Back to Ming Dynasty with Industrial Revolution System

Chapter 1458 Tianjin Wei's Chemical Plant

In the Tanggu area of ​​Tianjin Wei, the workshop of the world's first soda ash factory has been built, and the workers inside are installing equipment and instruments.

Li Jinde followed a group of Tianjin Wei officials and chemical experts to this soda ash factory to inspect the situation here. This factory was expected to be used to produce soda ash, an important raw material.

"This place is rich in crude salt. There is coal from Tangshan a hundred miles away, and limestone from Luanzhou not far to the east. It also faces the Bohai Sea and is backed by the railway. The transportation is convenient, and the alkali plant will definitely be completed." An official from Tianjin Wei said.

The establishment of a soda ash factory in Tianjin Wei is a good thing for their officials in Tianjin Wei, and being able to successfully supervise the operation of a soda ash factory is a political achievement.

"Of course, we cannot do without a nearby refined salt factory and a sulfuric acid factory to provide us with raw materials. What we use is the Lublain soda production method, which uses sulfuric acid to convert salt into sodium sulfate, and then mixes sodium sulfate with coke, Limestone is mixed and burned to produce sodium carbonate and waste residue.” The chemical workers took the crowd to visit the brick and cement construction of the soda plant.

Inside the soda ash factory are sophisticated chemical instruments and pipelines in this era, as well as bags of raw materials for making soda ash, such as crude salt, coke, limestone, etc.

Li Jinde couldn't help but find it laborious when he saw the complicated technological process. These things have already produced a big difference from most traditional production activities, which is hard to understand.

Although he had gone to the School of Chemistry to learn the most basic common sense before arriving, he was still a little confused when he saw various instruments and pipelines here.

"How much can the output of soda ash be achieved?" Li Jinde asked.

"If the supply of materials is sufficient, it is not a problem to produce 10 tons of soda ash per day." The director of the soda ash factory replied.

"10 tons per day!" Li Jinde was surprised. Such an output can be said to be an exaggeration, comparable to the output of steel smelted in a blast furnace.

So isn't a soda ash plant with an annual output of 3000 tons of soda ash?

"This is the output when there is no problem in the supply of raw materials in an ideal situation. In fact, the supply of raw materials is a very serious problem. The refined salt factory next door can only produce 5 tons of raw materials a day, and it needs to expand the factory to increase production. We are also researching new soda-making methods. In fact, if the new soda-making method is perfect, it will not be a problem to produce 40 tons of soda ash per day.” The factory manager pointed to one of the laboratories, “The technicians there are experimenting with new methods and devices. .”

"It's strange, this device has not just been put into use, why are you eager to study new methods and new devices?" Li Jinde asked.

"Because the current method is difficult to produce continuously, and concentrated sulfuric acid is needed as a raw material, the equipment is severely corroded. The quality of the product is impure, the raw material is not fully utilized, and the price is relatively expensive. If we use a new method, these problems can be solved more effectively. First, we must In principle, it is proved that it is feasible, and secondly, it is time-consuming to design a complete and durable equipment. Generally speaking, when we use the current method for production, we will conduct research on new methods at the same time, in order to pursue the future Increase production capacity when demand soars," said the factory manager.

"So that's how it is." Li Jinde was thinking about reselling the soda ash produced here to Europe, or selling the industrial products that needed soda ash to Europe, so that he could seize the local market at a lower cost.

The director of the soda ash factory then took a group of people to visit the nearby refined salt factory and sulfuric acid factory.These factories form an agglomeration effect and can provide raw materials for the soda ash factory.Of course, their role is not only for the soda ash plant, the sulfuric acid produced by the sulfuric acid plant can also be used in other factories.

"At present, the sulfuric acid plant uses the lead chamber method, that is, a square chamber made of lead is used as the main equipment. The reason why the lead chamber is used is because the mixed gas of moist sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides and the concentration of dilute sulfur dioxide below 70% Sulfuric acid is very corrosive."

"The defect of this method is also obvious. The concentration of sulfuric acid in the lead chamber method is only 76%, and it often contains a lot of impurities, so its use is limited."

The technicians of the sulfuric acid plant brought them to the square lead room and checked its principle. Such a unique structure made the inspecting officials feel novel.

At the same time, the explanations given by the technicians made them scratch their heads. Except for a few officials who had studied in the School of Chemistry of the Jingshi University Hall, most of the officials actually couldn't understand the mysteries. Whether it is sufficient or not is a more intuitive question.

Complicated principles and instruments are best left to professional technical engineers and skilled workers, who can only provide financial and human support.

In addition to the soda ash plant, sulfuric acid plant, and refined salt plant, there are also some small chemical plants around. Unless you go inside, you really don't know what they are producing.

A small chemical industry chain has emerged in Tanggu area, which will be an important chemical center.

"Shopkeeper Li, what do you think about chemical plants such as soda ash plant and refined salt plant?"

After inspecting these factories, some officials questioned Li Jinde.

Li Jinde was the representative of the businessman invited by Chu Yun, and his dissatisfaction might affect Chu Yun's views on this project.

In fact, Chu Yun had another purpose in looking for Li Jinde.

It is far from enough to produce chemical products only for domestic demand, and the profits of export are even greater.

And Li Jinde is a foreign trade businessman. Letting him come here to learn about these chemical products will play an unimaginably important role in improving the reputation of these factories and products among the businessmen.

Li Jinde shook his head: "These products are undoubtedly very good, but unfortunately I know too little about them. It seems that I still need to continue studying. If possible, I would like to attend the School of Chemistry while I am in Beijing."

"Yes, not only these soda ash and sulfuric acid, but also rubber factories and oil factories. The technology produced in them is really unheard of and amazing. There are not many technicians in these factories. Only one person out of five has chemical knowledge and Craftsmanship, and other employees are mainly engaged in packaging, processing and maintenance. Compared with textile factories, there are fewer employees. Of course, the core is the personnel who have mastered the corresponding technology, and these people are all from the School of Chemistry of Jingshi University Hall.” Official. Said.

Local officials are also working very hard. What they are facing is an era of rapid technological development, and it is difficult for them to use their previous experience as officials.In order to keep up with the pace of technological progress, why don't they face the same pain as Li Jinde.

(End of this chapter)