Chapter 268 (1/2)

Chapter 268: Chapter 262

He opened his eyes wide with surprise.

“Really? You've discovered microorganisms that can break down petroleum…?”

Duyoung quickly put his hand over his lips, and Hyunwoo also zipped his lips.

Only then did Duyoung nod slowly and said, “Yea, I have discovered microorganisms that only eat up gasoline impurities. I'm not sure I'm the first to discover it, but I have not seen any announcement about this kind of discovery.”

“Then, you're done with your research! Finally, you can make green oil, your lifelong dream.”

“It's too early to tell,” said Duyoung, shaking his head unexpectedly.

Hyunwoo tilted his head to one side and asked, “Why?”

But Duyoung didn't tell him about it all.

Instead, he threw a ludicrous question at Hyunwoo, “Do you know how oil is made?”

Hyunwoo remembered he learned it in school. To the best of his memory, petroleum was created over a long period of time by the decomposition of organic matter in the ancient age.

Smiling at him, Duyoung nodded.

“Yea, that's one of the theories on that.”

“Theory? What you mean is that n.o.body has yet exactly discovered the cause of the formation of petroleum, right?”

“That's right.”

Then he briefed Hyunwoo several theories on the formation of petroleum.

What Hyunwoo just talked about was the theory of biological origin, the most influential theory. Another potent theory was that the microbes in the lakes became oil, and some scholars argued that petroleum was inherent in the birth of the earth.

Indeed, t.i.tan, Saturn's moon, contained a large amount of hydrocarbons even though life never existed there.

After finis.h.i.+ng his explanation, Duyoung looked at Hyunwoo seriously.

“But I think I have to add one more theory to the existing ones…”

“Which theory?”

“In my mind, a lot of microbes eat carbon and water to produce hydrocarbons.”

Duyoung showed him his research notes.

Even though Hyunwoo didn't have any expert knowledge, Duyoung wrote down what he discovered neatly in the notebook.

There was a surprising discovery noted there. Namely, microbes break down things like wood, graphite, and paper to produce hydrocarbons.

Hyunwoo was thrilled to see that. If this were true, this would be a much greater discovery than green oil. He felt he could produce petroleum simply by making good use of garbage.

But Duyoung calmed him down and added additional explanation.

“At this point, this is no more than a dead theory that can't be applied.”

“Why? This is a terrific theory…”

“Because it will take so much time to prove it. If you produce oil by using my theory, you have to invest ten years of time and energy in a research room similar to mine to make one liter of petroleum.”

“Oh my G.o.d!”

“Of course, adjusting the temperature and pressure for microbial growth will reduce research time a bit, but it is not economical at all. I think it will take dozens of years or maybe several hundred years to find how to put microbes for commercial use.”

In that respect, it was a dead theory, as his father described.

“In the case of gasoline, the prospect is a bit better. The purifying speed is quite good if I make microorganisms react to existing volatiles. Of course, it has not reached a point where it can be commercialized,” said Duyoung.

Hearing his explanation, Hyunwoo felt that it would take about one year to purify it to the point where he could be satisfied.

But Hyunwoo was not disappointed. He ma.s.saged his father's shoulder and cheered him up.

“I think you can find a way to reduce the time. You have already discovered microorganisms unknown to the world. Cheer up, dad!”

“Of course, I'll certainly find it. That's why I'm doing an experiment on microbes in various environments. If I can discover a way to reduce the time, I can solve all the problems at once.”

When Hyunwoo looked around, his father was really ready for a variety of experiments.

His father was planning to combine temperature and pressure in a number of cases and experiment in closed and open, dry and humid environments.

Duyoung was also planning to a.n.a.lyze the effects of the sun or electricity on microbes.

If he wanted to do that, his current research room was not big enough. In particular, it would be much more effective to do the research on the sun outside his research room.

Hyunwoo said with a worried expression.

“Don't you think your experiment will be exposed to the outside?”

“Well, there are only students here. I wonder if they can tip outsiders off on my secret research.”

“Still, you might as well be careful, I think.”

“I know, but I don't want to distrust my students here.”

Duyoung said in a cheerful voice and then talked about microbes again.