Chapter 367: Release? Or not?
Zhao Jingsi looked at everyone, then said hesitantly:
"In fact, there is a fundamental solution to the problem of microplastics."
"Solve it fundamentally?" Liu Zhifan was stunned for a moment: "What method?"
Zhao Jingsi looked at Li Qingye hesitantly.
Li Qingye knew what method he was talking about. He waved his hand and said, "The method Jingsi mentioned is actually plastic-decomposing bacteria. The company has already achieved a lot in this regard."
Hearing this news, no one was too happy.
Everyone present is smart. They don't just look at the good side of things and ignore the bad side.
Li Qingye continued: "You must have seen the problem with plastic-degrading bacteria. To ensure that plastic particles in nature are completely decomposed, we must unlock the genetic restrictions of this artificial fungus and allow it to have the ability to reproduce itself."
"Once released into nature, it means that the fungus can no longer be eradicated. I cannot guarantee that they will not mutate into strains that are harmful to humans or other organisms during their natural reproduction."
Li Qingye paused for a moment and said, "Moreover, once the plastic-degrading fungi are released, the lifespan of most plastic products in human society will not exceed three months."
Gulu! A thin layer of sweat appeared on Qiu Yingle's forehead. She once again witnessed the horror of biologists.
Everyone started a heated discussion again.
Plastic products are a very comprehensive material for modern society.
From plastic bags, plastic boxes, plastic films, clothes, toys, plastic products, to interior decoration, electrical wires, vehicles, ships, airplanes, and even satellites and space stations, plastics are everywhere.
If we choose to release plastic-degrading bacteria, it means that these products that use plastic will face a huge impact.
As long as Homo sapiens chooses to release, this impact is almost inevitable.
The choice before everyone now is to let go or not.
Liu Zhifan thought for a moment and said, "We need to consider alternatives to plastics or protection issues."
Jiang Mingxuan, the head of the Science Department, asked, "Zhifan, your Industry Department should have a catalog of applications for plastic products, right?"
“Yes, I will share it with everyone.”
Liu Zhifan shared the plastic application catalog with everyone in a short while.
Everyone was reading it attentively, because it concerned the entire world and also concerned hundreds of large and small industries within the Sapiens company that needed to be adjusted.
Although Qiu Yingle is now in charge of the entertainment division, she previously managed the Siam branch for a long time, so she is more concerned about another special branch of the plastics industry:
"Mr. Chairman, does plastic fungus also work on natural rubber?"
Li Qingye nodded: "It also has the decomposition effect, but the speed is slower. Natural rubber will be completely decomposed in about 14 to 16 months."
Of course, the 14 to 16 months here actually refers to complete exposure to air or water, and an environment with suitable temperature and humidity.
If it is in dry and hot tropical deserts, or extremely cold polar regions, or plateaus with thin air and strong ultraviolet rays, the decomposition rate of plastic fungi will drop several times or even dozens of times.
In addition, burying it deep in the soil can also slow down the decomposition rate.
When Qiu Yingle heard this answer, she immediately realized that the natural rubber industry in Southeast Asia would not be able to survive the attack of plastic fungi.
But Li Qingye still gave everyone good news:
"Although plastic fungi will decompose plastic products indiscriminately, we still have some preparations, such as inserting dozens of targeted genes into the fungal genes . Through these genes, the use of some specific agents and ingredients can inhibit its decomposition rate."
Qiu Yingle thought: "Is that so? In this case, the service life of plastic products has been reduced, but they can still be used."
But Jiang Mingxuan shook his head: "Although fungal inhibitors can inhibit fungi, they themselves pose health risks and should not be added to plastic products that come into contact with the body."
Qiu Yingle smiled and said: "It doesn't matter, rubber tires, wire insulation and the like can use inhibitors."
Others also expressed their thoughts.
The application areas that are most affected at present are actually plastic bags, plastic boxes, foam boxes, plastic films, plastic packaging bags, and chemical fiber clothes that come into contact with food.
“Are there any non-toxic inhibitors?”
Jiang Mingxuan replied: "Yes, but non-toxic inhibitors degrade very quickly and are usually only effective for one or two weeks."
After much discussion, they found that they could only look for alternatives.
For example, using natural fibers to completely replace chemical fibers, including cotton, jute, Manila hemp, bamboo fiber, wood fiber, etc.
At the same time, aluminum alloy, stainless steel, wood, glass and the like can also be used to replace part of the plastic.
For other disposable straws, you can continue to use plastic, but you need to store them in special sealed storage boxes. Once opened, you must use them within a few days.
After some discussion, they found that plastic is not irreplaceable.
As for the production cost of alternative materials, there is no need to worry about it.
For example, Sapiens’ unique low-temperature glass technology, low-temperature alloy technology, and light-free farms can produce large quantities of organic matter.
By completely switching to the production of clothing using cotton, flax, jute, abaca, wool, duck down and leather, the production costs of the Homo sapiens company can still be kept very low.
Taking Suez long-staple cotton as an example, the current cotton planting area in the Suez region is approximately between 100,000 and 150,000 hectares, with an average yield of about 1 ton per hectare, and its export price is US$5,000 to US$6,000 per ton.
The export price of American horse cotton is US$2,000 to US$3,000 per ton.
However, in the lightless farm of Zhiren Company, the yield per mu can reach 5 tons, with 6 crops planted a year, and the annual yield per mu of cotton is 30 tons, and the varieties can be selected at will.
Moreover, its cotton production cost is only 57 gold yuan per ton, equivalent to 114 US dollars per ton.
In this way, using cotton to completely replace chemical fibers will actually be cheaper.
After all, with the soaring global oil and gas prices, the current price of chemical fiber per ton has soared to 3,800 gold yuan (equivalent to 7,600 US dollars).
This cost is more expensive than using Suez long-staple cotton.
Although Sapiens has its own petrochemical industry and a considerable number of oil and gas fields, it does not mean that the price of imported oil and natural gas will be low.
After weighing the pros and cons, Li Qingye made a decision.
That is to release plastic fungi, but he will do it himself to adjust the decomposition time of plastic decomposing fungi, at least to extend the decomposition time to more than 18 months .
This would solve the problem of microplastics that is spreading around the world.
He ordered: "Zhifan, Mingxuan, you are responsible for this matter. Prepare for the upgrade and transformation of the industry. Of course, don't announce it to the public now. Just make a plan internally."
Liu Zhifan and Jiang Mingxuan nodded.
Although the decision has been made to release the plastic fungi, how to release it requires strategy and timing.
Sapiens companies can withstand the loss of plastic, but other regions may not be able to.
Especially in developed areas, there are many industries using plastics. Faced with the indiscriminate attack of plastic fungi, those industries quickly fell into a state of shock without any preparation.
Therefore, even if it is just for show, Sapiens must be prepared to simply deny its mistakes and leave Europe, the United States and other regions speechless.
