Siheyuan: I eat melons while doing scientific research

Chapter 1463 Old Pan Getting Better and Better (4k)

This shows that both are difficult, but para-aramid is even more difficult.

However, Gao Zhendong didn't think so: "It's not urgent, it's not urgent, we're just racing against time."

The main reason is that, for him, the difficulty of both is the same, so as long as there are enough people, he might as well do both. The main reason is that he is reluctant to give up either one.

One is a soldier protecting the city, and the other is a firefighter protecting the city; they are both equally dear to each other.

Furthermore, there is overlap between the two. For example, soldiers on warships may not need bulletproof protection, but they do need fire protection.

Para-aramid can also withstand high temperatures, but its stability is somewhat worse than that of meta-aramid. Meta-aramid is not afraid of washing, while para-aramid is slightly inferior in this respect.

Moreover, meta-aramid is more comfortable to wear than para-aramid, making it more comfortable for those who don't need bulletproof protection.

Given these differences, Gao Zhendong, having the opportunity, naturally wanted to seize both opportunities and make them equally successful.

General Manager Wei and Engineer Pan exchanged a glance. Although they were somewhat worried, a look of joy visibly crept onto their faces.

For them, the more the better. It's rare to find colleagues outside the field who can contribute technology and resources to complete tasks for their own departments, while they only need to provide manpower. Such opportunities are few and far between.

General Manager Wei chuckled and said, "Alright, Committee Member Gao, since you have made arrangements, we'll follow suit and won't lag behind."

Oh, sounds like we're practically from the same hometown?
Gao Zhendong smiled and said, "Alright, now that we've reached a consensus, let's get started."

“Committee Member Gao, should we still follow the same approach as with carbon fiber, where you provide the technology and we explore and learn as we go?” Engineer Pan is familiar with this process.

Gao Zhendong shook his head: "No, this time, I'll just provide the technology and processes directly, and you'll be responsible for implementing them."

What? Engineer Pan was a little confused when he heard Gao Zhendong's arrangement.

Even with carbon fiber, we're still somewhat in the exploratory stage, so why did we rush into aramid fiber? Committee Member Gao...
Seeing his expression, Gao Zhendong knew his concerns: "Don't worry, while my comrades are working hard on the raw materials and precursors for carbon fiber, I have also used their achievements to think about the production of aramid fiber. I am quite confident in my ability to do so."

This sounds novel. We've seen assembly lines in production, but it's quite rare to see one in research as well, especially for a research topic that has a blank scope.

Committee Member Gao first developed the theory and some practical aspects of carbon fiber, and then handed it over to his colleagues for implementation and refinement. At the same time, he used the time he had freed up to combine his colleagues' gains and experiences in the process of mass production of carbon fiber, and incidentally developed aramid fiber as well.

This process sounds fantastical, but judging from Committee Member Gao's attitude and confidence, it seems to be true.

After all, countless facts have shown that his confidence is often well-founded and based on solid evidence.

"Then we'll listen attentively." President Wei didn't think too much about it; he figured he'd know once he saw it.

We may not be as good at cooking as Committee Member Gao, but we can still taste the food without any problem. As long as we see the actual results, we can roughly judge whether it is reliable or not.

"Alright, let's start with the easy ones and move on to the difficult ones, beginning with interstitial aramid..."

Gao Zhendong's words sounded unremarkable, but the two comrades took them to heart.

They even assessed the technical difficulty of the two types of aramid fibers. To say that he hadn't completed a relatively systematic study would be something neither of them would believe.

stable!
Gao Zhendong was completely unaware of this: "My idea is to use m-phenylenediamine and isophthaloyl chloride for low-temperature solution polymerization, using amides as polar organic solvents, to obtain poly(m-phenylenediamine isophthaloyl) polymer..."

This series of names, which sound repetitive but are actually different things, would probably have confused the two people in front of them from the very beginning if they weren't studying organic chemistry.

However, Gao Zhendong's clear statement, including the fact that even the individual candidates had been selected, reassured the two comrades even more. It seemed that Gao had truly made up his mind.

Polyamide sounds like a name, but it is actually a general term for a large class of organic compounds. To use a high school chemistry example, esters are also a general term for a class of organic compounds. Among them, ethyl acetate is explained more clearly in high school chemistry.

