this man is not calm

Chapter 489 Saving money is the bottom line

When Jin Shang heard his cousin Zhang Yunying mention this, he did not answer directly while looking at the large cornfield, but asked another question.

"I see that the yield here is only about 400 kilograms per mu. Are the water and fertilizers sufficient?"

"Isn't this enough?"

Zhang Yunying looked at Jin Shang in disbelief and responded unhappily,
"Considering this year's weather conditions, it's pretty good."

"I heard that in the large agricultural bases in the northwest region, many of them are over 800 kilograms."

"The potential there is huge. As long as the irrigation water can keep up and the planting is targeted and scientific, it will be much better than the large farms in the Great Plains of North America that are operated by heavy mechanization and supported by fertilizers and pesticides. Do you think the stories about Jiangnan on the Saishang and Pearl of the Desert that have been sung for thousands of years are just bragging in history books?"

During the Qin, Han, Sui and Tang dynasties, many places in the northwest and western regions had stronger agricultural bases and potential than many places in the Central Plains. However, due to climate change and increasing dryness, coupled with human activities and destructive development, the areas gradually became deserted.

Ultimately, it’s a lack of water.

In modern times, especially in recent decades, the power of industrialization has begun to emerge. Coupled with the gradual signs of rising temperatures, the trend of the rainfall line moving northward has become increasingly obvious, and there have been more rumors among the people that the country's fortunes are recovering.

The global climate is a trend, and the promotion of modern science and technology is a driving force. Not only has the Northeast Plain revealed its extraordinary value, but the previously barren Northwest has also begun large-scale construction with great fanfare.

"Isn't it said that saline-alkali land will affect the growth of crops?"

"That's a problem only when there's an overdose. Let me ask you, what causes saline-alkali land?"

"There is too much salt and the soil's acid-base balance is disrupted."

"That's right! Think about it, the germination, growth, flowering and fruiting of plants require a variety of compounds including inorganic salts containing a large number of elements, such as the common nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, as well as various trace elements..."

"Too much is as bad as too little?"

"That's right! For countries that are unable to manage, saline-alkali land is a burden. But if it can be turned into treasure, that would be wonderful, and it can save a lot of fertilizers. There is currently a wave of developing seawater agriculture around the world, which is actually riding on the green, low-carbon and environmentally friendly trend. Some scientific research teams are even working on the technology of growing food directly using seawater for irrigation. Once successful, it will be no less than the discovery of hybrid rice, which can change the world..."

"So, why are the cultivation of sea rice and the development and utilization of Suaeda salsa receiving so much attention?"

"Of course! I thought you knew..."

Zhang Yunying said with a chuckle,
"It turns out you don't know everything!"

Shaking his head slightly, Jin Shang did not argue.

With only a superficial understanding of agriculture, Jin Shang naturally could not see the key focus of the two technologies, but he could still understand through the "Golden Broom" that they were very important.

It is enough to have the right direction. There is no need to pay attention to every process and detail.

At the same time, Jin Shang also understood that under similar conditions, once the shortcomings of the Northwest, where sunshine hours are long, are made up, the yields of mainstream agricultural crops and cash crops with strong adaptability, such as cotton, corn and wheat, will be significantly higher than those in North China, Central Plains and Jiangnan.

"The granary of the World Island is missing a leg!"

There are many reasons why Central Asia did not develop in the past. Jin Shang knew one of them. The super water conservancy project that benefited the five Central Asian countries had not yet been completed, and the great red empire collapsed, leaving behind a mess. The quarreling countries dug holes for each other in order to compete for limited water resources, resulting in the semi-finished products of super projects comparable to digging a gap in the Himalayas, tiling the Great Wall, and covering the Yellow River... which instead destroyed the originally fragile ecological balance and had a counterproductive effect.

In this life, there is no need to worry about the consequences of "good intentions leading to bad results". The entire Greater East, including the best land in Central Asia, is within the national borders, and there is obviously more room for maneuver.

It is good news for Jin Shang that he does not need to rely on the Northeast to make money.

I used to think that the situation of "the south is heavy and the north is light" was difficult to alleviate, but I ignored the fact that the motherland in this life is completely different from the previous life, the conditions are much better, and the potential is obviously a level higher.

The population data released at the beginning of this year exceeded 950 million. Although the growth trend has slowed down year by year, there is still hope that the population will exceed one billion by the millennium.

"Let's not talk about this anymore. You haven't answered my question yet. Why use heavy oil? Isn't it said that this thing will be banned?"

"How can it be banned? As long as its advantage of being very cheap remains, it will never disappear..."

