Lord of the Desert

Chapter 583 The Blood of Chemical Engineering
November 14th.

Yaoyang City, south of Hezhou Mountain.

The workshops of the Hezhou ware workshops were as hot as steamers.

The central boiling furnace was made of refractory bricks, and the fire was burning brightly at this time.

Hong Fan stood with his hands behind his back and peered through the specially designed quartz fire-viewing hole, where he saw that the crushed pyrite (FeS) had been burned to a dark red color by the high temperature.

The pungent smell of sulfur and coke filled the air, mixed with a faint hint of garlic – indicating that arsenic in the pyrite was being roasted out.

"Bellbox, make sure the air supply is stable!"

The craftsman's rebuke could be heard from afar.

Hong Fan observed repeatedly to confirm that the ventilation system was working properly before continuing forward.

The furnace opening is connected to a coarse ceramic pipe, from which murky sulfur dioxide fumes are hissing out.

"We tried many times and finally chose platinum asbestos as the catalyst."

Mei Chengxue, who accompanied the inspection, said.

"It's just that platinum is relatively expensive."

At this time, the price of platinum was roughly equal to that of gold.

"Price is not a problem."

Hong Fan shook his head.

“There will be a huge demand for fuming sulfuric acid in the future, but I am worried about the production capacity.”

"There will be no problem with production."

Mei Chengxue replied immediately.

"The preparation process of platinum asbestos is not difficult. Natural asbestos fibers are soaked in a platinum salt solution. After the asbestos is removed, it is heated in a furnace to decompose the platinum salt. The surface of the asbestos will then be covered with extremely fine platinum particles, which are perfect for use as a catalyst."

Hong Fan nodded.

Sulfur dioxide flue gas was introduced into the purification system in front of him.

First, there was a settling chamber made of bricks and stones, used to settle the coarse mineral dust; then came the washing tower, which was filled with a mixture of reddish-brown iron oxide filings and lime.

"This step is to remove the arsenic poison."

Mei Chengxue spoke with emotion, clearly having put a lot of effort into this.

"Platinum is the best catalyst we have found, but it is very easy to be 'poisoned'; even trace amounts of impurities such as arsenic, selenium, and chlorine in the feed gas can cause it to lose its activity, so filtration is necessary."

Hong Fan nodded, knowing that iron oxide was used to lock in gaseous arsenic trioxide.

Chemistry is not his specialty, but he understands this level of process immediately.

Workers at the top of the washing tower are continuously pouring cold water over it.

After the flue gas passes through layers of packing material and water curtain, the garlic smell is significantly reduced. Then, after being filtered by a lead demister filled with crushed coke, only very pure sulfur dioxide remains.

"Next comes the core catalytic step."

Mei Chengxue walked to the front of the catalytic chamber and pointed to the locked, heavy, sealed door.

"Let me briefly describe the inside: the walls are wrapped with copper pipes, and there is a circulating water inside to control the temperature; in the middle is a platinum asbestos mesh, which catalyzes the reaction of sulfur dioxide with air at high temperature to produce sulfur trioxide."

The two talked as they walked.

"Of course, the previous degassing process couldn't be completely thorough, so the platinum mesh has a limited lifespan; it needs to be replaced when the color changes..."

Hong Fan walked to the end of the workshop.

The converted gas is introduced into the absorption tower along the pipeline—clear water is sprayed from the top of the tower like a drizzle, which reacts with sulfur trioxide to form a milky white acid mist.

Circling, coalescing.

Finally, a clear, oily liquid dripped down the thin tube and collected at the bottom of the earthenware jar.

Its surface trembled slightly, gleaming with a cold light.

"Try it."

Mei Chengxue handed over a polished iron nail.

Hong Fan took it and dipped it into the jar with two fingers.

zizi...

Fine bubbles immediately appeared, and a pure, bone-chilling acidic odor suddenly rose up, rushing straight into the nasal cavity.

This is nothing to a Yuan Magnetic Warrior. "This is the blood of the chemical industry."

Hong Fan took a deep breath, feeling the slight tingling sensation as the acid mist passed through his lungs.

Sulfuric acid is not a new thing at Dahua.

