The Resurrection of the South Seas of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 35 Small blast furnace iron making

While Zhu Hongyu arranged for people to clean up the valley, he also ordered people to investigate the situation around the valley.

He wants to find out the surrounding terrain, water sources, minerals and other things.

Luzon has a hot and humid climate, but it is rich in natural resources, with a large amount of copper, iron, gold, silver, chromium, nickel and other metal minerals.

There are also a large number of non-metallic ores such as lime and quartz.

As for the terrain of the river valley, there may be gold mines or copper-iron mines nearby, even if there are no such metal mines.

It would be nice to have some limestone, some clay.

Limestone can be used to make cement, and clay can be used to make refractory bricks.

Cement can be used to build city defenses to ensure the safety of the city defenses in the valley.

With refractory bricks, Zhu Hongyu was able to make iron and steel, and then make guns and cannons.

Soon, as the soldiers of the Restoration Army explored around the valley, Zhu Hongyu's expectations came to fruition.

The soldiers of the Restoration Army were all miners, so finding and distinguishing ore is naturally not a problem for them.

Especially those Chinese craftsmen rescued from the mine by the Liberation Army, many of them have rich experience in prospecting for ore.

Soldiers of the Restoration Army found a large amount of limestone near the valley, as well as some clay, but the clay was not of good quality.

It is definitely not good for making porcelain, but it is not a big problem if it is only used to make cement and refractory bricks.

In addition, the soldiers of the Restoration Army also discovered a large-scale open-pit coal mine in a mountain depression not far from a nearby indigenous tribe.

Some iron ore was also found near the coal mine, but it is a pity that the purity of the iron ore is not high, and it may be very troublesome if you want to practice iron and steel.

"General, I'm not an old man, I'm bragging with you. My skill in prospecting for ore is inherited from my ancestors."

A former craftsman in the mine showed his achievements with confidence in front of Zhu Hongyu.

The soldiers of the Restoration Army were able to find coal mines and iron mines, and he had to remember the first merit.

Zhu Hongyu patted Carpenter's head on the shoulder, and said in a very kind tone.

"Haha, of course this general can trust your old head Liu!"

"You train iron and steel for my recovery army, and make ordnance. When this general recovers from Ming Dynasty, I will give you a minister of the Ministry of Industry to do it!"

Zhu Hongyu's promise made old Liu's face flush with excitement, and he just nodded desperately.

He is just a craftsman, if he can really be the minister of the Ministry of Industry of Ming Dynasty in the future, he will not be the one who smokes from the ancestral grave, but it will be like setting off firecrackers on the ancestral grave.

……

Ask Lao Liutou to lead people to make refractory bricks with clay, prepare to build blast furnaces for iron and steel smelting, and make ordnance.

Zhu Hongyu began to personally lead the craftsmen to prepare to make cement.

Based on the current conditions, it is impossible for him to produce high-grade cement.

But soil cement is also cement. With cement, he can build the defense system of the river valley as quickly as possible.

The production process of soil cement is not difficult, and Zhu Hongyu has learned a little bit.

Limestone and clay are ground into flour, then calcined into clinker and then ground together with the slag left over from ironmaking to become cement.

Therefore, the manufacture of cement is really inseparable from iron smelting. Iron smelting must first be smelted to produce slag before proceeding to the next step.

Zhu Hongyu put aside his work on making cement for the time being, and began to prepare for iron and steel making with all his strength.

In just two days, a simple small blast furnace was formed on the spot.

There are many disadvantages of small blast furnace iron smelting method, such as high energy consumption, heavy pollution, and poor quality of iron produced.

But its advantages are equally obvious, the technical difficulty is low, and there is no threshold.

At some point in the last century, every village and town in Rabbit’s family was setting up small blast furnaces to make steel.

How difficult is the technical difficulty of a small blast furnace that villagers who can't read can build it by themselves?
Although the small blast furnace was eliminated due to its various defects in later generations, it was replaced by more advanced ironmaking and steelmaking methods.

But in this era, the small blast furnace iron training method is an absolute black technology!

Among other things, the output alone can beat all other ironmaking methods in this era!
The small blast furnace is ignited, and the blast device blows a large amount of air into the small blast furnace, the coke is ignited, and the furnace temperature rises rapidly.

After the furnace temperature reached a certain level, experienced craftsmen reported to Zhu Hongyu.

"General, the furnace temperature is almost ready to add ore!"

Zhu Hongyu nodded and said.

"Then add!"

The craftsmen were ordered to do it. Old Liu Tou stood beside Zhu Hongyu and couldn't help but question.

"General, the old man has never seen such an iron-making furnace? Isn't this kind of iron-making furnace afraid of frying?"

"Once the fryer is used, the consequences will be disastrous!"

"How about we hide first?"

Old Liu Tou has spent most of his life in mines and workshops, and he can practice iron and copper.

He even made contributions to the fight against the Qing Dynasty. Before coming to Nanyang, he was in Guangdong to fight for Lord Longwu.

It can be regarded as a rich life experience!
But let alone met, he has never even heard of such a thing as a small blast furnace.

I am very superstitious about the old Liu who I learned in the first half of my life, and I have doubts about the method of iron refining in the small blast furnace that I have never seen before!
Zhu Hongyu rolled his eyes. In the past two days, the old head Liu has been nagging in his ears, doubting the feasibility of the small blast furnace.

I have to admit that the craftsmen of this era are really stubborn and cute!
Zhu Hongyu opened his mouth to explain.

"The method of making iron was taught by the Emperor Taizu in a dream. This general, the descendant of the Ming Dynasty, was responsible for expelling the Tartars and restoring the Ming Dynasty. Of course you have never seen it before!"

"Don't worry, I won't blow up the stove. The general is still standing here, can I still cheat myself?"

Old Liu Tou heard the words and stopped talking, standing beside Zhu Hongyu, quietly watching the changes in the small blast furnace.

It's just the expression on his face, but he still doesn't believe it!
As the furnace temperature continued to rise, the iron ore gradually melted and turned into bright red molten iron.

Workers began to add ground limestone to the molten iron, and limestone powder was used to absorb impurities in the molten iron.

The purity of this batch of iron ore is not high enough. If the impurities in the molten iron are not removed, no qualified steel can be produced.

Then the blower device continued to blow the wind, and several strong men chanted and pushed the blower device hard.

A large amount of air is blown into the blast furnace, on the one hand to continue to increase the temperature of the furnace, on the other hand to allow the oxygen in the air to react with the carbon in the molten iron.

To complete the decarburization of molten iron!

To put it bluntly, the difference between iron and steel lies in the carbon content.

The carbon content is high, and the iron produced is relatively brittle, that is, pig iron.

The carbon content is low, and the iron produced is too soft, that is wrought iron.

Only when the carbon content is appropriate, can it be called steel.

Over time, the molten iron contains less and less carbon and begins to shift in the direction of steel.

Experienced craftsmen are always paying attention to the state of the molten iron, and report to Zhu Hongyu after reckoning that it is almost done.

"General, it's time to open the furnace!"

Zhu Hongyu nodded, and the craftsmen took orders to do it.

The small blast furnace was opened, and the red molten steel was led out of the small blast furnace, and then flowed into the mold.

As a large amount of cold water was poured onto the mold to cool down, the molten steel solidified into pieces of steel ingots that were still smoking white smoke.

…………

The author really doesn't know much about iron smelting, cement manufacturing, refractory bricks, etc. It is very difficult to write this chapter, and I spent a whole morning checking the information.

Haha, if there are any bugs, please point them out!

Cough cough cough, still ask for support, ask for rewards and tickets.

(End of this chapter)