Some time ago, Cheng Wanwan has been studying the crude glycerin extraction process.
Some modern extraction methods require the synthesis of various chemical elements. The operation here is relatively complicated. She read many books before she found a method suitable for this era.
The by-products of animal oil and vegetable oil soap production include glycerin, which is natural glycerin. The waste generally contains about 10% pure glycerin.
In other words, after the waste water in the entire warehouse is extracted, only one-tenth is left usable.
The tools for extracting glycerin were drawn by Cheng Wanwan himself and made by blacksmith Zhao in the village. From the appearance, it looks like a huge distiller with some other functions. The super large iron tool is placed in the house, which is very It's eye-catching.
In the past few days, Cheng Wanwan has been personally telling the workers how to operate, how to extract, and how to preserve.
This is only the first step. The second step is to add honey to glycerin, which can enhance the hydrating effect and moisturize.
The third step was packaging. She drew a picture and asked shopkeeper Yan to go to the kiln to make small white porcelain bottles. The bottles were also printed with patterns and four words: Zhao Family Dahe.
As soon as you see these four words, you know that it comes from the same manufacturer as soap.
While Cheng Wanwan was busy working non-stop, Wu Xiaochui came over to report: "Auntie, Master Wu is here. He said he has something to discuss with you."
She was a little surprised. Mr. Wu had been staying in the newly built office since he came to Dahe Village and rarely went out. Except for Ergou who came to her house on their wedding day, he had never had any contact with her again. She really I can't think of anything that Master Wu came to discuss with her.
She washed her hands and returned to the yard.
Mr. Wu was sitting at the stone table in the courtyard drinking tea.
"I've met Lord Wu." Cheng Wanwan walked in and bowed as usual, "I wonder why Lord Wu came here?"
Mr. Wu picked up an iron object at his feet and said with a smile: "This is the briquette making machine improved by the Ministry of Industry. How about Suiru people taking a look at it?"
Cheng Wanwan took the thing and looked at it carefully. It was indeed something produced by the imperial court. It was particularly exquisite. The original square hole was changed into a round hole. The push and pull were very smooth and there was no jamming at all. Looking carefully, the moving parts seemed to be made of steel. Products, in this era, steel was more valuable than iron, and it was a product controlled by the imperial court. Ordinary people had no access to it. The fact that steel could be used in the coal industry showed that the imperial court valued this industry.
She praised: "After the improvement, the efficiency of coal production will be improved, and the workers will be much more relaxed."
"I came here today on a commission from the Ministry of Industry. They hope that people from Suiru can draw more similar drawings." Mr. Wu sighed, "In the past, coal could only be used for the smelting of large vessels for the court. With honeycomb briquettes, the common people can finally You can also use something with great heat and power, but it’s still not enough.”
Cheng Wanwan understood what the Ministry of Industry meant, but limited by the technology of the times, there was only so much she could do.
For now, there is one more important thing.
She spoke slowly: "I have read a lot of books about coal these days. It is recorded in the book that hundreds of large and small coal mountains have been discovered in the fourteen states of the North, and almost every household of the local people has received coal mountains. According to statistics in the book, a coal mountain landslide or explosion occurs on average every ten days in the North. The number of deaths at one time is more than two hundred, and many families are torn apart..."
Mentioning this matter, Mr. Wu sighed feebly.
He is also from the north, and there are people in the clan who work in the coal mountains. Last year, a distant cousin of his encountered a coal mine landslide. Although he was rescued, he became a lame. Now he has problems with food and clothing, and he depends entirely on the clan. Relief.
There are many, many more people like his cousin.
He tentatively spoke: "When Sui Ruren mentioned this matter, do you have any good suggestions?"
During this period, Cheng Wanwan did read a lot of books on coal mine safety. Some of the modern ones were high-tech and could not be applied in this era. Later, she read a lot of coal mine management records from the Ming and Qing dynasties, which were much better than those from the Tang and Song dynasties. The era has advanced a lot, but I don’t know what stage this era is currently at.
She said slowly: "Let's go take a look at the mine first."
Mr. Wu was delighted.
Since Sui Ruren mentioned this matter, he has a charter in mind.
If we can figure out a way to avoid coal mine collapse and explosion, it will benefit many people. This is an immeasurable merit.
He immediately stood up and led the way.
After walking along this main road and taking a cup of tea, we arrived at the Meishan Office.
This is the first time Cheng Wanwan has come here since the office was built. The office looks similar to a county government office. Entering through the gate is where Mr. Wu handles official business. There are many government officials busy inside.
A small door is opened on the southeast side of the yard. After passing through the small door, you will arrive directly below the coal mountain. A ladder is built here. If you climb up the ladder, you can see the coal mine.
"The mine tunnel was built a hundred feet down, and a lot of underground water came out. It needs to be drained first before we can arrange for people to go down to dig coal." Mr. Wu introduced, "There are eight people at the bottom responsible for carrying water, and two people above are arranged to pull the water. Come up..."
Cheng Wanwan looked at these tools carefully.
She had read in a book that in ancient coal mines, half of the people were usually assigned to drain water, and rollers, also known as roller skating in later generations, were installed above the shaft, which could easily transport groundwater up. However, as a coal mine develops, the amount of groundwater increases. More and more, almost half of the ancient coal mines were abandoned due to drainage problems.
There is another problem, ventilation. In ancient times, there was no electricity, so it was impossible to install a ventilation system, which led to the accumulation of gas in mines and frequent explosions.
It is written in the book that the number of explosion accidents in this dynasty is three times that of landslide accidents, which shows how poor the ventilation is.
Maybe the drainage work hadn't been completed yet, Cheng Wanwan didn't see any ventilation measures, so she asked.
Mr. Wu explained in detail: "Seeing if there are long bamboos that have been prepared over there, open up the middle, then connect the bamboos, and put them in vertically from the entrance. Someone will fan them underneath, and the turbid air in the mine will flow from the bamboos. Exhaust it..."
Cheng Wanwan asked: "Is this the only way to ventilate now?"
Mr. Wu nodded. This has been the case since ancient times. The Ministry of Works also thought of other methods, but they were difficult to implement.
"Why not build more mine roads." Cheng Wanwan said, "Dahe Village has southeast winds in summer and northwest winds in winter. Mining mines in the southeast and northwest winds of Meishan respectively. Opening them up can allow the air in the wells to circulate freely, which is better than bamboo. It’s thousands of times more efficient at removing stale gas.”
This method was summed up by ancient Chinese people after thousands of years of blood and tears. Obviously, this dynasty has not yet reached this stage of development.
It cannot be said that the gas can be completely drained, but at least it will be safer than now... I can only say that no matter what era, even in modern society with rapid development of science and technology, we often see news of accidents in coal mines... Coal benefits the country. It is impossible for the people not to mine. These dangers cannot be avoided in any case and can only reduce the probability of their occurrence.
Mr. Wu thought for a moment: "Opening another mine from the southeast to the northwest will probably cost a lot of manpower and material resources."
