waste liquid? This will solve a major problem for us."

"Work with the engineering team to tackle the wastewater filter as soon as possible. Also, figure out how to handle the sludge left behind by the filtration."

He Wen promptly replied, "Don't worry, Mr. Huang. I'll get it done as soon as I can."

As one technology after another was successfully developed, the R&D department at Suiren Company grew increasingly confident about the company's future.

Had it not been for the confidentiality requirements, the invention of the Polygonal Silicon Oxide–Graphene Film would undoubtedly have been a milestone achievement in materials science. As its principal inventor, Huang Xiuyuan would likely have had no trouble winning academic awards at home and abroad.

For these material inventions, Suiren Company had registered patents only for the molecular formulas, not for any of the manufacturing processes.

They had patented the molecular formulas because the materials would inevitably reach the market. If someone wanted to obtain samples, it would be difficult to stop them.

The manufacturing processes, however, were different.

As long as the laboratory and its researchers kept them secret, samples alone would not be enough to reverse-engineer the synthesis methods. Without seven or eight years of work—and a bit of luck—it would be extraordinarily difficult.

Besides, the Security Department at Suiren Company was no joke. As new materials continued to emerge, the laboratory and key equipment were kept under dedicated guard around the clock.

The strict confidentiality policies they had established earlier were finally paying off.

June 14.

Assistant Zhang Lei returned to Shanmei and reported that the equipment had arrived at the Bingcheng warehouse and that the local office had arranged accommodations.

The next day, he and Zhang Lei's group boarded a plane at Shenzhen Bao'an Airport and flew straight to Bingcheng, Heilongjiang Province.

Thanks to all the dear readers for your support in the city rankings, and thanks to reader "Nizifajinyong" for the tip. (´ω｀)