Chapter 492 Golden Finger

"Using the blast furnace method for smelting, the temperature is higher than before, and the iron output is greatly increased." Yan Lide led everyone back to the smelting site.

"It's just that the blast furnace smelting temperature is unstable. The bellows blow air and the temperature rises, while the bellows exhaust temperature drops. It can't reach a stable state, and the iron output can't meet expectations."

Standing far away, Li Chengqian and his companions, who were dressed in thick robes, felt the burning heat on their faces and broke out in sweat.

Especially the chubby little Li Tai, beads of sweat rolled down his forehead.

Su Ying wiped the sweat from her forehead and observed the color of the firelight coming through the furnace door. The golden and golden-orange lights alternated.

Golden orange means the temperature is 1200 degrees, golden yellow is about 1300 degrees, and the iron-making blast furnace should reach 1400 degrees.

Otherwise, too low a temperature will cause the speed to slow down and affect production efficiency.

Excessively high temperatures may damage the furnace lining and increase energy consumption.

"This is actually not difficult. Just open another air vent and let the two blowers blow air alternately, and the problem will be solved." Su Ying felt like she was getting soaked.

Fortunately, I don’t wear makeup, otherwise my face would be covered in makeup.

"?" Yan Lide looked at Su Ying blankly. Yes, why didn't she think of such a simple method?

The direction was wrong from the beginning. We always wanted to build a blower with stronger wind power, but the blower could not avoid the back-pull and air extraction link.

According to Su Ying, adding one more blower and blowing air alternately can keep the temperature inside the furnace stable.

Alas, it’s better to have a new brain!

"This smelting site is so hot!" Li Tai was sweating profusely, as if he had just been pulled out of the water. He pulled open his collar to breathe without caring about his image.

"Your Highness the Crown Prince and Your Highness the Fourth Prince, you go out first. Be careful not to get your backs wet. The sudden change of temperature can cause you to catch a cold." Su Ying saw that everyone's faces were flushed.

The craftsmen were only wearing cowhide pants, but they were still sweating profusely.

These princes and nobles are wearing thick cotton clothes and fox fur coats. It would be strange if they didn't die of heat.

"No need! Now that I'm here, I might as well learn!" The little chubby boy began to untie his fox fur coat and take off his cotton jacket, wiping the sweat off his face and saying, "Finally, I feel relaxed!"

Li Chengqian was not a fool, so he also took off the burden on his body.

Prince of Lu Li Yuanchang and the second son of the Du family, Du He, followed suit.

Only Su Ying could pull open the collar and take off the hood, nothing more could be done.

"How do you judge the temperature?" Li Tai saw the craftsmen staring at the crack in the furnace door from time to time.

"Your Highness, the craftsmen observe the color of the flame to determine whether the temperature inside the furnace is sufficient." Yan Lide raised his head and glanced at Li Tai. The Fourth Prince was observing very carefully.

"Your Highness, please pay attention. The flame keeps alternating between golden yellow and golden orange, which means the temperature inside the furnace is a little off."

Li Tai looked carefully at the flames in the furnace and saw that there were indeed two kinds of flames alternating in color as the blower blew air.

"What color would achieve the ideal state?" Li Tai asked again.

"Your Highness, when the flames turn golden white!" Yan Lide replied.

"Master Su, is that so?" Li Tai asked Su Ying again.

"Yes!" Su Ying's face flushed red, and she was sweating profusely. Her official boots were soaked with sweat.

"Lord Yan, iron smelting like this consumes a lot of materials every day, right? How much iron is produced?" Su Ying felt like she was going to faint from the heat.

"Alas! Who says it isn't true? The surrounding mountains have been completely deforested, and the daily firewood supply cannot meet the demand!

The iron output is much higher than the previous smelting method. But it still can't meet the supply of military equipment! "

This was the greatest pressure Yan Lide faced as a young supervisor.

