Chapter 305 Propellant and Primer (Book friends who are a little bit penitent, please take notes!)

Knowing that he had obtained such a great treasure, Gu Chengyuan liked Mingsheng Steel Plant more and more. He walked around a few more times before heading to his second target:

Lai Sheng Chemical Plant!

Compared to the Mingsheng Iron and Steel Plant that gave Gu Chengyuan a huge surprise, the Laisheng Chemical Plant seemed much more ordinary. It was only slightly larger than the chemical plant he had secretly visited in high school.

However, although it is ordinary, the production tasks it undertakes and the role it plays in the military industry chain laid out by Gu Chengyuan are quite important. It is not an exaggeration to say that it is the core!

Because in the bullet production process, Lai Sheng Chemical’s assigned task is to produce primers and propellants!

These two are equivalent to the energy core of ammunition. Without primer and propellant, no matter how much steel is produced, it can only be used as building materials!

Based on the opinions of the military and discussions with technical staff at the Chemical Engineering College, lead azide and nitrocellulose were chosen for the production of primers and propellants, respectively.

There is no need to explain the reasons for choosing nitrocellulose as propellant. Anyone who knows a little about military industry knows that nitrocellulose has always been the mainstream propellant in the world. It has excellent performance, has been tested in actual combat, and has a simple manufacturing process. It can be made in any home workshop, but it is relatively expensive.

Lead azide is also a very good primer. It does not degrade significantly when stored for several years below 50 degrees. It has a high detonation speed, and its impact and friction sensitivities are better than fulminate of mercury.

As a single explosive, it has excellent performance and is an ideal filling material for detonators and primers. Its maximum explosive amount is only 0.030g!

Since Lai Sheng Chemical Factory is only a supporting enterprise of the industrial park and does not have military qualifications, it does not have the above two production lines.

But this is not a problem for the outstanding talents from the School of Chemical Engineering of the night university!

They used existing equipment and raw materials to create two production lines for nitrocellulose and lead azide from scratch.

The raw materials of nitrocellulose are nitric acid, sulfuric acid, cotton and baking soda.

The general process is to mix nitric acid and sulfuric acid, and after the two are thoroughly blended, put them into cotton to soak, allowing the cotton fibers themselves to react with nitric acid. When the two react, water will be produced, so the role of sulfuric acid is to absorb the water generated by the reaction and keep it reacting.

The only thing you need to pay attention to in this process is that when nitric acid and sulfuric acid are mixed, not only will the temperature rise, but toxic gases will also be produced, so workers need to take protective measures!

The last step is to take out the cotton, squeeze out the nitric acid and sulfuric acid mixed solution, wash it repeatedly with water, and then put it into soda water to further neutralize the acid in the cotton. Then take it out, wash it again and dry it, and you can get the propellant nitrocellulose!

Nitric acid, sulfuric acid and baking soda are commonly used raw materials in the chemical industry. They are stored in large quantities in Lai Sheng Chemical Plant. In the process of making nitrocellulose, the consumption of these three is very small and they can be used repeatedly, so there is no need to worry in the medium and long term.

Nitric acid can also be produced using existing equipment in chemical plants. The Ostwald process is often used to refine nitric acid. The general process is to mix ammonia and oxygen into nitric oxide, and accelerate its oxidation process through metals such as platinum to quickly form nitrogen dioxide that reacts with water to produce nitric acid.

The only thing that needs to be consumed in large quantities is cotton, but because of its attribute of daily necessities, it is almost everywhere on the street. Not to mention the supermarkets and bedding stores all over the street, just look at every household, who doesn’t have a few quilts?

Just in the newly recovered Qinghe Town, it is hard to tell how long all the cotton in the town combined will last.

Compared with nitrocellulose for propellants, lead azide for primers is a little more complicated. The principle is that sodium azide and lead salt are prepared by reaction. The reaction conditions need to be carefully controlled, such as the temperature, pH value, stirring speed, etc. during the reaction. This is crucial to ensure the purity and crystal form of lead azide.

Several doctoral students from the School of Chemical Engineering of Night University chose the short columnar a-type to prepare the crystal form. This crystal form of lead azide is more stable, unlike the needle-shaped β-type which will explode at the first glance!

Precisely because of the high requirements for the production line, Lei Jun, after introducing a group of talents from the School of Chemical Engineering, asked Cai Anxin for a group of top students from the School of Mechanical Engineering to help design and assemble the production line.

In addition to the trouble with equipment, the raw materials of lead azide are also troublesome. The sodium azide required is a highly toxic substance. There was once a male doctor who was poisoned five times in a row by his girlfriend with small amounts of sodium azide. If he had not been on guard, he would have almost become a contemporary Wu Dalang.

This thing is really hard for ordinary people to get, and even some laboratories can't find a way to buy it.

But who can blame this for being the Lai Sheng Chemical Factory?

Since sodium azide is widely used in airbags, disinfection and preservation, and organic synthesis, and has high economic value, Lai Sheng Chemical Factory also has this business.

After spending more than an hour at Lai Sheng Chemical, Gu Chengyuan just listened to the endless introductions of several PhDs from the School of Chemical Engineering of the night university, although he was very curious about what the production line of propellant and primer looked like.

But until he left Lai Sheng Chemical Factory, he never asked to enter the production workshop for inspection.

He even declined several enthusiastic invitations from several not-so-tactful chemical engineering PhDs. Gu Chengyuan was very happy that they wanted to show him their masterpieces, but he was not so happy about such invitations that did not consider his own safety!

Satisfying curiosity and ensuring life safety have never been a choice for Gu Chengyuan.

No matter how many times he chooses, he will choose safety!

What he cherishes is not his own life, but the life of the entire human civilization!

Now I am responsible for two gathering places, Yeda and Chongyi, and the lives of hundreds of thousands of people are in my hands. How can I take this lightly?

Ever since he heard that the reaction between nitric acid and sulfuric acid would produce poisonous gas, Gu Chengyuan no longer had any curiosity about this chemical plant.

If it weren't for the fact that a few chemical engineering PhDs were overly enthusiastic and afraid of discouraging talented people, Gu Chengyuan wouldn't even want to stay in the factory.

Every minute of your life lost is a loss to human civilization!

So, is he afraid of death? He is clearly protecting the spark of human civilization!

"Goodbye, chief!"

"Commander, we will definitely work hard for the great cause of the revival of human civilization!"

"Chief!!"

.....

At the gate of Lai Sheng Chemical Plant, Gu Chengyuan ended the last stop of his visit to the industrial park, bid farewell to Lei Jun and the representatives of the chemical plant, and boarded the Mengshi 3 armored command vehicle.

As the car slowly starts moving, I opened the car window and waved goodbye to these enthusiastic frontline workers!

As the convoy gradually accelerated and headed towards the night school gathering place, the industrial park with a dozen towering chimneys gradually disappeared in the rearview mirror.

At this point, Gu Chengyuan's inspection tour of the Industrial Park has come to an end...