94: From Technological Warfare to Space Empire

As Lin Yu finished speaking, an eerie silence fell over the conference room.

The smile on Chief Li's face froze on his face before he could even wipe it away.

He looked at the words "furanyl bicycloalkanes" on the blackboard, then at Lin Yu, his lips moved, but he didn't utter a sound.

What is this? Corn on the cob? A fuel that's stronger than bicycloalkanes?

Why does he feel like he can't understand anything when all the words are put together?

Bicyclic alkanes are indeed present in petroleum.

Furthermore, he also knew that the US military's best, strongest, and most powerful invincible fuel, JP-10, contained a type of bicycloalkane:

A single molecule of tetrahydrodicyclopentadiene without any impurities.

Not only does it have a high energy density per unit volume, it can withstand extremely cold environments at high altitudes, down to -79°C.

More importantly, it burns without smoke or trails, making the fighter jet almost stealthy.

Compared to the unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine or No. 3 jet fuel we use ourselves, JP-10 is far too advanced.

He was practically drooling over this...

When Lin Yu said that he could synthesize bicyclic alkanes, he was completely stunned by the huge surprise.

I'm about to have a heart attack.

But now... furanylbicycloalkanes...

He had never even heard of it.

Chief Engineer Chen dropped his pen onto the notebook without realizing it, staring blankly at Lin Yu.

Bicycloalkanes can't even be synthesized domestically, and you've gone a step further???

How was this calculated?!

The two academicians had just picked up their teacups to take a sip when their hands were left hanging in mid-air, and they didn't even notice that tea had spilled all over the table.

They had more knowledge than others; they knew about 5-hydroxymethylfurfural.

But... is this stuff inside a corncob?

Can it also be used to synthesize fuels through chemical processes?

The elderly professors looked at each other, and none of them spoke.

The fact that corn can be used to make bicyclic alkanes is already a revolutionary discovery for them.

Now Lin Yu tells them about corn on the cob...

Something that even when you're just starting a fire, you complain about the excessive smoke...

Can this stuff produce fuel that's more powerful than bicycloalkanes?

"that……"

Commander Li swallowed hard, his voice hoarse:

"Xiaoyu, what did you just say? Furanki... what?"

He didn't quite hear it and wanted to hear it again.

Looking at everyone's expressions, Lin Yu felt a sense of pride.

These are all inventions and creations made by future generations of Chinese.

It was an independent synthesis achieved under heavy blockade and with extremely limited resources.

Don't be fooled by the fact that later generations always have scoundrels who criticize scientific research as purely plagiarism without any original contributions.

That's pure layman's talk. If the Nobel Prize were not involved in politics, Chinese scientists would have at least a handful of inventions that deserved the award.

"Furfural-based bicycloalkanes".

He repeated it again, writing the chemical formula on the blackboard:

"C13H18O. Its density is 12% higher than that of ordinary bicycloalkanes, its calorific value is 18% higher, its freezing point is as low as -65 degrees Celsius, and its thermal stability is better."

He paused, then added:

"Most importantly, the raw material for this product is 5-hydroxymethylfurfural, or HMF for short, which comes from corn cobs."

Chief Engineer Chen finally came to his senses, and when HMF was mentioned, he realized what it meant:

"HMF? Isn't that...isn't that something from a lab?"

"I think I've seen it in the literature; some people abroad are doing research on it, but it's still far from industrialization."

Lin Yu nodded:

"That's right, HMF is still in the laboratory stage. But foreign research isn't focused on fuel either."

"They've gone down the wrong path; they're planning to use HMF as a drug intermediate."

Lin Yu turned around and drew a molecular structure diagram on the blackboard.

"HMF contains a furan ring, an aldehyde group, and a hydroxymethyl group. These three functional groups are aggregated in a small molecule, making its activity frighteningly high."

"Each highly active functional group can generate countless variations."

