this man is not calm

Chapter 463: Choose to Change the Future
Whether it is "electron" or "methanol", these two words are not uncommon, but when they are combined together, it is a bit difficult to understand.

Its chemical formula can be roughly summarized as CH3OH(EOH). Jin Shang could understand the first half, but the content in the brackets of the second half was a bit difficult to understand. E probably stands for electron, and OH stands for hydroxyl group. As for how they are combined together, it is unknown.

With Master Jin's "simple" level of chemistry, he even thought there might be a typo and the chemical formula was written incorrectly, but after hesitating for a long time, he did not ask.

It's not a big deal, just know its description and specific functions.

The following explanation can barely clear up the confusion.

From the literal meaning, it is easy to judge that this is a new type of liquid fuel produced by the reaction of electrons and methanol. Compared with traditional methanol, electronic methanol has not only changed in chemical formula, but also in molecular structure, which allows electrons to be introduced into methanol.

When burning, electronic methanol will release more water and carbon dioxide, reduce harmful gas emissions, release more energy, and be more in line with environmental protection requirements.

It is easy to draw a conclusion that this liquid fuel, which is derived from ordinary methanol and is specially developed to meet the requirements of environmental protection, safety, high energy density, easy storage and transportation, and alternative to fossil fuels, has broad prospects in power energy, power generation and energy storage.

However, things are not always smooth sailing.

There are huge differences between electronic methanol and traditional methanol in terms of chemical properties, production processes and application areas. As a pioneering energy technology that has just emerged from the laboratory and has not yet been commercialized on a large scale, it still needs to be continuously improved in order to play a more important role in future development.

The specific production method is to react carbon dioxide and water under the action of an electric field, and synthesize electronic methanol by electrolyzing carbon dioxide, which is an excellent way to produce clean energy.

In addition to a literal explanation, Jin Shang also saw a detailed design drawing and budget list, a project book for a medium-sized electronic methanol (hydrogen production by water electrolysis + carbon dioxide hydrogenation) wind power (or photovoltaic) experimental production base.

The entire system includes a 300-megawatt new energy power plant, a grid connection system, an energy management unit, three large-scale electrolysis units with a capacity of nearly 20 megawatts, an electrolyzer cooling system, compressor lines, a large-scale carbon dioxide storage system, two large-scale methanol synthesis plants, and heat pumps and district heating networks.

If everything goes well, the actual annual methanol production may exceed 90,000 tons.

"This is a 'pioneer' plan, used to explore the way for future generations. Anyway, I don't really understand it, and the prospects are unclear."

"As expected! This thing is actually a draft of the development of 'Green Alcohol' developed by the Marine Energy System..."

"Calling it a 'draft' is too modest. With so much detail, I wonder how many people have added fuel to the fire or exaggerated it."

A colorful and detailed project plan may seem feasible on the surface, but whether it can be done or not is a waste of money.

Apart from anything else, this is actually an energy replacement plan prepared for the shipbuilding and shipping sectors. Environmental protection and carbon emission requirements will become increasingly stringent in the future. Most modern ships use large main engines that burn heavy diesel, which is one of the main culprits of carbon emissions and air pollution, and will definitely be the focus of rectification.

The proposal of electronic methanol is not surprising, and it is not even the only option. Jin Shang himself knows that this is not the only way to improve the situation.

"Boss Jin, do you think there is a future?"

"It's hard to say!"

There are quite a lot of difficulties here.

Putting aside other things, no matter how many fancy things are added, it cannot change the fact that methanol is a fuel with low calorific value. The disadvantage of "not being resistant to combustion" is a fatal flaw. Electronic methanol is a little stronger, but not much better.

Whether it is a ship or a car, space is limited. When using the same amount of fuel, traveling farther can save more costs.

Whether it is methanol or electronic methanol, there is a big difference in nature. If it were not for the advantages of low cost and renewable nature, it would not be considered as one of the alternatives at all.

Then there is the production process. Jin Shang can understand that in order to avoid the shortcomings of fossil fuels, he did not use traditional oil, natural gas and coal as raw materials, but directly adopted the method of electrolysis of water and carbon dioxide hydrogenation, which would be a big hurdle.

Water is everywhere, but carbon dioxide is hard to find.

