Wasteland Survivalist: A Scientific Guide to Post-Apocalyptic Survival

Gu Lang picked up the first empty oil drum and continued until no more liquid appeared in the condenser.

A simple calculation shows that the gasoline production rate is approximately 25%.

He reopened the simply sealed soup pot and threw in some broken tiles.

Next, the heating temperature needs to be increased further, and boiling stones must be added to the crude oil to prevent boiling over.

After resealing, Gulang increased the number of bottom steamers and increased the heat.

When the temperature reaches between 200 and 300 degrees Celsius, pale yellow kerosene flows out, with a yield of approximately 5%.

Kerosene is generally used in aircraft engines, but it can also be used for lighting or heating in kerosene stoves.

When the temperature was continued to rise to between 300 and 350 degrees Celsius, the yellowish-brown crude diesel oil finally flowed out.

Gu Lang picked up the third collection bucket and estimated the final output: the diesel production rate was about 20%.

After a busy day, I finally felt the joy of accomplishment.

After fractionation, what remained at the bottom of the pot was a dark brown liquid that was still bubbling from the residual heat.

It is a mixture of heavy oil, residual oil and bitumen, accounting for about 40%.

Heavy oil is generally used in industry specifically for large ship engines and generator sets, but it cannot be ignited with an open flame at room temperature like gasoline and diesel.

A special burner must be used to heat the water to over 100 degrees Celsius.

It must then be atomized into extremely fine oil mist particles under high pressure to ensure complete combustion.

Therefore, this fuel is not suitable for direct use by individual users.

At most, it can be used as a preservative coating on wood.

If you want to extract substances like lubricating oil, paraffin wax, or petroleum jelly, you'll need a pressure relief device.

Otherwise, the temperature will need to be increased to over 400 degrees Celsius.

With the materials and sealing quality of his current hand-operated fractionation device, he's practically courting disaster.

So he put on gloves and, while the heavy oil was still hot and hadn't solidified, poured it all into the sea.

Because refining oil on tankers is extremely dangerous, Gu Lang and Jiang Peng were very careful during the operation.

Wear personal protective equipment throughout the process and clean up any remaining oil stains as needed.

The portable foam fire extinguisher was placed on the deck two meters away from the distillation unit, with the safety pin removed and ready for immediate use.

In addition, the fractionator cannot be heated too quickly, which makes the whole process extremely time-consuming.

Now, however, there is a backlog of crude oil, which needs to wait in line for fractionation.

So the two decided to stay on the oil tanker temporarily, working in two shifts around the clock to refine crude oil, while water and food were taken directly from the speedboat.

The obtained gasoline and kerosene were poured into large oil drums for storage.

These oil drums, each with a capacity of 200 liters, total five in number, were all found on the oil tanker.

After emptying the waste oil and sludge inside, Gu Lang poured in refined gasoline to wash the inner walls and dissolve the residual oil. After a simple cleaning, it was reused.

Including the existing fuel tank on the speedboat, it has enough to hold 1200 liters of fuel.

These barrels were placed on the speedboat's take-off and landing deck to hold gasoline and kerosene.

The loading method involved one person on the tanker and one person on the speedboat.

The fuel is poured into barrels through plastic pipes, while diesel fuel is poured directly into the speedboat's fuel tank.

It took them a day and a night to refine a total of 4000 liters of crude oil.

200 liters of kerosene, 800 liters of diesel, and 1000 liters of gasoline were obtained.

It was filled exactly with one barrel of kerosene and five barrels of gasoline.

Gu Lang checked the amount of diesel fuel; the speedboat's fuel tank had a capacity of 35000 liters, which was approximately 30 tons.

The journey from Zhou Shan to Zhan Jiang covered a total distance of over 1000 nautical miles.

Although we replenished some diesel fuel along the way, we now have less than 5000 liters left.

At its top speed of 50 knots, the speedboat consumes 88 liters of diesel per nautical mile.

At an economical cruising speed of 14 knots, it consumes 40 liters of diesel per nautical mile.

If we want to reach Fangcheng Port as planned, the journey through the Qiongzhou Strait is 170 nautical miles.

The high-speed range is 80 nautical miles, and the estimated fuel consumption is 10000 liters.

If you detour around Hainan Island, you can maintain a low speed throughout the journey unless you encounter any danger.

The voyage is 300 nautical miles and is expected to consume 13000 liters of fuel.

From a safety redundancy perspective, at least 15000 liters of diesel fuel should be added to cope with various emergencies.

Gu Lang calculated the oil refining speed and took into account the rest time.

Even if two people work non-stop, it would still take at least ten days to gather enough.

"Jiang Peng, stop for a moment." Gu Lang put away his notebook and called him over.

"We've run out of gas, let's head back to the lighthouse first."

Transport these gasoline and kerosene back to your family so they can know you're safe and don't worry unnecessarily.

"Okay, this work is too tiring, it's good to take a break."

Jiang Peng agreed without hesitation and stuffed one of the samplers into his bag.

The two rested on the tanker for an hour before returning to the lighthouse at daybreak.

Jiang Peng's family must have spotted the speedboat from the lighthouse lookout and were already waiting at the dock when it arrived.

Seeing the two return safely, the family visibly relaxed.

Jiang Peng was the first to jump onto the dock, where he hugged his wife and whispered a few words in her ear.

He took the baby from his mother's arms, looked down at it for a long time without saying a word.

After they finished exchanging pleasantries, Gu Lang took a wooden plank from the speedboat and placed it between the dock and the bow of the boat as a gangplank.

Then, working with Jiang Peng and his son, they rolled the six oil drums one by one from the speedboat onto the dock.

Straight-run crude gasoline produced on oil tankers cannot directly power electronically fuel-injected gasoline engines.

However, for gasoline generators using older carburetors, this is not a major problem and is sufficient for restoring power.

Similarly, vehicles such as marine outboard motors, vintage cars, and vintage motorcycles can also use crude gasoline.

Gasoline and kerosene are both hard currencies in the apocalypse, and these fuels are enough for Jiang Peng's family to use for a long time.

Whether it's generating electricity, heating, lighting, or exchanging goods with foreign countries, we now have the confidence to do so.

After sending his family away, Jiang Peng walked up to Gu Lang alone.

"With this batch of fuel, our family has more options for refuge."

The lighthouse's location has been revealed; if you can find this place, it means others can too.

"So you're planning to move? Where to?"

"Commander Song, please do not attempt to locate other people's refuge points."

This is basic social etiquette nowadays.

"Haha, indeed, I was presumptuous," Gu Lang said with a laugh.

"Commander Song, I'll be frank with you."

It's not that I'm suspicious of you, brother, but in this world, no one knows when the other person might have a violent outburst.

The berserker retains most of his/her memories from before the onset of the illness and is familiar with information about people from the past.

Once the disease develops, the individual often relies on memory to hunt down acquaintances.

As long as he doesn't die, his spirit will linger for a long time.

This isn't a matter of trust; it's about preparing for the worst.

Jiang Peng's expression became much more serious than before.

Gu Lang didn't speak, he just nodded.

He had repeatedly witnessed this logic during his journey south.

The greatest threat among survivors is not only the malice of strangers, but also the precise pursuit of acquaintances who suddenly mutate.

The fact that the other party can put this point so openly shows that he has thought it through very thoroughly.