Different polyamide compounds have different monomers, offering a wide range of choices. The fact that Committee Member Gao was able to accurately select intermediate phenylenediamine and isophthaloyl chloride shows that without considerable research and effort, it would be impossible to select these two substances with such confidence.

In fact, Gao Zhendong did not conduct any research. The reason he chose these two materials was because the first type of meta-aramid fiber, aramid 1313, was made from these two materials.

However, neither of them were novices. Although they were still clueless about the choice of individual units, they could deduce many things after knowing about individual units, since many reactions had commonalities.

"Committee Member Gao, why not use interfacial polymerization instead of solution polymerization? Interfacial polymerization can produce polymers in powder form, which is also more convenient for subsequent operations."

"Under current technological conditions, interfacial polymerization is a discontinuous process, making it difficult to obtain a stable and consistent spinning solution," Gao Zhendong explained.

"Ah, I see. It's my fault. Actual production and laboratory testing have two different requirements. But in that case, wouldn't the polymerization produce a lot of hydrogen chloride? That would cause the polymer to degrade."

Although they don't yet understand the specific details and processes, once they know the monomers participating in the reaction, they can deduce that this is the inevitable result of the reaction. They even understand these things better than Gao Zhendong.

Gao Zhendong nodded: "Yes, so we need to use a neutralizing agent to neutralize this hydrogen chloride."

"If that's the case, salt will be generated, which will have an adverse effect on the ash content and insulation of the fiber, right?"

To neutralize hydrogen chloride, you should use a base. Acid-base neutralization produces salt, which is something even middle school students know.

This will lead to an increase in ash content, which will affect the strength, modulus, heat resistance and other properties of the final product.

Pan, who raised this question, felt that Gao's previous arrangements on carbon fiber were too scientific and reasonable. With his previous experience, he could now quickly identify the problems and consider solutions as soon as he heard Gao Zhendong's plan.

A solid foundation is essential.

"Yes, that's why it needs to be washed after spinning." Gao Zhendong replied without hesitation.

"If it has already reached the stage of spinning into yarn, then washing has limited effect on reducing ash content, right?"

Pan Gong went berserk.

At this point, only Engineer Pan was truly involved. He had followed the entire process from raw carbon fiber solution to raw fiber, and was very familiar with it. On the other hand, the chief engineer had little experience in this area and could only listen to what they had to say.

After saying that, Engineer Pan felt a little embarrassed. Why did it feel like he was teaching his apprentice to beat up his master?

Gao Zhendong, however, was completely oblivious. "Good question!" he thought. "The more questions Engineer Pan asked about this unfamiliar product, the more it proved how solid the foundation Gao Zhendong had laid for them." He laughed, "Yes, that's right. So we shouldn't just mix everything up, and we need to be fast."

Isn't this just muddling through? I never thought you could muddle through in the chemical industry.

"Huh? What's the reasoning behind this, Committee Member Gao?"

For Engineer Pan, these very specific and in-depth details were beyond his capabilities, as he was new to this area and was already very satisfied with his performance.

"If only part of the hydrogen chloride is neutralized, will less salt be produced?"

"Yes, that settles it. That way, there will be less ash, simple and direct. Moreover, neutralizing some of the hydrogen chloride and reducing the hydrogen chloride concentration will have a significant impact on the rate of the degradation reaction." As we all know, the reaction requires concentration, and even too high or too low concentrations will not work. Disrupting this concentration match will greatly affect the degradation reaction.

Upon hearing this, Engineer Pan was filled with admiration for Gao Zhendong's problem-solving approach. He understood the importance of addressing only a certain degree of trouble and suppressing the problem to a limited extent.

"But won't it still degrade?" But the problem is not completely solved.

"Yes, that brings us to the second requirement I just mentioned: speed things up, so fast that the hydrogen chloride can't react in time."

"How...how fast is that?" I really couldn't keep up with Committee Member Gao's wildly imaginative thinking.

"It's very simple. Just place the spinning equipment right next to the neutralization equipment, and after neutralization, start spinning immediately at the fastest speed and the closest distance..."

The other comrades were dumbfounded. This... it really was simple, so simple that it was crude. But could this be useful?

On the contrary, Engineer Pan listened to this because he had the most experience in this field.

"Well... you know what, if you're close enough, it really can solve the problem..." That's the difference between engineering and theory.

