novelsite Chapter 93: Plastic-eating microorganisms discovered in nature abroad?
Chapter 93: Plastic-eating microorganisms discovered in nature abroad?
Chapter 95: Plastic-eating microorganisms discovered in nature abroad?
Two days later.
Wang Chengjun joined DeepBlue Technology.
At that moment, in one of the company's reception rooms, Wang Chengjun sat down and immediately looked at Lin Chuan, getting straight to the point: "Comrade Lin Chuan, the military has officially confirmed the final design of the first-generation stealth combat suit and approved it for mass production."
Lin Chuan immediately said, "DeepBlue Technology's production process, process parameters, quality control, and other aspects are all ready."
Wang Chengjun nodded: "I am here on behalf of the military to formally place a large-scale purchase order with your company, totaling 1850 sets and their matching maintenance kits."
The first-generation Shadow Combat Suit system had a purchase price of 1128.75 million yuan per set.
The military placed a purchase order for 1850 sets, with a total purchase amount of approximately 208.8 billion.
In addition, the average cost of a maintenance kit is around 335 million yuan, which is 61.98 billion yuan.
The total order amount reached 270.78 billion yuan, and the estimated net profit is 13.54 billion yuan.
The maintenance cost of this equipment far exceeds the purchase cost. The total maintenance cost of the stealth combat suit throughout its entire life cycle is about five times the purchase price.
In other words, the military will have to spend a total of 1050 billion yuan to maintain the equipment, averaging about 70 billion yuan per year.
Even a large country like China cannot afford to maintain such a large-scale, permanent supply of such equipment at such a cost.
Selling them is too expensive; even if you could afford to buy one, you couldn't afford to keep them.
With fewer than 2000 units, the annual maintenance cost would be around 70 billion yuan.
Although it is insignificant compared to the total annual military expenditure, it is actually insufficient when spread across various branches of the armed forces and equipment, especially in recent years when the focus has been on the vigorous development of naval equipment modernization, which is a real money pit.
Spending 270 billion to arm fewer than 2000 special forces soldiers is quite extravagant, and only a large country with strong economic power can afford to do it.
At this moment, Lin Chuan looked at Wang Chengjun and said, "With DeepBlue Technology taking on this order, the military business will likely account for more than half of the revenue in this year's financial report, making it impossible to include it in other categories."
Upon hearing this, Wang Chengjun smiled and said, "It's nothing. We can disclose information according to regulations, just like other state-owned military enterprises listed on the A-share market. For key data and confidential information, we adopt the principle of declassifying before disclosure; if declassification is not possible, we apply for an exemption. This is a legally mandated pre-disclosure procedure for military business financial reports."
Lin Chuan nodded: "Understood."
Lin Chuan was of course aware of these regulations, but he had simply informed the people in the military beforehand.
DeepBlue Technology is not an isolated case; there are many state-owned military enterprises listed on the A-share market.
For example, AVIC Shenyang Aircraft Corporation was listed on the A-share market in 1996 and is the only listed platform for fighter jets in China. Another example is AVIC Xi'an Aircraft Corporation, which was listed in 1997 and is the core assembly platform for military transport aircraft and bombers in China.
After finalizing the purchase order, Wang Chengjun left Xin'an City that same day.
In the days that followed, DeepBlue Technology's "Shadow" project department began full-scale production and supply, with the military requiring delivery to be completed within this year.
The next day.
As usual, Shen Yuxin arrived at the company on a weekday and turned on her computer to browse the day's industry news and academic updates.
This was a daily task Lin Chuan assigned her: to summarize important information related to DeepBlue Technology's business every morning, compile it into a briefing, and place it on his desk before nine o'clock.
Today's briefing begins with a summary of an article from the journal Science on the top page.
Shen Yuxin read it three times to make sure she understood it correctly, then printed out the entire report and put it in a folder along with several related media commentaries.
Then, she went to Lin Chuan's office and knocked on the door.
"Come in."
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Lin Chuan was standing in front of the whiteboard, using a pen to modify the technical roadmap for the Aurora project.
In recent weeks, he has devoted most of his energy to this project.
"Senior, there's some important news you need to see today. It could pose a huge challenge to the company's plasminogen lysate business."
As Shen Yuxin spoke, she turned the file to the first page and handed him one of the abstracts.
Lin Chuan asked, "What is it?"
Shen Yuxin replied, "In Japan, Kyoto Institute of Technology announced the discovery of new plastic-eating microorganisms."
Hearing this, Lin Chuan was not particularly surprised.
Life will find its own way, and that is nature. Humans invented plastic, and in more than half a century, it has caused a huge impact on the environment, with plastic waste all over the world.
This change in the environment has also driven some organisms to evolve the ability to feed on plastic.
As a reborn individual, Lin Chuan knew that in a few years, various microorganisms around the world would be discovered to have evolved the ability to eat plastic in order to adapt to the new environment.