"But heavy oil engines have serious carbon emissions and pollution. Can they pass the environmental test?"

“That’s why methanol is one of the dual-fuel options. By the way, the dual-fuel engine direction of freight trucks is diesel plus compressed natural gas, but it also does not exclude liquefied petroleum gas and methanol. Add a mild hybrid system, and it’s almost complete.”

Maybe you don’t have any idea about heavy oil. It is basically not used in daily life. It is only common in some heavy oil boilers, generators and marine main engines.

The heavy oil here is not the high-standard fuel such as heavy diesel (kerosene) used in aviation engines, but what is left after the petroleum (crude oil) is distilled and conventional fuels such as liquefied gas, gasoline, diesel and kerosene are extracted. It has extremely high viscosity and poor fluidity. It is called heavy oil or viscous oil, or in layman's terms, "residual oil".

This stuff has a high impurity content, and the sulfur and nitrogen oxides exceed the standard after combustion. It is definitely not allowed to be used without treatment; and this stuff is too dense and has poor fluidity. It must be preheated before use to reduce the viscosity so that it can be used for heavy oil engines (main engines, internal combustion engines, generators, etc.).

Its characteristics are roughly the same as diesel, and it is driven by a compression ignition engine.

Despite the above disadvantages, heavy oil is not without advantages. It has high calorific value, high thermal efficiency of internal combustion engines, fuel saving and easy maintenance. Of course, its biggest advantage is that it is very cheap.

Most of the time, the price of heavy oil is less than one-third of standard diesel. If you take into account equipment, maintenance, lifespan, manpower, etc., after comprehensive consideration, under ideal circumstances, the unit distance transportation cost may be only one-fifth of diesel.

For water transport vessels, another important factor in choosing heavy oil is that in order to fully burn the heavy oil in the cylinder, improve efficiency and reduce emissions, a low-speed diesel engine mode must be used.

It just so happens that underwater propellers are basically the type that the slower they rotate, the higher the propulsion efficiency. Among ordinary operating ships, very few use high-speed machines and cavitating propellers.

In civilian vehicles, gasoline engines can easily run at several thousand revolutions, which is absolutely impossible for marine engines. The engines of super-large ocean-going cargo ships can even run as low as 70 revolutions, which is simply shocking. From this point of view, it is simply a pillow for a sleepy person. If you don’t consider the emission of carbon dioxide, sulfur and nitrogen oxides, heavy oil is simply an ideal fuel oil for water vessels.

In principle, the use of heavy oil is not allowed in many places, and it can only be used to a certain extent if certain conditions are met.

However, there are policies from the top and countermeasures from the bottom. The cost advantage of using is completely different in different dimensions, which has led to the proliferation of heavy oil filling stations in various ports. Even if there are some checkpoints, they switch to diesel when entering the port or entering the restricted area, just as a pretense. When they leave the port supervision or enter the high seas, the heavy oil is immediately burned.

It is impossible to completely ban this thing. Even conventional-powered aircraft carriers burn heavy fuel oil.

Just talk about low-carbon and environmental protection, but when you use it privately, it’s really nice.

Not only in the field of shipping, but also in heavy truck freight, large agricultural machinery, etc., there are no high requirements for acceleration performance. On the contrary, diesel engines with strong power, stable performance, easy maintenance and relatively long life are obviously more advantageous. As for whether to burn heavy oil or not, it depends on the situation.

The two chatted, and Zhang Yunying almost understood what his little cousin was thinking.

"Heavy oil engines are actually quite troublesome. Not only do they require a preheating system, but the requirements for materials and oil pipelines are also very high. By the way, this high-pressure common rail... is it really that powerful?"

"Not necessarily. There are also electronic controls and direct injection. I only know the general principles. How they work specifically still depends on the choices of professionals. The needs of diesel private cars, commercial vehicles and engineering vehicles are different. Even one of the dual fuels used with diesel (heavy oil) is compressed natural gas, liquefied natural gas or methanol, which depends on demand. Anyway, try them all, and slowly iterate the technology. As for production, find a small batch of OEM factories and modify them while using them."

"Then why do agricultural machinery use heavy oil methanol? I have tried a diesel and compressed natural gas light hybrid truck, and the experience is pretty good. With the light hybrid system, starting and accelerating are very smooth, and there is no large amount of black smoke."

"It's not that simple! Currently, engineering vehicles need to be heated electrically or started with a small amount of diesel before switching the fuel system."

