Siheyuan: I eat melons while doing scientific research

Chapter 1277 Those Who Talk and Those Who Run Errands (4k)

Steam can be used for power, heating, and even directly for steelmaking. The steam engine is considered a symbol of the Industrial Revolution, but it is not just a simple power source.

As for coal gas, which is CO produced by the reaction of carbon and oxygen, it's even more straightforward. Everyone knows that this stuff can be burned, but we've never thought about recycling it. The main problem is that the coal gas coming out of the steelmaking furnace carries too many things with it.

However, since Chief Engineer Gao brought this up, he must have a way to solve these problems, and the comrades' attention now turned to another matter.

"Come on, comrades, let's calculate how much energy we can extract from the waste gas of steelmaking!" The chief engineer of Beijing Steel Plant immediately called on his comrades to get into calculation mode. Since Chief Engineer Gao had said so, it must be quite a lot.

Compared to input, output is much easier to determine. There are fewer projects, and the relationships are more direct. How much material is input, what reaction occurs, how much is consumed in the steelmaking process, and so on, all of these have relatively direct theoretical formulas that can be used. By subtracting a loss ratio from the theoretical basis, the result is basically accurate. In short, the order of magnitude can meet the requirements of the evaluation.

At this step, this level of precision is sufficient.

The comrades calculated very quickly.

"Steam can be converted into 10 kilograms of standard coal per ton of steel! That's quite a lot." I didn't expect that steam alone would account for nearly 30% of the input. You don't realize how much steam there is until you calculate it!

This number is not small. Even though the recycling equipment requires investment, the lifespan of this thing is very long, and in the long run, it's quite substantial.

"We've calculated it! The calorific value of the generated gas, when converted, is actually over 20 kg of standard coal per ton of steel!" This figure thrilled the comrades; it was worth it!
Steam plus coal gas can exceed 30 kg of standard coal. This recovered energy is basically the same as the consumed energy. If we also take into account the reduction in steelmaking energy consumption and the increase in recovery efficiency brought about by technological development, the negative energy steelmaking mentioned by Chief Engineer Gao can be fully realized!

When deducting the loss ratio, the comrades took into account the current state of technology and made a large and relatively conservative deduction, leaving a lot of room for development.

"Chief Engineer Gao's idea is excellent. If it can be realized, energy consumption will be greatly reduced, at least in the steelmaking process, and we might even be able to recover some of it!"

"The idea is good, but whether we can successfully recover it is another matter. There are many strange things in the exhaust gas."

"It's not a big problem, the main issue is the dust. As long as we can solve this problem, everything else will be fine." Many new technologies, once they get started in terms of theory and methodology, are something our comrades are capable of implementing further. In just a short while, they had already thought of everything they could think of, and naturally, they didn't need to elaborate on the aspects that could be solved. While they were with Chief Engineer Gao, they raised all the problems that couldn't be solved.

"It's not just dust, it's also oxygen. If the oxygen content is too high, what's being recycled won't be gas, it'll be a bomb." Not all the oxygen blown out for steelmaking can be consumed. If the content mixed into the exhaust gas is too high, reaching a certain proportion, everyone knows that there's an explosive concentration indicator for gases, which is very dangerous.

Upon hearing this, Gao Zhendong shook his head: "No need for deoxygenation."

"No need for deoxygenation?" Does Chief Engineer Gao have some other clever use for the mixed gas?
Unexpectedly, Gao Zhendong nodded: "Yes, no need to remove it. We should try to control the oxygen balance during the upstream steelmaking process. We originally wanted to control oxygen consumption, so we should try to solve this problem in the upstream stage."

"What if it can't be controlled?" Although it is indeed possible to control the oxygen content to a very low level through process improvements and automatic control, no technical means is foolproof.

Gao Zhendong laughed: "Simple, just don't bother. Install an oxygen content sensor on the exhaust gas collection side. If the oxygen content exceeds the limit, just abandon the recycling and burn it."

I never expected that Chief Engineer Gao could be so frugal when it comes to saving money, but when it comes to being generous, he's absolutely uncompromising.

But thinking about it from his perspective, the suggestion is indeed very good.

As long as the upstream steelmaking process is well controlled, it is highly likely that the oxygen content in the exhaust gas will be kept within an acceptable range. Since it is highly likely, there is no need to worry about deoxygenation during the downstream recovery process.