Theory: It will definitely degrade.

In reality: If I'm fast enough, it won't have time to degrade.

Now, when it comes to purely theoretical issues, Mr. Wei has the right to speak: "But even so, hydrogen chloride will still be in the fiber, and it will eventually be produced during degradation, right?"

No matter how slow the reaction is, as long as hydrogen chloride is present, the reaction will eventually occur.

Gao Zhendong laughed: "No, it's too late. Engineer Pan, think back to the diffusion theory I taught you back then..."

Oh no! The exam is starting!
Under the curious gazes of his colleagues, Engineer Pan frowned and scribbled in his notebook for a long time before slapping his forehead: "That's right, hydrogen chloride really has no chance! Under the low-temperature coagulation bath, the nascent filaments coagulate slowly, and the fibers are loose and uniform. According to the diffusion theory, the hydrogen chloride inside can easily penetrate into the coagulation bath, removing a considerable portion of it. After washing it twice with water, it basically has no chance at all! Brilliant! Brilliant!"

Now, even the previous low-temperature polymerization echoes this.

Pan knew that if he hadn't learned about diffusion-related knowledge and gained practical experience beforehand, he probably wouldn't have thought of taking this step.

No wonder Committee Member Gao took these things so seriously and even gave himself a special reminder.

The other colleagues looked at Engineer Pan with envy. Working on a project with a big shot like this, they thought, was it really that great? They not only got recognition, but also learned technical skills, and even had follow-up projects to work on.

General Manager Wei felt incredibly lucky. Fortunately, the manpower was organized strictly according to Committee Member Gao's arrangements. Now it seems that if it weren't for this, the project might have been in serious jeopardy.

With the overall plan explained, Gao Zhendong began to discuss the details. At this point, many of the achievements in carbon fiber could be directly applied here, especially the spinning process. Others might not know, but Comrade Pan was completely at ease and learned it very quickly.

No wonder Committee Member Gao was confident enough to say that meta-aramid and para-aramid were progressing in tandem; it turns out that he had already laid most of the foundational work for aramid fibers when he was working on carbon fiber.

I have to admit it!

However, there are some new things inside.

"Committee Member Gao, why not use a neutralization vessel for this part of the neutralization process?"

"Saving money..." Gao Zhendong's answer was simple and direct: "Here, we use a precise metering device to administer the drug, and a twin-screw extruder is used to allow the neutralizing agent and polymer to react inside the twin-screw extruder. It's like the twin-screw extruder serves two purposes. Anyway, it's not a complete neutralization, but the reaction is sufficient in the twin-screw extruder." Gao Zhendong smiled.

Well, when it comes to saving money, Committee Member Gao can be quite stingy. But being able to save money while still meeting requirements is a remarkable skill.

Why does a twin-screw extruder need this complex segmented jacket?

"To ensure that the temperature does not exceed the ideal range, water is passed through the first half to absorb heat, and constant-temperature water is passed through the second half to maintain the temperature. In this way, the reaction temperature is always relatively ideal," Gao Zhendong said with a smile.

When it comes to paying the price, he is not stingy at all.

At this point, Gao Zhendong added, "Generally speaking, cost saving should start with saving production costs; equipment costs are not the most important factor."

For mass-produced products, production costs are the most critical factor, while equipment costs are sometimes less important. When the two conflict, cost-saving measures are generally preferred.

General Manager Wei nodded repeatedly, explaining the difference between theoretical research and engineering practice.

"Committee Member Gao, I didn't expect you to be so familiar with the twin-screw extruder that we've only developed a few years ago." He had nothing to say but admiration and surprise for Gao Zhendong's broad and deep knowledge.

Gao Zhendong laughed: "I'm definitely familiar with this stuff, hahaha."

As for why he was familiar with it, he didn't elaborate, mainly because it was difficult to explain. He was the one who taught the colleagues in the Applied Chemistry Department how to make it.

Despite covering a lot of ground, it didn't take much time; the whole thing about meta-aramid only took half a day.

Because there were no new or unfamiliar theories or knowledge, only familiar and experienced things, at least for Engineer Pan.

For him, things are starting to look pretty good.

He was even confident that, despite the much later start, aramid fiber could catch up with carbon fiber, at least in a similar fashion.

(End of this chapter)