It is already acceptable for commercial or engineering use, as there is a dedicated technical team for batch maintenance. But if it is really a diesel car released on the market, the temperature in the north can easily be minus 10 to 20 degrees Celsius in winter. Do you have to put a handful of firewood under the fuel tank to preheat the car every morning when you use it?

Depending on the specific situation, the main engine of a ship needs half an hour to an hour to prepare before starting. When using the vehicle on land, you don't have so much time to wait for preheating. Whether it is assistance, preheating, starting or maintenance, you need to think clearly. The actual vehicle use environment is diverse. If there is a problem, it will be troublesome.

Fortunately, CSSC Electromechanical has a solid capability in producing heavy marine machinery. Even if they cannot produce super engines that are several stories high, they can still produce ordinary engines. In addition, with the mature experience in dual-fuel vehicle engines and flexible-fuel engines in cooperation with Panda Automobile, it is not a problem for them to design several experimental prototype vehicles.

The cost is just too high. The combine harvester not far away that is "served" by four or five people has a manufacturing cost of more than four million yuan, which is more expensive than most luxury sports cars. It is really not something that ordinary manufacturers can afford.

Especially in order to test new technologies and improve the pre-researched vehicle systems, a large number of high-precision sensors and on-board chips have further pushed up the cost.

"The company you took over is really good. It has strong technical capabilities. Although it does not have enough experience in high-tech fields, it covers a wide range of areas and knows a little bit about everything, and it is presentable."

“It is mixed and impure, specialized but not refined, which matches the positioning of the previous Beichuan Electromechanical and now Beihai Shipping.”

It is enough to just build the end product, but you also have to understand the core components. You may not be good at them, or they may not be authentic or solid, but you must know them.

Even if you just rub it by hand, you have to make it look presentable.

"correct……"

As if remembering something, Zhang Yunying asked curiously,

"When I saw that machine working, it didn't emit a lot of thick black smoke. Why does it seem that the emission of a heavy oil engine is lower than that of an ordinary diesel engine?"

"Methanol has a high oxygen content, so there is more mixed gas in the cylinder, less suspended particles and mist in the fuel oil, and the low speed makes the combustion more complete. After being purified by the exhaust emission system, there is naturally much less black smoke. Otherwise, do you think this thing can pass the test?"

Jin Shang wants to do big things seriously, not just be a modification enthusiast for fun. Since he wants to face the market, he must take the right path. When put on the scale, even the smallest problem weighs more than a thousand pounds.

If you don’t go through the formal channels and get the certificate, it will just be a big toy, which is not what Jin Shang wants.

“What is the ratio of heavy oil and methanol to be burned?”

"One to nine!"

"No wonder!"

Similar to ethanol gasoline, methanol diesel or various alcohol oil fuels, alcohol ether fuels, etc., diesel engines that use heavy oil and methanol as main fuels have improved combustion efficiency and vibration resistance, and lower emissions. The current dual-fuel agricultural machinery with heavy oil (diesel) plus methanol (natural gas) has a power performance that is about 15% to 20% lower than that of pure heavy oil engines, but the emissions of harmful oxides of sulfur and nitrogen are reduced by more than 70%. The comprehensive fuel cost to complete the same work is less than 40% of that of a diesel engine.

If we can reduce the failure rate, lower the maintenance cost and improve the stability, we will have a foothold in the market competition.

Now, we have only tried it ourselves and with our competitors, and the results are so-so, just barely acceptable.

"Ashan, are you concerned about energy?"

"The price of crude oil is going to rise, and with the consumption of wind power and photovoltaic power, the cost of producing methanol is very high, unless it is further refined to produce high value-added products. At present, I have joined hands with oil companies to prepare to produce aviation fuel in large quantities by catalytically adding (methanol) to biodiesel. Now it can only be used in the shipping and freight fields, which consumes part of the production capacity."

The price of aviation fuel is more than twice as high as high-standard gasoline, but how much do gutter oil and methanol cost?
Without subsidies, playing with new energy means pure loss. Jin Shang can accept temporary losses, but is unwilling to keep putting money into it, even if there is still profit to be made by combining the performance of other sister companies with subsidies and tax refunds.

Even if the road ahead is difficult, we must force our way out. Otherwise, it would be impossible to grow by market-driven means, which would be a pity.

Our country is the world's leading oil consumer and a top producer of edible oil. In the 21st century, when low-carbon and environmental protection are becoming increasingly stringent, fields such as biodiesel and renewable energy will sooner or later usher in a period of rapid development.

Now, Jin Shang is ready to prepare in advance.

It would be fine if there were no conditions, but it's not easy to get an opportunity to cooperate with an oil company, so we should do everything we can at once.

(End of this chapter)