I can upgrade the shelter-Chapter 76: The Oxygen Production System of the Official Shelter

"What are these?" In the central room of the police station shelter’s air circulation duct, Uncle Ding looked at the objects mounted on the racks before him, asking confusedly, "They look like glass panels?"

A technician who was debugging the equipment heard Uncle Ding’s question and, while continuing his work, explained, "These are algae cultivation tanks, technically referred to as bioreactor facades..."

After checking the condition of one bioreactor facade, the technician continued, "Indeed, in terms of material, you can call them glass panels; they’re all made of acrylic. The facades are hollow, and after filling them with a culture medium, we’ll use water and carbon dioxide to breed algae."

Observing the thousands of bioreactor facades being installed, alongside Uncle Ding, the city’s police station manager asked, "They can supply oxygen? Using these algae?"

"Yes, using these algae." The technician nodded and gently tapped one of the bioreactor facades nearby. "These algae will acquire the light energy needed for photosynthesis under sun lamps. We’ll pump carbon dioxide into them through the bottom pipes, so the algae can undergo photosynthesis inside, while the top pipes will collect the oxygen released by the algae for the shelter’s air circulation system."

"Relying on these... biowhatever facades?" Another manager spoke, with a strong sense of doubt and distrust, "Can these things really support the oxygen needs of this shelter’s twenty thousand people?"

As this manager spoke, the expressions on the faces of the city’s police station managers were all the same.

It wasn’t that these managers feigned understanding or looked down on the technicians, but simply relying on the few thousand glass panels installed here to supply the entire shelter’s oxygen needs indeed raised doubts about its feasibility.

"These bioreactor facades employ microalgae bioreactor oxygen production technology. The Germans once conducted a similar technical experiment, constructing a residential building with exterior walls made from this type of bioreactor. The biomass produced from such a bio-residence, after reactions, provided enough thermal and electrical energy to meet the needs of three surrounding residences." The technician was not surprised and continued to explain to the city police station managers.

Considered the matter of life and death for over twenty thousand people in this shelter, the technician felt an obligation to make the explanation clearer.

"We improved this technology, initially intending to conduct experiments on submarines to see if it could serve as a submarine’s oxygen supply system, thus enhancing their underwater endurance." The technician did not hide the fact that it was originally military experimental technology, continuing, "Algae actually have the highest oxygen production efficiency among all living organisms on Earth. 70% of Earth’s oxygen comes from the ocean’s ecosystem, so theoretically, using algae to supply oxygen for the shelter is completely feasible.

As for whether the amount of oxygen produced can meet the survival needs of 20,000 people, there’s no need to worry about that. This system is designed to meet the needs of 30,000 individuals.

Although the external oxygen concentration will decrease, it won’t drop to levels where humans can’t survive. It will merely fall to levels akin to high-altitude areas. This system mainly serves to prevent oxygen concentration decreases, leading to carbon dioxide accumulation and oxygen scarcity within the shelter due to its underground structure."

The technician’s explanation reassured these managers, and several responsible for logistics began discussing something on the side after hearing the explanation.

"You said that the external environment’s oxygen concentration won’t drop to levels where humans can’t survive?" Uncle Ding showed particular concern about this issue when the technician mentioned the external oxygen concentration, as the SWAT team was currently the police department’s most externally active unit, making this issue of paramount importance to him.

The technician seemed quite interested in answering this question, pausing his work to explain, "The total oxygen in Earth’s atmosphere is approximately ten quadrillion tons, and a person breathes about 270 kilograms of oxygen annually.

Even calculating at 0.3 tons, even with the Earth’s 7 billion population intact, it would take 550,000 years to deplete all the oxygen, and even just to reduce the oxygen concentration by 1% would require thousands of years."

At this point, the technician smiled, adding in jest, "Of course, that’s practically impossible. Even a one or two percent drop in atmospheric oxygen would cause hypoxia in humans. If the concentration falls below 15%, it can lead to severe consequences.

Previously, the meteorite impact and global fires consumed a significant portion of the atmosphere’s oxygen. According to estimates, the oxygen concentration dropped by about 0.5 to 1 percentage points.

Additionally, without sunlight, photosynthesis nearly halting means no new oxygen production in the atmosphere, leaving the external environment’s oxygen concentration to stabilize around 18-15%. Naturally, it depends on the region and environment.

But inside the shelter, due to the structure’s inherent issues and reliance solely on ventilation for air exchange, the oxygen concentration would be lower than outside. According to estimates, without oxygen replenishment within the shelter, it’s likely that the concentration would drop below 15%, causing carbon dioxide buildup and resulting in hypoxia."

Upon hearing the technician’s explanation, Uncle Ding nodded with understanding, though his brows furrowed.

The question of whether the external environment is survivable requires entirely different considerations from the tactical team’s perspective when planning missions.

If the external environment is unsustainable for human life, the main dangers come from its harsh natural conditions, which can be mitigated by enhancing the protective gear and safety measures of field personnel.

However, if life could still be sustained outside, despite the harshness, it significantly heightens the dangers for field personnel executing tasks externally.

Even in times of peace, crimes like robbery and theft exist. In an apocalypse, with the government’s diminished control over cities, even shelters may see the sprouting of criminal activities, let alone the wilderness, now practically beyond the government’s reach?

The technician seemed to perceive Uncle Ding’s concern, smiling to reassure him, "But there’s no need to worry too much, comrade. Besides hypoxia, the severe cold in the wild, with temperatures dropping to tens of degrees below zero, combined with hypoxia, means few can linger outside in such harsh conditions for long."

New n𝙤vel chapters are published on fre(e)webnov(l).com