Chapter 65 Planning Ahead
At ten in the morning, the discussion in the laboratory was in full swing.
Chen Xueming stood in front of the whiteboard, marker in hand, drawing a complex flowchart. Zhang Zhe supplemented the data from the side, while Li Xiao quickly recorded the key points. Lin Mo sat to one side, occasionally interjecting a word.
Today's discussion topic was the feasibility of Lithium Extraction from Seawater.
Ever since Lin Mo proposed this direction three days ago, Chen Xueming seemed to have been set on fire, flipping through every piece of information he could find. Last night he stayed up until three in the morning, and early this morning he was full of energy, pulling everyone together for a discussion.
“The theoretical adsorption capacity of manganese-based adsorbents can exceed 20 milligrams per gram,” Chen Xueming wrote a string of numbers on the whiteboard, “but the problem is cycling stability. I’ve checked the literature; existing schemes decay to less than 60% of their original adsorption capacity after about ten cycles.”
Zhang Zhe nodded: “Manganese dissolution loss is the core problem. Manganese ions dissolve easily under acidic conditions, and the desorption process happens to require acid treatment.”
“Can we switch to a different material?” Li Xiao raised her hand, “What about titanium-based ones?”
Chen Xueming shook his head: “Titanium-based stability is a bit better, but the adsorption capacity is low and the cost is high. Currently, manganese-based is still the most promising direction; the key is how to solve the dissolution loss problem.”
He turned his head and looked at Lin Mo: “Teacher Lin, what do you think?”
Lin Mo didn't answer directly, but instead asked a seemingly unrelated question:
“Dr. Chen, what do you think is the biggest risk for Lithium-Sulfur Batteries?”
Chen Xueming was stunned for a moment, thought about it, and said: “At the technical level? We’ve already made a breakthrough in cycle life. Safety? All tests have passed. Industrialization? With support from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, it shouldn't be a big problem...”
He paused, his brow furrowing.
“Are you saying... lithium resources?”
Lin Mo nodded.
Chen Xueming was silent for a few seconds, then said slowly:
“I’ve actually always had this concern.”
He put down the marker, walked to the window, and looked at the distant Kunlun Mountains.
“When I was in the United States, I noticed a problem. Global lithium resources are extremely unevenly distributed—Australia, Chile, and Argentina account for more than 70% of global reserves. Although Huaxia is the largest consumer of lithium, its resource reserves only account for about 6%.”
He turned around and looked at Lin Mo:
“Our current Lithium-Sulfur Batteries require twice as much lithium as ternary lithium batteries. If promoted on a large scale, the dependence on imported lithium resources will become even more severe. If the international situation changes one day and they strangle us by the neck...”
Li Xiao asked nervously: “Would they?”
Chen Xueming gave a bitter smile: “I stayed in the US for six years and saw with my own eyes how they treat competitors. Technological blockades, trade sanctions, resource control—they have many methods. The more advanced our technology, the more they find ways to limit us.”
Zhang Zhe spoke up rarely, his voice low:
“In the field of materials, there are too many such cases. High-end carbon fiber, aviation-grade aluminum alloys, semiconductor materials... As long as Huaxia can produce them, they raise the price; if we can't, they impose an embargo.”
The laboratory was quiet for a few seconds.
Lin Mo stood up, walked to the whiteboard, picked up the marker, and wrote a large question mark next to the flowchart Chen Xueming had drawn:
Lithium Resources—Import Dependency: 70%+
“The problem Dr. Chen just mentioned,” Lin Mo pointed to the question mark, “is not unfounded worry. Director Fang showed me some intelligence a few days ago; a certain country's think tank is already suggesting the government plan ahead for lithium resource control. What they are targeting are Australia and Chile.”
Chen Xueming's expression changed: “So soon?”
“Faster than we imagined,” Lin Mo said. “Since our data was made public, foreign entities have been analyzing it. The advantages of Lithium-Sulfur Batteries are too obvious; they can't possibly not react.”
He paused and looked at everyone:
“So, regarding the question Dr. Chen just asked—should we think about an alternative? My answer is: yes, you are right.”
Chen Xueming was stunned for a moment, then smiled.
“Teacher Lin, you thought of this long ago, didn't you?”
Lin Mo didn't deny it: “I thought of it, but we need everyone to think together. What one person can think of is limited; a group of people can think more comprehensively.”