He put down his pen, took the materials Shen Yuxin handed him, sat down on the sofa in the rest area, and began to read them.
The abstract is titled "Isolation and identification of a bacterium that feeds on PET".
The author is Kohei Oda, and his affiliation is Kyoto Institute of Technology. The article was published in the journal Science.
The first paragraph of the abstract states: "We have successfully isolated a bacterium from sediment samples at a PET recycling plant in Sakai City, Osaka Prefecture, Japan, which uses polyethylene terephthalate as both a carbon and energy source, and named it *Sakai osakaensis*."
Lin Chuan continued reading.
The abstract describes the characteristics of this bacterium in detail.
Gram-negative, rod-shaped, motile, with monopolar flagella, forming round, translucent to milky-white colonies on solid culture media.
生长温度範围15到42度，最适温度30到37度；pH範围5.5到9.0，最适pH7到7.5；最高可耐受百分之三的NaCI浓度————
It can secrete two key enzymes, PET hydrolase and MHET hydrolase.
Long-chain PET polymers can be degraded into terephthalic acid and ethylene glycol, which can then be used as carbon sources.
Lin Chuan turned to the second page of the abstract.
Kohei Oda's team found this bacterium by screening environmental samples. It was not genetically modified; it is a product of natural evolution.
Regarding degradation efficiency, the article mentions that under 30 degrees Celsius conditions, the degradation rate of PET film by Osaka bacteria is approximately 0.05 mg per square centimeter per day.
A PET mineral water bottle weighs about 10 grams and takes about 4 to 5 years to completely degrade, and that's under ideal laboratory conditions.
Finally, Lin Chuan closed the folder and leaned back on the sofa.
Shen Yuxin sat down next to him and turned to look at Lin Chuan: "Senior brother, this report made headlines in many international media outlets today, and several domestic media outlets are also following up with reports, saying that Japanese scientists have discovered bacteria that can eat plastic, which may change the landscape of the environmental protection industry."
She thought for a moment, then added, "This might not be a good thing for our plasticizer business."
Lin Chuan remained calm: "Scientific discoveries do not guarantee rapid industrial application. Even if you give them ten years or more, they will only remain in the laboratory stage, let alone be put into practical application."
He looked at Shen Yuxin: "Even if it is successfully implemented, the degradation cycle of up to four or five years is sixty or seventy times less efficient than the plastic-eating bacteria solution, and the cost is also higher. How can you compete with us? Moreover, our bacteria do not require a purified environment and can work efficiently in real waste treatment scenarios."
How does Henghui Group, which collaborates with DeepBlue Technology, handle plastic waste after introducing the plastic-eating bacteria solution?
It's very simple and straightforward, even mindless, requiring absolutely no technical skill.
Because the plasminoid bacteria are safe enough, there is no need to worry about them causing an ecological crisis when released into nature. They will quickly become inactive in habitats without the special nutrient solution.
Based on this characteristic, Henghui's operation is to simply find a piece of land, dig a pit, and then put tiles or something similar in the pit to prevent leakage.
Then they just dumped the plastic waste directly into the pit, without sorting out the various types of plastic waste, or even other items such as some metals.
Next, water is added to the pool, followed by the addition of bacteria and essential nutrient solution.
Then you don't need to worry about it.
A month later, all the plastic waste in the pool had disappeared.
If the plastic waste contained metal scraps that were recyclable, simply drain the water from the pool and then recycle the metal.
It's that simple, but behind that simplicity lies an unparalleled competitive advantage.
Since the paper on Sakai Osaka was published in the journal Science, it has attracted much attention.
Many Japanese media outlets also competed to interview Kohei Oda.
In an interview with the Asahi Shimbun, Kohei Oda said, "This discovery marks an important step forward for humanity in addressing the problem of plastic pollution."
In an interview with Nikkei, he said, "Our research team is already working on optimizing the degradation efficiency of Sakaiobacterium ossaka. Through directed evolution technology, we are confident that we can achieve industrial application within the next two to three years."
Kohei Oda's statement quickly spread to major Japanese media outlets.
The Yomiuri Shimbun featured the story on its front page with the headline "Osaka Sakai Bacteria Saves the Environment".
The Nikkei Shimbun analyzed from an industry perspective that Osaka Sakai bacteria are expected to break the technological monopoly of Chinese company DeepBlue Technology in this field. NHK reporters interviewed several industry experts, and the report mentioned that once this technology matures, it will be widely used in Japan's plastic waste recycling industry, which is of great significance for reducing white pollution and promoting the circular economy.
The Mainichi Shimbun's report compared in detail the technological approaches of DeepBlue Technology's "plastic-eating bacteria" in the field of plastic biodegradation.
The media outlet stated that although the degradation efficiency of "Osaka Sakai bacteria" is currently not as high as that of DeepBlue Technology's "plastic-eating bacteria", it is expected to significantly improve the degradation efficiency in the future. Moreover, as a natural strain rather than a genetically modified organism, it has a natural advantage in terms of approval and public acceptance.
