Chapter 1512 - Black Alkane (1/2)
Translator: _Min_ Editor: Rainystars
Himalia, in the outpost lab.
Researchers, in chemical protective clothing, were in the isolation room and carefully studied the samples in the culture tank.
When they were analyzing the soil samples collected from Himalia, they found a special kind of bacteria in a type of black porous soil. This kind of bacteria was anaerobic and could only survive in a nitrogen environment. But what made it interesting was not the bacteria itself, but the metabolites produced by this kind of bacteria…
It was a black lump, its chemical composition was very complex, composed of a variety of hydrocarbons. The molecules fold into each other and appeared to be an interlaced zigzag spatial structure. Because of this close combination, as far as hydrocarbons were concerned, its density was remarkable, almost twice that of the same volume of water.
“Incredible.”
“This density is almost the same as Teflon.”
“Mhmm, the density is 2. This is the first time I have seen such a high-density hydrocarbon.”
Teflon was also polytetrafluoroethylene, with a density of 2.2, which was the densest of commonly used plastic materials. Based on the standard for hydrocarbons, if something could reach a density twice that of water, it was no exaggeration to describe it as incredible.
“Did the analysis come out?”
“Just finished.”
The researcher responsible for the research of this bacteria code-named MW1 was Wang Zhouping, a former academician of the Hua Academy of Sciences, and a researcher at the Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy.
Because of his dissatisfaction with the bureaucracy of his superiors, as well as reasons such as his family and children’s education, he finally decided to come to Xin as a skilled immigrant. After he immigrated to Xin, he quickly passed the interview and received an offer from Celestial Trade. After six months of astronaut training, he became an honorable researcher on an outer planetary survey ship.
When Wang Zhouping saw the analysis report of the MW1 bacteria, his eyes flashed with excitement.
Before he came to Xin, his research was focused on new energy storage. Precisely because of this, he knew better than anyone else what the existence of this material meant. If natural gas could be stored in solid form, not only would the cost of transportation and storage be significantly reduced, most importantly, the application of natural gas could be further expanded!
Because the main components of this material were similar to alkane compounds, and the color was black, the researchers unanimously decided to call it “black alkane”.
“Using methane and ethane as reactants, the metabolite black alkane is generated through a biochemical reaction, and the reaction exotherms the heat needed to sustain life activities of the bacteria. The black alkane itself has a strong thermal insulation effect and fills the rock mass that the loose and porous bacteria is attached to. No wonder this kind of bacteria can survive in an environment with an average temperature of minus 180 degrees Celsius!”
1
“Have you seen this chemical formula before?” The head of the laboratory, Hou Jun, asked.
“Never, but theoretically it is possible,” Wang Zhouping replied.
Hou Jun nodded, looked at the researcher in the isolation room, and said.
“Test the heat of combustion.”
“Okay.”
The thumb-sized lumps of black alkane, or the metabolite of the MW1 bacteria, were put into a sealed container by the researcher in chemical protective clothing. Under Hou Jun’s instructions, the researchers in the isolation room conducted a total of three sets of experiments to determine the reaction of black alkane at different temperatures under three conditions: in an oxygen-free, or anaerobic environment, in a normal environment, and in an oxygen-rich, or aerobic environment.