He walked back to the whiteboard and drew an arrow next to 'lithium resources', pointing to another term:
Lithium Extraction from Seawater
“This is the direction I’m thinking of,” he said. “The total amount of lithium in seawater is tens of thousands of times the land reserves. If we can reduce the extraction cost to be comparable to lithium extraction from ore, we will no longer depend on any country's resources.”
Li Xiao's eyes lit up: “Extracting lithium from seawater? That sounds so sci-fi!”
Chen Xueming, however, frowned: “Teacher Lin, I’ve studied this direction. It's theoretically feasible, but the actual difficulty is immense. The lithium concentration in seawater is too low, only 0.17 grams per ton, and the concentration of interfering ions like sodium, magnesium, and calcium is much higher. To achieve selective extraction, the cost...”
“Cost is the key,” Lin Mo took over the conversation, “but what if we can make a breakthrough?”
Chen Xueming was silent for a few seconds, then said:
“If we truly can make a breakthrough, lithium will no longer be a scarce resource. The seawater in the Pacific is enough for all of humanity for tens of thousands of years.”
He looked at Lin Mo with a complex gaze:
“But this ‘if’ is too big. The world has researched this for decades and hasn't found an economically feasible solution. Can our team, with just a few people, make it?”
Lin Mo smiled:
“A year ago, someone told me Room-Temperature Superconductivity was impossible and Lithium-Sulfur Batteries couldn't be done. And now?”
Chen Xueming was stunned.
Lin Mo continued:
“I’m not saying Lithium Extraction from Seawater is easy. But precisely because it's hard, it's worth doing. Precisely because others can't do it and we can, it has meaning.”
He walked up to Chen Xueming and said seriously:
“Dr. Chen, you just said, what if they strangle us by the neck? My thought is—don't let them be able to. They can control lithium on land, but they can't control the seawater. As long as we develop Lithium Extraction from Seawater, no such 'strangling' will exist.”
Chen Xueming looked at him and didn't speak for a long time.
Finally, he nodded:
“Teacher Lin, you're right.”
He turned back to the whiteboard, picked up the marker, and drew a large arrow next to 'Lithium Extraction from Seawater', pointing to the words:
Prepare for a Rainy Day
“Let's start now,” he said. “Even if we can't do it in a year or two, we must explore the direction clearly.”
Li Xiao raised her hand: “I'll be responsible for the literature! I'll dig up every paper on Lithium Extraction from Seawater!”
Zhang Zhe also nodded: “On the materials side, I can cooperate.”
Lin Mo looked at them, a smile appearing at the corners of his mouth.
This was a team.
One person worries, and everyone finds a way together. One person suggests a direction, and everyone charges forward together.
During lunch, Chen Xueming was still pondering the matter of Lithium Extraction from Seawater.
“Teacher Lin,” he sat down opposite Lin Mo with his meal tray, “I have a question.”
“Go ahead.”
“You said earlier that the lithium in seawater is enough for humanity for tens of thousands of years. But how do we lower the cost of the extracted lithium? Currently, the most advanced laboratory schemes cost five to ten dollars per kilogram of lithium, while lithium from ore is only a few tenths of a dollar. There's an order of magnitude difference.”
Lin Mo took a bite of food, chewed slowly, and then said:
“Where do you think the difference lies?”
Chen Xueming thought for a bit: “Mainly the concentration issue. Ore has a high lithium content; processing a ton of ore can yield dozens of kilograms of lithium. Seawater requires processing thousands of tons to yield one kilogram. This physical gap is hard to bridge.”
“So we have to start with the adsorbents,” Lin Mo said. “If we can create materials with extremely high selectivity and enormous adsorption capacity, allowing each gram of adsorbent to catch more lithium, we can reduce the processing volume.”
Chen Xueming nodded: “The logic holds, but what about the materials? The best existing adsorbents are only around 20 milligrams per gram; that's too far off.”
Lin Mo was silent for a few seconds, then said:
“What if there was a material with an adsorption capacity of over 100 milligrams per gram?”
Chen Xueming was stunned: “100? That's impossible. Even the theoretical limit isn't that high.”
Lin Mo smiled:
“Theoretical limits are meant to be broken.”
Chen Xueming stared at him for a few seconds, then suddenly asked:
“Teacher Lin, do you already have an idea?”
Lin Mo didn't answer directly, but instead said:
“Dr. Chen, do you trust me?”