The carbon dioxide content in the air is very low. If we want to produce tens of thousands of tons of electronic methanol annually, we need to extract a lot of carbon dioxide gas.

If you use chemically prepared bottled compressed carbon dioxide or dry ice directly, the cost will be high and it will be like taking off your pants to fart.

The purpose of producing green alcohol fuel is to reduce carbon dioxide in the air, but the result is to produce more carbon dioxide. Isn't this putting the cart before the horse?

Utilizing the inexhaustible carbon dioxide in the air is an irreversible route. This involves the issue of carbon capture technology. If the cost is too high, it will be meaningless.

Without any detailed understanding, Jin Shang keenly realized that the key was how to develop a technology that was inexpensive and could capture carbon dioxide from the air in large quantities.

Unfortunately, the information is vague on this aspect. It is foreseeable that carbon capture technology is the real stumbling block. Whether it is reducing costs or increasing production capacity, without it, everything is empty talk.

Cars, ships and airplanes are all "hungry" and will not wait for you to produce them. They are expensive, difficult to use and not durable. Once you fall into such a predicament, you will be abandoned in no time.

But if we emphasize "good quality and low price", coal chemical industry and petrochemical industry will laugh. After all the trouble, it is more cost-effective to use the old method.

This is awkward.

"Chicken ribs! It's useless to eat them, but it's a pity to throw them away!"

After discussing with Hong Renquan, Jin Shang came to a clear conclusion.

If we want to add "green alcohol" energy to the list of new energy supports, reducing carbon emissions is the top priority. At least, we cannot use fossil fuels on the surface, nor can we fool people by first emitting and then reducing.

From this perspective, electronic methanol meets the requirements, but no matter from the perspective of technical ease of implementation, cost and production capacity, it has no commercial value. It is not as good as the pyrolysis and hydrolysis of waste plastics and wood to produce methanol that Jinshang is currently doing. At least the latter is truly committed to environmental protection and carbon reduction, rather than playing with concepts to cheat for subsidies.

"Four years ago, someone came to us with a plan like this, hoping to establish connections with Beihai Shipping through CSSC Electromechanical and promote methanol fuel in the shipping market."

"Looking for my second uncle, he has some foresight, but... he is too advanced, and many of his technical reserves are not sufficient..."

“So, I stopped it and asked someone to look into it, but didn’t push it forward. At that time, the situation of the listed parent company was already very bad, with no money for investment. North Sea Shipping was planning to ‘go ashore’, so who had the time to take care of these things?” Since they couldn’t find a way into real estate and finance, how could they get involved in the energy market?

No matter how arrogant my second uncle Mei Yingnian was, he would never do such a thing as spreading his wealth everywhere and making enemies everywhere.

"If I had a lot of money to burn, I could have some fun, but not now. This... I don't understand. Should I let the technicians below study it first, or encourage the capable second generation to go ahead and make the first move?"

“It’s up to you!”

Hong Renquan responded with a relaxed smile,
"I'm not suggesting that Mr. Jin do these difficult and inefficient things, but rather that you should take a closer look. Maybe you'll get something unexpected."

"I know!"

It is not clear whether electronic methanol, or "green alcohol energy", has a future. It does not seem to have made much waves in the past. The shipping and automotive fields seem to have developed methanol fuel technology, but it has never become mainstream.

As to whether a "strong man from the sky" will suddenly develop very powerful technology and push methanol to the top, it is hard to say.

This requires opportunities of the times as well as personal efforts.

Just like plasma TV and LCD TV, although the latter has a very big chance of winning, it does not mean that the former is useless. As of mid-1998, there is no sign of plasma TV declining, and it even has a clear advantage.

Since the rapid development of transistors, vacuum tubes have not been very popular. No matter what, the former has not been able to completely eliminate the latter. Vacuum tubes are still widely used in some specific fields, and they are unlikely to disappear completely in another twenty, thirty or even fifty years.

This is even more obvious in the private car sector. Most people may not know that electric vehicles were invented much earlier than internal combustion engines.

Since the invention of the AC motor, people have tried to use it as a power source.

However, due to limitations in electricity costs, technological levels and acceptance, it was quickly overtaken by the internal combustion engine and only has a certain presence in some luxury cars and special models. For nearly a century, it has had little influence, and it will probably take another 20 years for it to radiate its extraordinary energy again.