However, the old "lead chamber process" can only produce sulfuric acid with a concentration of less than 80%, while the contact process can directly produce concentrated sulfuric acid of more than 98% or even fuming sulfuric acid.

These high-concentration sulfuric acids are essential raw materials for many organic synthesis reactions such as nitration and sulfonation. Their industrial production will provide an indispensable foundation for the synthesis of dyes, pharmaceuticals, explosives, and chemical fibers.

The two silently walked out of the workshop.

The winter air is crisp and clear, its temperature fluctuating with the direct sunlight.

When was the first time this production line successfully produced anything?

Hong Fan asked.

"November 2nd".

Mei Chengxue replied without hesitation.

"On the second day of the eleventh month of the thirty-fourth year of Zhenghe."

Hong Fan repeated it.

"A legendary day will be recorded in history."

"There have been too many legendary days like this in recent years."

Mei Chengxue casually raised her chin, but the corners of her mouth were already secretly curving up.

"I heard that Zhuang Liren's side has come up with some new things too?"

"Yes, a gas-fired reverberatory furnace; designed jointly by the Liangzhou Prefecture and Tiannanxing."

Hong Fan nodded.

"A chamber-type industrial smelting furnace that generates high-temperature flames through fuel combustion and radiates heat through the furnace top and walls; mainly used for smelting non-ferrous metals such as copper, nickel, and tin, as well as for metal heat treatment."

"So at least he didn't waste his time."

Mei Chengxue spoke with an air of arrogance.

An hour later, night fell.

Hong Fan is very busy, so his rare visit to Yaoyang City has naturally been arranged with the highest level of hospitality.

The banquet was held at the Yin family residence and hosted by Yin Lianfeng, a celestial being from the Second Realm. In addition to Hong Fan and Mei Chengxue, the main guests included Qin Hong, the Yuan Ci of the Qin family, and Wei Zhaoli, the Admiral of the Hezhou Martial Arts Academy.

As for the remaining clan leaders of major local clans and the heads of second-rate sects, they were only qualified to be guests.

"Before I started Jing Huanxing, I didn't really understand the significance of Brother Hong's reputation as the God of Wealth."

Qin Hong, a traveler from the mountainside, was filled with emotion.

“I remember it very clearly. We first met in Shuixin City on June 19th of the 31st year of Zhenghe. At that time, it was Sister Yingqiong who hosted the dinner. During the meal, we talked about the picturesque scenery of the Chixiang Plain, and that’s when we decided on the name Jinghuanxing. Who would have thought that in just three and a half years, this business would snowball and grow bigger and bigger, and now it’s worth more than a million guan!”

He became more and more spirited as he spoke, filled his wine glass with both hands, gestured to Hong Fan, and then drank it all in one gulp.

Hong Fan smiled in response.

Compared to the first two years, the textile factory's business is now fully operational and has entered a period of rapid development. In the last eighteen months alone, Jing Huanxing's business scale has increased sixfold, with three thousand skilled workers and a monthly cotton yarn production of 1.8 million catties. As a result, the cotton planting area in the Chixiang Plain has also expanded explosively.

[However, there is still a considerable gap between this and the goal of supporting the entire Shengyu Army with only 10% of the shares.]

Hong Fan was slightly distracted.

"Lord Qin, regarding the request we made earlier..."

A local powerful clan chief cautiously mentioned this.

"Don't worry, Brother Hong and I have already discussed this matter beforehand."

Qin Hong waved his hand.

"Neither I nor Lord Yin are the kind of people who take advantage of others. As long as Jing Huanxing hasn't taken over the towns yet, you can handle them yourselves. If you need machinery, just order it from Tiannanxing."

Hong Fan personally welcomes more capital entering the textile industry.

New technologies may indeed squeeze out existing industry practitioners, but the productivity gains they bring are more tangible—thanks to Jing Huanxing's development in the past two years, the price of cotton textiles in northern Xinjiang has dropped significantly, and there are clearly more people who can afford cotton-padded coats.

Upon receiving Hong Fan's approval, the guests could not contain their joy and repeatedly raised their glasses in toast.

(End of this chapter)