Around 6 p.m.

After a hurried dinner and thanking Master Myris for his generosity, Todd took a few sheets of white paper, a set of rulers, a few charcoal pencils, and half a candle from the classroom and buried himself in his room to begin the work he had been best at in his previous life.

The design of chemical experiments and their practical industrial applications.

In the afternoon, by observing the waste residue from silver ore refining and consulting with the craftsman Aiden, Todd had a plan for the work ahead.

The North Stone Mine mined and smelted silver ore. Although it used the "ash-blowing silver refining method," the royal craftsmen's understanding of mineral elements and chemical reactions was still at a rudimentary stage. Only about 60% of the silver was extracted from the ore, and about 30% of the silver was lost in the slag and sent to the San Sidlow Monastery as garbage.

Why does this kind of loss occur?

This is mainly due to three chemical substances: bismuth (Bi, atomic number 83), tellurium (Te, atomic number 52), and lead oxide (PbO).

Bismuth can form a eutectic with silver containing 97.5% low melting point (262℃), or it can form a solid solution with silver containing 5% bismuth. During the ash blowing process, bismuth is always co-aggregated with silver in the lead liquid. Only after the first stage of ash blowing is completed can the silver liquid be extracted and the bismuth oxidized into bismuth trioxide and put into the slag.

As for tellurium, due to its strong affinity for silver and gold, it is not easily oxidized and precipitated during the ash blowing process. To remove tellurium, in late 16th-century Europe, lead-rich material was typically added to the molten pool after bismuth removal to reduce the tellurium concentration before continuing ash blowing. This was essentially a third, extended stage of the process. After two more additions of lead and ash blowing, about one-third of the tellurium would oxidize and volatilize, two-thirds would oxidize and enter the slag, and the remaining trace amounts of tellurium would remain in the molten silver.

Finally, there's lead oxide. PbO solution can also dissolve small amounts of silver (according to the Kolmeyer experiment, 3% silver can dissolve in PbO) and silver monoxide (silver monoxide is unstable and completely dissociates at 150°C. However, it becomes quite stable when alloyed with PbO), thus reducing the silver recovery rate. But in the extended second and third stages, silver can be further extracted, reducing the losses caused by lead oxide.

That's roughly the principle.

The key is how to utilize the existing equipment and materials to carry out secondary and tertiary refining of silver mine waste.

Forget about the electric furnace ash blowing method of the early 19th century.

The wheel-blowing method used in the late 17th and early 18th centuries could not achieve this at all.

Even the high-cylinder ash-blowing furnace of the mid-16th century would be difficult to achieve under today's conditions.

After comparison, only the early covered ash blowing furnace from the late 13th and early 14th centuries can be barely reproduced.

While recalling the shape of the furnace in his mind, he used a charcoal pencil and ruler to draw the refining steps and the improvement of the tools on white paper.

Todd, engrossed in his research, quickly lost track of time.

Finally, the candle, burned to its last flame, reminded him of his schedule.

Looking at the half-finished blueprints in the darkness, Todd rubbed his forehead in frustration. This feeling of being forced to stop halfway through a task was the most unbearable for him.

Looking through the bricks and tiles overhead, he gazed at the bright moon hanging high in the sky, sighed, and had no choice but to climb into bed and go to sleep.

The next morning.

The robin's bell became the sound he least wanted to hear.

But he also knew that if he missed the morning class, it would not only arouse unnecessary suspicion from others, but might even make it impossible for him to stay here any longer.

Forcing himself to stay awake, Todd put on his monk's robes, rubbed his sore eyes, and carefully folded the blueprints on the table, placing them under the bed. Although the annotations on the blueprints were in Chinese, and he doubted anyone had ever seen the chemical elements and equations before, it was always better to be cautious with such things.

Hiding in a corner, yawning, and reciting the morning lessons along with the others, the boy had to rush to Master Myris to learn new lessons.

Grammar, rhetoric, logic, arithmetic, and geometry were tolerable for him, but music and astronomy were truly killing him.

Music is relatively better, firstly because he doesn't know it, and secondly because he's not interested in it, so he just goes through the motions in class.

Astronomy is the biggest problem.

It's unrealistic to expect a soul shaped by modern civilization to accept an education in church astronomy, especially one who is a teacher with a research background.

While one's mind is clearly screaming "utter nonsense, utter rubbish!", one's mouth is still shouting "So that's how it is!" and "I've learned something!"

During the lesson, perhaps noticing that Todd was not very interested and was in low spirits, Master Myris unusually interrupted the class and started talking to the student opposite him.

"You are the most talented student I have ever seen."

Hearing the old man sitting opposite him immediately flatter him, Todd felt a chill run down his spine and assumed a listening posture.

"There is no doubt that the Heavenly Father has given you protection and blessings. If you calm your mind and cultivate yourself diligently, you may become the first among us to come close to being a sage."

The boy kept his head down, vaguely sensing that the hat on his head would soon burst through the roof and point to the sky.

"but……"

Todd pursed his lips, touched the bridge of his nose with his finger, and thought to himself, "Sure enough, there's a but."

"Do not waste your time and energy on those side paths."

Edgar, you big mouth!

Todd thought to himself: I knew it. The reason we're talking about these nonsensical topics today must be because Edgar, that rascal, reported yesterday's events to Master Myris.

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