Why bother removing anything? If it's too high, just let it go.

"Then what's left is mainly dust..." As for other things, the comrades didn't mention them much.

Even if they're filled with protective gases—guess why they're called protective gases in an oxygen-filled environment? Because they're inert. Argon, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, etc., are completely out of the question. They're only considered for recycling at other stages if they have recycling value.

After careful analysis, aside from the structure of the recycling device, the team was pleasantly surprised to discover that there was only one major problem—how to remove the dust from the exhaust gas. Moreover, this dust, once collected, has significant uses. As we all know, steel slag from steel mills is a resource, and this extremely fine dust containing various raw materials is even more valuable. Collecting this dust effectively would be a win-win situation.

After listening to his comrades, Gao Zhendong began drawing on the blackboard.

It's starting! I never expected that Chief Engineer Gao had even considered the structure of the recycling system.

The chalk swished across the blackboard, and a structural diagram of a recycling device began to appear. It wasn't detailed enough to be usable immediately, but following the diagram would be no problem.

What Gao Zhendong drew on the blackboard was a wet dust removal device specifically designed for converter gas recovery that we imported from the Japanese in the 80s. It was quite effective and technically simpler than the dry method developed by Hanslao. As a result, it developed rapidly after its introduction. We made many improvements and it quickly gained widespread and mature application. This was the technology that Gao Zhendong extracted from the system.

Compared to dry electrostatic precipitators, wet electrostatic precipitators are more suitable for our current situation.

As Gao Zhendong drew, he explained: "The principle of this method is very simple. To put it bluntly, it is to spray water into the exhaust gas and use the water to absorb the dust in the exhaust gas. It's the same as sweeping or spraying water to suppress dust during blasting. It's very simple, right?"

The comrades felt a bit of a headache listening to this, but they didn't know what to say.

The simplicity of a principle and the simplicity of its implementation are often two different things. A thing that is simple in principle often faces very serious practical engineering difficulties when it is put into practice. For example, a fusion bomb is simply a fission bomb that ignites fusion materials, which sounds quite simple.

This might be easy for you, Chief Engineer Gao, but it's not necessarily so for us.

Looking at the structural diagram drawn by Gao Zhendong, the chief engineer of Jinggang Plant said, "Chief Engineer Gao, this process is theoretically sound, but because the flue gas pressure is constantly changing, the velocity and flow rate of the exhaust gas passing through the water spray dust removal section are also constantly changing, making it difficult to adjust the appropriate water supply." Plant Manager Fan said, "Could we collect the flue gas pressure through an automatic control system and automatically adjust the water supply?"

The chief engineer shook his head: "I think it's difficult."

The accuracy and speed of automatic control systems have upper limits, and gaseous fluids are among the most difficult objects to calculate and control.

Upon hearing his words, Gao Zhendong drew a few more heavy strokes on the blackboard.

As expected, Chief Engineer Gao had already planned ahead, which put the comrades at ease.

Gao Zhendong pointed to an oval-shaped object he had added to the dust removal section and said, "We don't control the water supply; we control the pressure difference and resistance! By reversing this, we can use the exhaust gas pressure to adapt to the water supply, which makes things much easier."

The colleagues at Beijing Steel Plant were somewhat puzzled: "Chief Engineer Gao, isn't this still about controlling fluid-related objects? Isn't it pretty much the same thing?"

Gao Zhendong shook his head: "No, we can use physical principles to control micro-pressure difference and resistance loss, which is much simpler to control. For example, by using this elliptical flap adjustable control device, two stages can be connected in series to achieve a very good dust removal effect."

What he drew on the blackboard was a device called a Venturi tube, which is widely used in gas recovery systems.

This is a technology that would be very difficult to come up with if you didn't ask, but once you break through the barrier, the principle behind it is actually not that difficult.

As they listened to Gao Zhendong's explanation, the comrades couldn't help but admire Chief Engineer Gao's ability. He always managed to solve some of the problems that needed to be solved using relatively simple, low-cost methods with low core technical difficulty.

"Hey, that's brilliant! The pressure difference and resistance at this location are indeed under control. All we need to do is spray water from both sides at different heights."

"Yes, yes, yes, by adding a dehydrator here, the dust can be sent away directly, and the water extracted can be recycled, which greatly reduces the water consumption of the dust removal device."

