Sail across the sea

Chapter 404 Somewhat Related
"What, Xiao Gao, are you interested in investing in a smelter?"

Pei Hengxue stared at Gao Fan and asked seriously.

Gao Fan chuckled: "I'm interested in anything that can make money. However, there are two points..."

"You said."

"First, you need to expedite the process design for cascade extraction, and ideally, design the process equipment as well, so that it can be directly handed over to Maoming Chemical Machinery for production."

"This isn't too difficult. The theory of cascade extraction is already quite mature. We just need to design the process parameters according to the different rare earth elements. In this process, we may need to ask Professor Xu from Peking University to come and provide guidance."

"I can help you contact Professor Xu. Even if we can't get Professor Xu himself, getting his assistant or doctoral student shouldn't be a problem."

"Another challenge is the issue of high-purity extractants, which is beyond the scope of our Zeyan Institute's business."

"P507?"

"Uh, Xiao Gao, you don't even know this, do you?"

Pei Hengxue genuinely wanted to kneel down in admiration. This kid was practically a walking, talking database; it seemed like there was nothing he didn't know.

The process of rare earth extraction involves mixing an aqueous solution containing rare earth ions with a certain organic compound. By utilizing the different binding rates of the organic compound with different rare earth elements, the elements with the highest binding rates are separated out in sequence.

The organic compounds used for extraction are called extractants. An excellent extractant needs to possess several characteristics: high selectivity, meaning a significant difference in binding ability for different rare earth elements; good oil solubility, able to dissolve in kerosene to mix with rare earth aqueous solutions; high hydrophobicity, not dissolving in water, allowing the extract to be separated from the aqueous solution; and easy back-extraction, able to release the rare earth elements after extraction, forming a single-element rare earth ion aqueous solution.

In the 1970s, Academician Yuan, one of the founders of extractant chemistry research in China, developed P507, an organophosphorus extractant capable of separating rare earth elements as well as cobalt and nickel, putting China at the forefront of the world in rare earth extractants. P507 is still in use today and is one of the core secrets that has enabled China's rare earth smelting technology to be unparalleled in the world.

The other trick is cascade extraction.

The scientific name of P507 is "2-ethylhexylphosphonic acid-2-ethylhexyl ester". Well, if you ask a liberal arts student, they can only copy it from the literature. Typing it directly would definitely result in a mistake.

At that time, the concept of rare earth refining was not valued in China. Government officials in places like Zeshan City and even Maolin Province were still thinking at the level of exporting mixed rare earth oxides. In their minds, rare earth purification was something only developed countries like Japan could handle, and with China's technology so backward, how could it possibly engage in such high-tech work?
Little did people know that China's rare earth smelting technology had already reached the world's leading level at this time; what was lacking was simply to apply this technology on a large scale in production practice.

Because rare earth refining is generally not taken seriously, very few people know about technologies like P507.

Pei Hengxue was a rare earth researcher, so he naturally knew what P507 was. What he didn't expect was that Gao Fan also knew.

"It seems that the selection of you by the ministries into the rare earth working group was justified. Your understanding of the rare earth industry even surpasses that of most people in our Zeyan Institute."

After a brief moment of surprise, Pei Hengxue shook his head and sighed.

His words were, in fact, self-aggrandizement. Many engineers at Zeyan Institute researched rare earths, but each specialized in only one aspect. For example, he himself researched rare earth mining and was proficient in leaching processes, but only had a superficial understanding of rare earth smelting. Xiao Ping was an expert in rare earth smelting, but lacked expertise in mining. Gao Fan, however, was a polymath, understanding both mining and smelting, and also knowing how to sell rare earths—this last skill was something no one at Zeyan Institute could match.

"The industrial synthesis of high-purity P507 has always been a major obstacle. However, at the end of last year, the Ministry of Chemical Industry issued a joint research task to Xiaofeng Applied Chemistry Research Institute and Pujiang Fourth Chemical Plant, requiring them to complete the research and development task by the end of this year and start mass production next year," Gao Fan said to Pei Hengxue.

"This matter... you didn't push for it either, did you?" Pei Hengxue asked tentatively.

It's no wonder he had this thought; he felt that this matter was too similar to what Gao Fan had done at the Zeyan Institute.

Gao Fan remained noncommittal, instead asking, "If there's no problem with the supply of high-purity extractant, are there any other issues with the cascade extraction process design?"

“No more. Let’s follow the Ministry of Chemical Industry’s timeline and complete all process designs by the end of this year,” Pei Hengxue said through gritted teeth.

He felt a fire burning inside him, making him unable to back down in front of this young man.

I haven't felt this urge to achieve something in a long time. What's wrong with me?
"Then let's get to the second point, about investment." Gao Fan held up two fingers and said, "How much do you estimate it would cost to build a high-purity smelting plant that can process more than 1000 tons of mixed rare earth elements per year?"

"1000 tons? Isn't that too big a step?" Pei Hengxue questioned.

Gao Fan said, "1000 tons is the basic scale requirement. Using the cascade extraction method, it is not economical for a set of equipment to have an annual output of less than 1000 tons."

"Is this the conclusion of Peking University's research?"

"It can be."

"I haven't studied this issue in depth, since I'm not in the metallurgical field. As far as I know, in cascade extraction, the higher the purity requirement, the more extraction stages are needed. To produce heavy rare earth oxides with 99.99% purity, hundreds of extraction stages are required. Each extraction stage includes a mixing tank and a clarification tank, which adds up to several hundred units. The investment... I estimate it would be at least thirty to forty million."

“Thirty or forty million is not a lot,” Gao Fan said casually. “By purifying mixed rare earth into high-purity rare earth, the output value will increase more than tenfold. Let’s not even talk about the profit; just the fact that it can generate ten times the foreign exchange is enough to make the province willing to invest money.”

"You mean, the province will fund the construction of this smelter?"

"No, that's not it. At most, the province will offer some support policies. Our province is very poor, and the finance department probably can't come up with much money. My idea is to establish a joint venture, with Zeyan Institute contributing its technology as equity. Of course, it would be even better if we could get some loans from banks to contribute equity. Another option is to attract social investment. I know a company in the province that has some spare cash..."

"Aren't you talking about Canghua Science and Trade?"

"No, I was referring to the provincial fertilizer industry company. I'm related to the general manager of that company."

(End of this chapter)