Crusade against the Pope

Chapter 408 Metal Processing
All things are universally connected, and there is no entity that exists independently of everything else.

The naval battle that broke out at the mouth of the Nile was just the result of many causes.

Even though Gellis already possessed abilities beyond the reach of ordinary people, he could not make many things appear out of thin air in a single thought, nor could he create artillery out of thin air.

The birth of these military equipment still has to go back to their production workshops and to the hands of the masters who processed the weapons.

While the naval battle between Jerusalem and Egypt was in full swing, the island of Cyprus did not stop its work and wait for good news.

On the contrary, they are working overtime to expand production.

The metal processing industry in Cyprus is naturally based on Cyprus metal, that is, "copper".

Of course, considering the area of ​​Cyprus, copper is not the only mineral. You can still find some coal and iron ores.

However, compared with the output of copper, both coal and iron are more or less not enough.

In this case, the fuel needed for smelting metals could still be supplemented by charcoal, but iron ore would have to rely on the Venetians and be imported from Central Europe.

Compared with the expensive and high-quality wootzite, which is a natural magnetite mixed with aluminum, the texture of iron ore in Central Europe is not good enough. It is basically hematite or limonite, and only a very small part is magnetite.

Although they could also choose to purchase ready-made iron ingots directly from Italian merchants, the Cypriot craftsmen were troubled by the lack of uniformity in their craftsmanship.

Iron is not a simple thing. It took hundreds of years to distinguish the types of iron based on their carbon content.

For later generations, the carbon content below 0.5% is called wrought iron, 0.5% to 2% is called steel, and the content exceeding this ratio is called pig iron.

However, all three have a prerequisite - fewer impurities.

But unfortunately, this was difficult to achieve with the technology of the Middle Ages.

Blacksmiths in different regions will accumulate different experiences and produce iron ingots with very different properties.

If it is purchased without discrimination, it may be okay to use it to cast farm tools or cold weapons, but if it is used to produce artillery, the difference in performance will be enough to make people confused.

Therefore, it would be better to increase efforts, purchase more iron ore, and then load it all into the blast furnace in Cyprus, and then smelt it in one go to ensure that the overall quality of the iron in this furnace is uniform.

When the news of the naval battle at the mouth of the Nile came out, Gellis happened to be in Cyprus.

In the metal factory near Paphos Port, follow the craftsmen and process iron ore directly into wrought iron or steel.

In later generations, people with some knowledge of materials science will have some understanding of the properties of alloys or iron.

The melting point of pure iron is 1539 degrees Celsius, which was difficult to smelt directly in the early days of human history.

However, magnetite and some hematite are indeed prone to oxidation reaction under the action of carbon monoxide. Even the "stone" used to repair the stove may be reduced to sponge iron, or wrought iron, by chance.

This means that before humans obtained liquid iron, they had already obtained low-carbon wrought iron.

This principle was used by engineers in Jules Verne's novel "The Mysterious Island" to produce the earliest iron tools. It is actually quite simple, but the output is very low and there are many hybrids. It is called "block smelting method" or "low-temperature solid reduction method."

Western Europe's metal smelting technology has long remained at this stage, which means that although Europe has metal smelting technology, its output has actually been limited for a long time.

Now that Garys is here, we will naturally go a step further.

Relying on the rivers of Cyprus, Gellis led his team to build an iron smelting blast furnace in the early years. The principle of this blast furnace is actually not much different from those in the past. It also adds materials from the top and ventilates from the bottom.

But relatively speaking it is much taller.

The smallest of them is 4 meters high, and the one that Gellis is currently working on has been built to 6 meters.

The tall furnace body can accommodate more charcoal and iron ore, which allows carbon monoxide to have a longer reducing effect on the ore raw materials.

The continuous use of hydraulic blasting makes the temperature inside the furnace higher, making the carburization more obvious.

When iron changes from relatively pure wrought iron to a less pure iron-carbon alloy, its melting point will inevitably decrease due to the nature of the alloy.

When the carbon content reaches 2%, the melting point of iron drops from 1539 degrees to about 1146 degrees. In addition, the temperature in the furnace can be maintained at about 1200 degrees at this moment.

Then at this moment we can actually get liquid pig iron.

Since the iron was liquefied, workers could then let the hot iron flow out of the furnace and cast it into ingots.

In this case, the furnace itself does not need to be cooled. Just continue to add ore and carbon in the required amounts to continue smelting.

In terms of cost and efficiency in all aspects, this is quite affordable.

After obtaining pig iron ingots of uniform quality, the carbon content of the pig iron can be reduced through methods such as steelmaking, thereby obtaining steel or wrought iron.

The early method of directly smelting iron ore into wrought iron blocks was called the "one-step method", while the current iron smelting process used by Garys and others is called the "two-step method".

Compared with the former, the latter has many advantages in terms of ore utilization efficiency and fuel saving.

Watch as Garys, with his skill and courage, quickly completes the most dangerous step in blast furnace smelting and releases the molten iron in the furnace.

The master chef who was instructing at the side couldn't help but give a thumbs up, and couldn't suppress the smile on his face: "This is only your first time, and you are so fast, accurate, and steady, without spilling a single drop of molten iron. This is truly impressive."

Garys just smiled at this.

"Don't think I look like a scholar, but I'm quite strong. There's nothing much to say about this. When I was in Transjordan, I also learned some blacksmithing skills and hammered out a long sword."

But the master chef shook his head. Being a blacksmith was not the same as being a metal smelter like them.

The technological innovations in recent years have been earth-shaking for many blacksmiths.

Some blacksmiths who cannot keep up with technological changes can only make farm tools in the countryside all their lives if they are forced to do metal smelting.

A drop of molten iron splashing accidentally can burn through human bones.

It's okay if you drip it on the limbs, and generally it can be saved.

But if the internal organs are burned, then there will be no way to save the person even if we know the truth!

Well, this master chef did not know that the middle-aged man in front of him was the prophet he had in mind.

(End of this chapter)