It must be said that the mainland is still too weak in the area of propaganda, and there are quite a few scoundrels hiding in there doing dirty tricks.
The little notebook's reporting is truly tireless, even its extensive promotion in China.
In terms of global reach and popularity, it far surpassed the impact of DeepBlue Technology's announcement of "plastic-eating bacteria" at the time.
The media in Europe and America have also reported on it more frequently, which is not surprising. If Japan can really make a breakthrough in this field, it will be quite easy for European and American capital to get involved, so they should give it a lot of praise.
In contrast, when DeepBlue Technology announced its "plastic-eating bacteria," it received almost no coverage from European and American media.
Moreover, most of the reports were met with skepticism, even among mainland media outlets, not to mention public intellectuals and influential figures.
Now, both Kohei Oda and Sakai Osaka are showered with praise.
The double standards were on full display at this moment.
The overwhelming public opinion propelled Kohei Oda's team forward rapidly. Several investment institutions contacted him, intending to provide financial support to accelerate the industrial application of "Osaka Sakai fungus".
Meanwhile, affected by this series of news, DeepBlue Technology's stock price suffered a severe blow.
Panic selling ensued, causing the stock to plummet to three consecutive days of limit-down, with the price dropping to 24.80 yuan and the market capitalization falling to 1569 billion yuan.
When DeepBlue Technology's stock price reached its peak of 36.28 yuan, its price-to-earnings ratio reached an astonishing nearly 300 times.
The core logic behind the capital market assigning such a high price-to-earnings ratio is that it possesses high growth potential and a monopoly in this niche market.
Especially the logic of monopoly, which is what the capital market loves most.
DeepBlue Technology's signing of deals totaling over 200 billion yuan with three Middle Eastern countries and South Korea's SK Group is a way of realizing value. Such high growth potential means that even a P/E ratio of 300 can be offset by value growth within just two or three years.
However, the current capital market believes that the expected logic for DeepBlue Technology has undergone a major change.
Now that a second type of plastic-eating microorganism has emerged, investors believe that DeepBlue Technology's monopoly in this niche market has been broken, and a potential competitor that could threaten its business has appeared.
When customers have new options, it will most likely put pressure on DeepBlue Technology's future performance.
At this point, when investors saw DeepBlue Technology's price-to-earnings ratio of 300, they immediately felt that the bubble was frighteningly large.
Recently, DeepBlue Technology has received interview requests from more than ten media outlets.
The plastic-eating microorganism discovered in Japan has been described by the media as a potential major rival to DeepBlue Technology.
Faced with media and public attention, Lin Chuan instructed DeepBlue Technology to give a simple, formulaic response.
We have taken note of the latest research findings from Japanese scientists. DeepBlue Technology supports any technology that helps solve the problem of plastic pollution. Regarding the company's existing plastic-eating microbial community technology, there is currently no further information to disclose.
Clearly, Lin Chuan was unfazed by the matter, but the investors were not as calm as he was, including DeepBlue Technology's partner, Henghui Group.
Monday, around 2 PM.
At this moment, Zhou Chengyue, Vice President of Henghui Group, arrived at DeepBlue Technology.
"Mr. Lin, what's the status of that bacterial strain that was discovered in the notebook?"
Lin Chuan, who was present, did not respond to Zhou Chengyue's words, but turned to Zhao Funing and said: "You analyze the data."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Funing nodded and flipped through the documents in front of her.
"I carefully reviewed the supplementary materials for the *Science* paper regarding the *Sakai Osaka* bacterium. The paper mentions a degradation rate of 0.05 milligrams per square centimeter per day. Based on the surface area, the estimated degradation time for a standard PET mineral water bottle, if cut into small pieces, would be approximately—"
Zhou Chengyue did the calculations and blurted out, "About 1640 days, which is close to four and a half years?"
Zhao Funing nodded: "That's right, and this is data under optimal laboratory conditions. In actual waste treatment scenarios, factors such as temperature fluctuations and pH changes will significantly reduce degradation efficiency."
Zhao Funing turned to another page and continued, "Our plasminoid bacteria, under the same conditions, have a degradation cycle of 21 days, which is 78 times more efficient."
He then added, "The degradation products of plasminoides are carbon dioxide and water, without the accumulation of toxic intermediates. The degradation pathway of Sakaiobacterium ossaka produces MHET intermediates, which, although they can be further degraded, may accumulate if environmental conditions are not ideal."
Zhou Chengyue chimed in, "So, in other words—they're not even in the same league?"
Zhao Funing: "You could say that."
At this moment, Lin Chuan spread his hands and looked at Zhou Chengyue with a smile, asking in return: "How can something like this compete with DeepBlue Technology's plasminoid bacteria solution? So, Mr. Zhou, don't worry, just relax."
Seeing Lin Chuan's confidence, coupled with solid data to support it, Zhou Chengyue felt reassured.