Chen Xueming was stunned for a moment, then slowly nodded:
“I do.”
“Then let's keep going,” Lin Mo said. “If the direction is right, there will always be a way.”
In the afternoon, Chen Xueming returned to his workstation, opened his computer, and began organizing materials on Lithium Extraction from Seawater.
Lin Mo's words were still spinning in his head: “What if there was a material with an adsorption capacity of over 100 milligrams per gram?”
100 milligrams per gram. Five times higher than the current level.
If it really could be done...
He shook his head, suppressed the thought for the moment, and began to concentrate on reading the literature.
Li Xiao leaned over: “Dr. Chen, I just grabbed a new paper by a Japanese team. They used a new type of manganese-based adsorbent, and the cycling stability has improved. See if it's useful?”
Chen Xueming took the tablet she handed him and quickly scanned it, his eyes growing brighter: “This line of thought is interesting! They doped the manganese oxide with titanium, suppressing the manganese dissolution loss!”
Li Xiao also became excited: “Then can we try it?”
Chen Xueming nodded: “We can. But we need to synthesize samples and test their performance. Can Teacher Zhang help over there?”
Li Xiao immediately ran off to find Zhang Zhe.
A few minutes later, Zhang Zhe walked over: “Titanium-doped manganese oxide? I can try. What ratio is needed?”
Chen Xueming thought for a bit: “Let's do a few gradients first—5%, 10%, and 15% titanium doping—and compare the results.”
Zhang Zhe nodded and took note of it.
Chen Xueming looked at them, a warm current welling up in his heart.
Before, he did scientific research alone, from checking literature to designing experiments to testing and analysis—he had to do it all himself. Now it was better—Li Xiao was in charge of information, Zhang Zhe was in charge of materials, and Lin Mo was in charge of the direction. Everyone performed their duties, and efficiency had doubled.
This was a team.
In the evening, Lin Mo sat alone in his office.
He opened the system interface and looked at the [Basic Plan for Manganese-Based Adsorbents] he had recently exchanged, falling into deep thought.
The adsorption capacity given in the plan was 20 milligrams per gram—comparable to the current level. But the system also had a more advanced complete technology package, which required 2,500 research points. He currently had 1,050 points, still a long way off.
If he could develop Lithium Extraction from Seawater, the research points required would be even more.
But time waited for no one.
He thought for a bit and entered a line of commands into the system:
Query: Possible directions to improve the adsorption capacity of manganese-based adsorbents
The system quickly popped up the results:
[manganese-based adsorbent Optimization Directions]
Nanostructure Design: Increase specific surface area and enhance active site density
Element Doping: Introduce specific metal ions (Ti, Al, Fe) to stabilize the crystal structure
Composite Carriers: Load manganese oxide onto high specific surface area carriers (activated carbon, molecular sieves)
Morphology Control: Synthesize specific morphologies (nanowires, nanosheets, hollow structures)
Lin Mo read through them one by one and had an idea in his mind.
These directions could all be explored using conventional scientific research methods. He didn't necessarily need the system; as long as the team cooperated and tried slowly, they would eventually find results.
He turned off the system and walked to the window.
Outside, the night was deep. The lights of the distant laboratory building were still on—Chen Xueming was definitely still there, Zhang Zhe probably was too, and Li Xiao was likely staying up late again.
Looking at those lights, a sense of steadiness welled up in his heart.
Preparing for a rainy day.
This term wasn't just talk.
It was truly time to start.
Early the next morning, as soon as Chen Xueming arrived at the laboratory, he saw Lin Mo writing a new title on the whiteboard:
Lithium Extraction from Seawater Key Problem-Solving Plan (Phase One)
Below were listed several directions:
manganese-based adsorbent optimization (doping, morphology, carriers)
titanium-based adsorbent exploration (alternative plan)
Electrochemical method feasibility preliminary study
Domestic and international literature tracking (Responsible: Li Xiao)
Chen Xueming stood in front of the whiteboard for a long time.
Then he turned and looked at Lin Mo: “Teacher Lin, you're serious.”
Lin Mo nodded: “Serious.”
Chen Xueming was silent for a few seconds, then said:
“Good. Then let's do it.”
He walked to his workstation, opened his computer, and began writing the experimental plan.
Outside the window, the sunlight was just right. The Kunlun Mountains stood majestically, the snow on the peaks sparkling in the sunlight.
The distant sea was still far away.
But the direction was already set.