"Master Yan, next time, add a certain proportion of coke and lime to the ingredients. Lime can also be replaced with silica or magnesia. This will speed up the iron production and significantly shorten the iron smelting time."

Su Ying thought of catalysts in chemistry.

Catalytic iron smelting is an indispensable process in modern iron smelting technology that appeared in the West in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Catalysts achieve ironmaking through chemical reactions such as adsorption, diffusion and reduction.

The main component of lime is calcium oxide, the main component of silica is silicon dioxide, and magnesia is an aluminum-containing mineral whose main component is aluminum oxide.

While promoting the reduction of iron ore, it can also absorb impurities such as sulfur and phosphorus in the furnace and improve the quality of slag.

"How did Lord Su come up with this idea?" Yan Lide felt strange. The craftsmen here had been making iron for generations, but they had never thought of it.

"Uh, Lord Yan, have you ever heard how Moye forges the sword?" Su Ying asked.

"I've heard that Moye cut off her hair and nails, threw them into a furnace, and had three hundred boys and girls fill bags with charcoal. The gold and iron became moist, and she then made a sword!"

Yan Lide thought about it, then realized, "Could it be that the lime, silica, and bitter earth that Master Su mentioned are similar to Moye's hair-cutting and claw-snipping methods?"

"That's right!" Su Ying nodded.

"Then what is coke?" Yan Lide felt that he had made a fortune today. A great man came and opened a skylight for him.

"Coke is obtained by dry distilling coal at high temperatures, and the flame is orange-red during production.

This material can provide sufficiently high temperature for iron smelting, saving a lot of firewood consumption.

Coke also acts as a skeleton in the furnace, supporting the ironmaking raw materials, ensuring the permeability of the coal gas, and maintaining smooth air flow in the blast furnace.

Coke is crucial because it extracts the iron from the iron ore; at the same time, the carbon in the coke penetrates into the pig iron, determining the next step in making steel."

Su Ying explained that the carbon content determines the different properties of iron and steel.

"Could what Lord Su said be a new smelting method?" Yan Lide's heart was pounding. The surprise came too suddenly.

"That's about right! I only provide ideas, and you need to figure out the details yourself!

In addition, by using this method to smelt iron, Lord Yan can build a steelmaking furnace next to the blast furnace.

The molten iron from the blast furnace flows directly into the steelmaking furnace, saving time, effort, and fuel, and increasing productivity!

Su Ying did not forget to give another surprise.

"Thank you, Lord Su!" Yan Lide was extremely excited.

At this time, steelmaking involves remelting the cooled iron blocks and then heating them to a white-blue flame for forging.

The process consumes a lot of manpower and takes a long time, and the purity is not high, so the steel produced is not ideal.

Lord Xiao Su’s suggestion to directly put the molten iron into the steelmaking furnace for smelting is truly amazing!

I was so excited that I wanted to make a steel furnace right away and start experimenting with it.

"Lord Yan, you're too polite!" Su Ying's back was soaked, and she walked out of the smelting plant. If she didn't leave now, she would really get heatstroke.

Yan Lide followed diligently behind, pulling his robe to fan Su Ying.

This is not a solution to the problem at all, it is simply a golden finger. With a wave of the hand, the smelting technology of the Tang Dynasty directly soared into the high-tech era.

Our ancestors’ smelting technology is really amazing!

Blast furnaces for smelting require refractory materials. The larger and higher the temperature of the blast furnace, the more refractory the materials required, and the greater the weight the ground has to bear.

Our iron smelting blast furnaces in the Han Dynasty could weigh up to one or two hundred tons!

Now that Su Ying has added modern smelting technology, won’t the quality and output of steel soar?

"Master Yan, please call me when you do the experiment. I want to witness it!"

Li Tai didn't expect that smelting could be so magical. He was so excited that he wanted to take off his clothes and join the battle himself.

"Yes, Your Highness!" Yan Lide bowed.

"If I have time, I will come and have a look!" Li Chengqian was reserved.

"Yes, Your Highness!" Yan Lide accepted it all.