Lin Yu's chalk moved quickly across the blackboard, and chemical formulas and reaction pathways appeared one after another.

"The first direction: hydrogenation!"

He drew several arrows on the structural formula of HMF.

"Controlling the conditions to selectively hydrogenate HMF is the simplest and most convenient way to directly obtain 2,5-dimethylfuran (DMF)."

"This stuff has an octane rating of 119, which is much higher than gasoline."

"It has an energy density 40% higher than ethanol, is insoluble in water, and does not absorb moisture."

"It burns cleanly, with almost no pollutants."

He turned around:

Simply put, this is liquid gold.

"When added to gasoline, it can directly increase the octane rating. It can also be used alone as fuel for racing cars."

Chief Engineer Chen's pen started trembling again. "What is this? What is this?"

He's worked in chemical engineering his whole life, how come he's never heard of this?

However, based on the chemical structure drawn by Lin Yu, under the guidance of the discipline of physical organic chemistry.

He can make a rough estimate based on the carbon-hydrogen ratio, molecular shape, and intermolecular forces.

He knew Lin Yu wasn't lying; his calculated probability was likely even higher than Lin Yu's verbal estimate...

An octane rating of 119?

The best 97-octane gasoline on the market right now is only 97!

"The second approach: oxidation!"

Lin Yu continued writing.

"The oxidation of the two side chains of HMF yields 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA)."

"This stuff is a perfect substitute for terephthalic acid in petrochemicals."

"He can do anything that terephthalic acid can do. Whether it's polyester bottles, polyester fibers, or engineering plastics."

"However, the performance of polyester-PEF made from FDCA is much better than that of PET made from terephthalic acid."

"It has 10 times the oxygen barrier properties of PET, 20 times the carbon dioxide barrier properties of PET, higher mechanical strength, and better heat resistance."

"Most importantly, it is biodegradable, and while it is stronger, it does not produce pollution."

A collective gasp filled the conference room.

Although Chief Li understands chemical engineering, he has absolutely no knowledge of such advanced technology.

He didn't understand why Lin Yu suddenly went off-topic, but he could still understand the words "oil substitutes".

He recalled how much foreign exchange the Equipment Department had to spend each year to purchase special plastics, and how many people's attitudes it had to endure.

If this thing really works...

But Lin Yu continued talking;

"Sorry, I've gone off on a tangent."

"FDCA, under the Diels-Alder reaction, will produce p-xylene."

"By simply adding hydrogen atoms to the chemical process, 1,4-dimethylcyclohexane can be produced."

"This is pure bio-based fuel that can replace the need for oil."

"Hydrogenation yields monocyclic alkanes, which are then dehydrogenated back to aromatics, attached to a furan ring, and subjected to a second Diels-Alder catalysis. Finally, hydrogenation saturation is performed to directly obtain furanyl bicyclic alkanes."

"His effectiveness is about 92% to 95% of JP-10!"

"But the cost can be reduced to 1/20, and we can produce it entirely on our own."

After saying this, Lin Yu hesitated for a moment...

This is still not up to the level of JP-10, so it won't make his skills seem particularly outrageous.

It's already pretty outrageous...

Lin Yu thought for a moment, then continued speaking.

"But what if we use a Co-Mo sulfide catalyst to remove the oxygen atom from furanyl bicycloalkanes?"

"Then, using Lewis acid-catalyzed rearrangement, the bicyclic olefins are arranged into a straight chain."

"After one final hydrogenation treatment, 1,4-dimethyldecahydronaphthalene can be obtained."

"In normal conditions, it's similar to the JP-10, with similar performance."

"In high-altitude, low-temperature environments... it's probably about 4% more effective than the JP-10!"

! ! ?

Upon hearing this, everyone who knew about JP-10 was so shocked that they stood up.

What does this even mean?!

Their best fuel right now doesn't even reach 80% of the JP-10's capacity on fighter jets.

If used in missiles with even higher requirements, the yield is even less than 60%!