Chapter 418 Ventilation Recommendations
For some time now, Cheng Wanwan has been researching crude glycerin extraction technology.
Some modern extraction methods require the synthesis of various chemical elements, which is quite complicated for her. She read many books before finding a method suitable for this era.
Glycerin is a byproduct of soap production from animal and vegetable oils. This glycerin is a natural product and typically contains about 10 percent pure glycerin in the waste.
In other words, after the wastewater from the entire warehouse is extracted, only one-tenth remains usable.
The tools for extracting glycerin were all designed by Cheng Wanwan herself and made by Zhao the blacksmith in the village. From the outside, they looked like a huge distiller, and also had some other functions. The oversized ironware was quite eye-catching when placed in the house.
In the past few days, Cheng Wanwan has been personally instructing the workers on how to operate, extract, and preserve the materials.
This is only the first step. The second step is to add honey to the glycerin, which enhances its moisturizing effect and helps retain moisture.
The third step was packaging. She drew up a design and had Manager Yan go to the kiln to make uniform small white porcelain bottles. The bottles were also printed with patterns and the four characters "Zhao's Great River" written on them.
Upon seeing these four characters, you know it comes from the same manufacturer as the soap.
While Cheng Wanwan was busy without stopping, Wu Xiaochui came over to report: "Auntie, Lord Wu is here. He says he has some things to discuss with you."
She was slightly surprised. Since arriving in Dahe Village, this Lord Wu had been staying in the newly built office and rarely went out. Apart from visiting her house on the day of Er Gou's wedding, he had never had any dealings with her. She really couldn't imagine what Lord Wu wanted to discuss with her.
She washed her hands and went back into the yard.
Lord Wu was sitting at the stone table in the courtyard, drinking tea.
"Greetings, Lord Wu." Cheng Wanwan entered and gave a polite bow. "May I ask what brings you here, Lord Wu?"
Lord Wu picked up an iron object at his feet and said with a smile, "This is the improved honeycomb briquette manufacturing machine from the Ministry of Works. What do you think, Madam Sui?"
Cheng Wanwan took the item and examined it carefully. It was indeed a product of the imperial court, and it was exceptionally exquisite. The original square hole had been changed to a round hole, and the push and pull were very smooth without any jamming. Upon closer inspection, the moving parts seemed to be made of steel. In this era, steel was more valuable than iron and was a controlled product of the imperial court. Ordinary people had no access to it at all. The fact that the coal industry could use steel was enough to show how much the imperial court valued this industry.
She praised, "The improvements will increase coal production efficiency and make things much easier for the workers."
"I am here today on behalf of the Ministry of Works. They hope that Lady Sui can draw more similar blueprints," Lord Wu sighed. "In the past, coal could only be used for smelting large vessels for the imperial court. With honeycomb briquettes, the common people can finally use something that generates heat and energy, but it is still not enough."
Cheng Wanwan understood the Ministry of Works' meaning, but limited by the technology of the time, this was all she could do.
Right now, there is something more important to do.
She began slowly, “Recently, I’ve read a lot of books about coal. The books record that hundreds and thousands of coal mines of varying sizes have been discovered in the fourteen northern states. Almost every household in the area has someone working on the coal mines. According to the books, on average, a coal mine collapse or explosion occurs in the north every ten days, with the deadliest incident resulting in over two hundred deaths and many families being torn apart…”
When this matter was brought up, Lord Wu sighed helplessly.
He is also from the north, and some of his relatives work in the coal mine. Last year, one of his distant cousins was caught in a coal mine collapse. Although he was rescued, he became a cripple and now struggles to make ends meet, relying entirely on the help of his clan.
There are many, many more people like his cousin.
He tentatively asked, "Does Madam Sui have any good suggestions for bringing this up?"
During this time, Cheng Wanwan did read a lot of books on coal mine safety. She read some modern ones, but they were all high-tech and couldn't be applied in this era. Later, she read a lot of coal mine management records from the Ming and Qing dynasties, which were much more advanced than those from the Tang and Song dynasties. She just didn't know which stage this era was currently in.
She said slowly, "Let's go up to the mine and take a look first."
Lord Wu was overjoyed.
Since Lady Sui brought up this matter, it means she already has a plan in mind.
If a way could be devised to prevent coal mine collapses and explosions, it would benefit countless people; such a meritorious act would be immeasurable.
He immediately got up and led the way.
After walking along this main road for about the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, you will arrive at the Meishan Office.
This was Cheng Wanwan's first visit since the office was built. The office looked similar to the county government office. Entering through the main gate, you would find the place where Lord Wu handled official business, with many yamen runners busy inside.
A small door opened on the southeast side of the courtyard. Passing through the small door, you would reach the bottom of the coal hill. A ladder had been built there. Climbing up the ladder, you could see the coal mine shaft.
"The mine tunnel has been built down a hundred feet, and a lot of groundwater has been extracted. We need to drain the water first before we can send people down to mine coal again," Lord Wu explained. "Eight people are responsible for carrying water down there, and two people are assigned to pull the water up from above..."
Cheng Wanwan examined the tools carefully.
She had read in a book that in ancient coal mines, half the workers were usually assigned to drainage. A pulley, which is similar to a roller skating rig in later times, was installed above the shaft to facilitate the transport of groundwater. However, as a coal mine developed, the amount of groundwater increased, and almost half of the ancient coal mines were abandoned due to drainage problems.
Another problem is ventilation. In ancient times, there was no electricity, so it was impossible to install ventilation systems, which led to the accumulation of gas in mines and frequent explosions.
The book states that explosions in this country outnumber landslides by three times, which shows how poor the ventilation is.
Perhaps the drainage work wasn't finished yet, because Cheng Wanwan didn't see any ventilation measures, so she asked a question.
Lord Wu explained in detail: "See those long bamboo poles that have been prepared over there? Hollow them out in the middle, then connect the bamboo poles together and put them in vertically from the entrance. Someone will fan the air from below, and the foul air in the mine will be expelled through the bamboo poles..."
Cheng Wanwan pressed further, "Is this the only way to ventilate the room right now?"
Lord Wu nodded. This has been the way to expel foul air since ancient times. The Ministry of Works has also considered other methods, but they are difficult to implement.
“Why not build more mine tunnels?” Cheng Wanwan asked. “Dahe Village experiences southeast winds in summer and northwest winds in winter. If we dig mine shafts in the southeast and northwest of the coal mine and connect them, the air inside the shafts can circulate freely, which is hundreds or thousands of times more efficient than using bamboo to expel polluted air.”
This method was summarized by the ancient Chinese people through thousands of years of bloody and tearful lessons. Obviously, our dynasty has not yet developed to this stage.
While it's impossible to completely eliminate coal gas, it will at least be safer than it is now... It's just that no matter the era, even in today's technologically advanced society, we often see news about coal mine accidents... Coal benefits the country and its people, so it's impossible not to mine it. These dangers are unavoidable, but we can only reduce their probability of occurrence.
Lord Wu pondered for a moment: "To dig another mine from the southeast to the northwest, it would probably take a lot of manpower and resources."
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