"This gas can be stored and used directly for heating in our self-owned power plant, boilers, and smelting process, which can save a lot of fuel."

"..."

After listening to his comrades' words, Gao Zhendong smiled and said, "As for how to use it, I don't know much about it. You are the experts in this field, so you can handle it."

Gao Zhendong was genuinely less familiar with this than his colleagues at the Beijing Steel Plant, but to them, it made their teeth itch.

Chief Engineer Gao is good in every way, except that his occasional remarks make his colleagues feel uncomfortable, but he himself is completely unaware of it.

Factory Director Fan barely managed to suppress the urge to complain and smiled at Gao Zhendong, saying, "Chief Engineer Gao, let's get these two things done as soon as possible and strive to bring our latest generation of top-and-bottom combined blowing negative energy converter to market as soon as possible."

Upon hearing this, Gao Zhendong shook his head and laughed, "Don't put the two technologies together. Start separate projects and develop them separately. These two technologies don't have any necessary connection, so there's no need to link them together. Doing so might actually hinder each other. Separate the two projects, and whichever comes out first should be promoted on a large scale first. Understand?"

Factory Director Fan was overjoyed upon hearing this: "Oh, Chief Engineer Gao, you have such a good grasp of the pace of scientific research. We couldn't be happier with that."

Even disregarding the reasons Gao Zhendong mentioned, they would prefer to separate the two projects, as this would create more opportunities to assign tasks. Compared to the massive size of the Beijing Steel Plant, there were never enough projects, which would be detrimental to the evaluation and awards of their colleagues.

Gao Zhendong nodded: "That's good. Then I'll have to trouble you with the rest. It's kind of embarrassing that you have to run around like crazy while I just talk to you."

"Chief Engineer Gao, what are you saying? We'd love to have as much of this kind of errand-running work as possible." Director Fan's words were not just polite talk. Everyone in the entire 17th Ministry of Machine Building knew that anyone who could participate in the project of the Third Rolling Mill's Third Branch Plant would be guaranteed a promotion in their technical rating within three years.

If you're lucky, you might even get a small chance to make an appearance in the ministry.

Those with even better luck might even leave their names in books, although it's highly likely that only professional books will do, and it won't reach the level of "being remembered in history." But that's already quite remarkable. Comrades, we're not picky; having something is good enough.

After seeing off his jubilant colleagues from Jinggang Plant, Gao Zhendong returned to his office, turned on his computer, and continued his work.
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In a city in the Central Plains that would later become famous for its diesel engines, a diesel engine, adorned with red ribbons and decorated with colorful decorations, was loaded onto a truck amidst the deafening sound of gongs and drums, and slowly drove away from its place of origin amidst the cheers and congratulations of its comrades.

A group of comrades at the entrance of the diesel engine factory looked at the back of this machine, and tears welled up in their eyes.

"This high-power marine diesel engine has finally been digested. If it hadn't been, the comrades at the major shipyards would have been anxious to death. The Gauls' technology is quite advanced, and the difficulty is considerable. If it weren't for the availability of domestic materials, I really don't know when we would have been able to finish it." It was clear from the conversation that this person was in charge of digesting the diesel engine technology, and the subject of digestion was the marine diesel engine that had been exchanged from Gaul.

These diesel engines were specifically requested by Gao Zhendong at the time, and it proved to be timely and prescient, as the construction of many new ship models was waiting for them. Fortunately, the new ships were also under construction or in the design process, so things weren't delayed too much.

"You've been very fast, and your assimilation efficiency is very high. You haven't encountered the common problem of core parameters being compromised in imitation work, which is already quite remarkable." The comrade who offered words of comfort was clearly not from their factory: "I've inspected many projects, and I've rarely had one inspected so smoothly. This shows that your foundation is very solid and your technology has been thoroughly assimilated."

"Thank you, thank you, hahaha..." The comrade in charge of the ship's fuel was quite pleased. His efforts and achievements had been highly recognized and valued by his colleagues, which would make anyone happy. However, his mind was clearly no longer on the model that had been sent away: "You flatter me, you flatter me. Actually, we have only solved the problem of whether or not we have it. Next, the most important task is to focus on improvement and optimization."

Speaking of this, the comrade who comforted him had something to say. He hadn't been able to say anything during the inspection, fearing it would affect the acceptance of their imitation ship fuel. Now, he finally had nothing to worry about.

(End of this chapter)