In this regard, Jin Shang has a clear understanding, and the subtle feeling brought by the "golden finger" also confirms Jin Shang's judgment.

Whether methanol fuel has a future or not, "right time" and "right place" are indispensable, and "harmony among people" is even more crucial. Without many people's strong support, no matter how good the technology is, it will be shelved.

The era of “good wine needs no bush” is over.

If Jin Shang is willing to spend hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars every year on the research and development of methanol fuel vehicle technology, and work with Panda Motors, Beihai Shipping, and CSSC Mechanical & Electrical to develop new energy hybrid vehicles, it will definitely have a place in the future. It is unknown whether it can become mainstream, but at least it will not be unknown.

But if we give up at this point, it will quickly weaken and disappear, just like the plasma display screens that are likely to be abandoned and the hydrogen energy technology that is deliberately avoided, and it is unknown when it will see the light of day again.

With support, a market, and customer feedback, we can stabilize the product line, maintain the upstream and downstream supply chain, invest in research and development, and complete technological iteration.

I'm going to tell you something that you may not believe, but more than a decade after smartphones became popular, the feature phone market around the world still maintains a fairly large scale. In many places, due to lack of conditions or for various reasons, traditional mobile phones are still used on a large scale.

Even pagers, an outdated "antique" from half a century ago, are still used by many people.

Each version has its own god. Who knows whether the outdated technology and products that are on the verge of being eliminated will be brought out again in the future and given different value?

Electric cars have made a strong comeback after more than a hundred years. The micro-cellular technology that should have been swept into the dustbin of history has been transformed into the mobile landline "Xiaolingtong" and has become a big business with annual profits of tens of billions.

This kind of thing happens especially often in the field of Internet IT technology.

As for methanol fuel, Jin Shang is willing to lend a helping hand and bring in some allies to promote it, but if the investment is too large or it wastes too much manpower and resources, then it would be unnecessary.

"This is not the company's main strategic direction. We can make some defensive investments and promotions to gain a foothold first. As for whether it can become bigger, we will see later."

Individual strength is limited. Jin still has more important things to do and urgently needs a "strong general" to charge into battle.

"There are still not enough available talents!"

Putting down the information in his hand, Jin Shang sighed helplessly. The plan is still useful, but it cannot be copied verbatim. One must study selectively.

"The current oil price is too low, and the huge advantage of methanol's cheapness cannot be shown, and the energy-saving, emission-reduction and money-saving features are not obvious. We should first take steady steps to maintain the presence of methanol fuel, elastic fillers and hybrid vehicles in the capital, North China, Northeast China, Central Plains and Jiaodong Peninsula. At the same time, we will develop new engines, range extension, electric and hybrid technologies, and wait for the opportunity. When the price of gasoline and diesel rises to a level that car owners and ship owners can no longer bear, our opportunity will come."

There is at least a ten-year window between the surge in oil prices and the rapid development of electric vehicles. If the alcohol oil fuel market cannot be developed after such a long time, it means that the luck has really run out. If it is not destined to become a mainstream power fuel, we should not go against the will of heaven.

"Boss Jin's judgment is very accurate, let's do it!"

Next, Hong Renquan and Jin Shang talked about wind turbines. CSSC Electromechanical has developed many experimental products of “bladeless” wind turbines.

The columnar and bellows-shaped products that were used some time ago had very good results when tried out, but each has its own shortcomings.

Today, he took out something so good that Jin Shang's eyes lit up.

"The Venturi effect is one of the classic applications of aerodynamics. When air flows through a narrower channel, its speed increases and its pressure decreases, thus...forming a pressure difference that can be used to drive the blades to rotate, thus generating electricity...You can also use a turbine direct drive, which is essentially the same."

"Yes, I understand!"

After all, I have been the chairman of CSSC Electromechanical for more than a year, so I have some understanding of common knowledge. It is not too difficult to learn by looking at pictures.

"Its biggest advantage is that it can generate electricity even when the wind is extremely weak. Conventional wind turbines require a wind speed of at least four to five meters per second to operate, but this one only needs one-tenth of that, so it has a wide range of applications."

(End of this chapter)