Chapter 96

The next morning, Yang Yuanzhao brought Qian Hu to the location of the cement plant. The construction of the factory buildings would require these steel structures.

At this point, the construction site was still bustling with activity. The makeshift bulldozers made from tractors had already leveled the entire wasteland. The gravel on the barren land had been almost entirely cleared, leaving behind the land repeatedly flattened by the tractors. On the side, pipelines specifically built for the cement plant were being laid, including sewage and water supply pipes. Since it was a factory, the water supply could no longer be simply stored in iron tanks; water towers were needed.

With bricks and cement available, Yang Yuanzhao only needed to construct a few large water tanks. Then, the construction team would build the water towers using red bricks, with a maximum of cement coating on the outside. A height of about 30 meters could ensure sufficient water pressure below 20 meters. Four hoists would be installed around to inject water into the tanks, ensuring the factory's needs. In the future, the cement plant would have seven such water towers, each ensuring the water supply for the industrial and residential areas.

Qian Hu was somewhat nervous. To be honest, welding and steel structures were what he had been studying recently. He knew that steel structures could easily build a large house. After practicing for so long, he wanted to find a stage to showcase his skills. He thought it might be a simple residential house, but he never expected Yang Yuanzhao to bring him to this cement plant.

The cement plant was the largest factory in Baotou, with no other factory coming close. Just the 1,000 employees could attest to that. Following Yang Yuanzhao, Qian Hu listened to his eloquent introduction, but his confidence waned. He looked at the flat land they had walked through, which, according to Yang Yuanzhao, would soon be filled with towering buildings. It seemed that almost everywhere would be a construction site.

Is it really necessary to make it so big? Qian Hu thought, but he didn't dare to say it out loud.

When Yang Yuanzhao visited the factories in Tianjin, he saw that they were not modern at all. Most were just sheds, which was fine for the time. However, for Yang Yuanzhao, who aimed to build a high-efficiency, low-energy factory, this was unacceptable. Although he couldn't directly reduce the dust from cement to the minimum, he could build some factories to collect some of the dust, improving the factory environment.

Therefore, in the design, Yang Yuanzhao planned for the cement plant to have large factories and even considered greening. He would plant some trees within the factory area, mostly those that absorb dust. Fortunately, a friend of Yang Yuanzhao who worked in a cement plant suggested planting more Nerium oleander and Ficus microcarpa. Yang Yuanzhao knew that Nerium oleander was a common plant, even toxic, and he was curious about it.

The toxicity of Nerium oleander lies in its roots, stems, leaves, and even flowers, but it does not release toxins into the air. It has a strong ability to adsorb dust and other particles from the air, making it a common landscaping plant.

Nerium oleander is native to the subtropics and is a common plant. In the past, it was also considered a highly toxic plant. With the capabilities of the Yang family's business, purchasing these plants was not a problem. However, the climate in Baotou was not suitable for Nerium oleander, but it wasn't a big issue. They could use greenhouses to gradually cultivate them. As for Ficus microcarpa, it was not suitable for Baotou due to the lack of rain and the cold winters. This subtropical plant could not survive in Baotou.

The purchase of Nerium oleander was entrusted to the Yang family. Yesterday, they sent a telegram to the southern regions where Nerium oleander grows, and they received a response that it could be obtained. However, due to the long distance and the nature of the plants, it might take over a month to transport them.

Yang Yuanzhao was relieved. He wasn't afraid of the one-month wait; he was afraid of not having the plants at all. Conventional or local plants in Baotou could be used, but they were not suitable for the cement plant environment.

Yang Yuanzhao had detailed the design for the future factory area, which covered over 200 acres. Only a little more than a third of this area would be used for the factory, and the first phase would only occupy about one-tenth of the factory area. In this era, the capacity of steel furnaces and cement kilns was not large, which limited cement production. Yang Yuanzhao had tried to increase the capacity of the kilns in the integrated machine, but there was little progress with the steel furnaces. However, the cement kilns were easily improved. The main reason for not increasing the size was due to lifting and power issues. With the improved steam engine, the power problem was solved, and the extensive use of hydraulics allowed the large cement kilns to be pulled by multiple steel cables, saving labor and increasing the kiln capacity from about 10 cubic meters to 90 cubic meters, a ninefold increase. The thermal efficiency and fluidity were also improved, allowing the kiln to produce over 150 tons of cement in one batch, with one batch per day, resulting in an annual production capacity of over 5.4 million tons when operating at full capacity.

Even in 1908, 5.4 million tons was a significant amount. Yang Yuanzhao knew that even if the cement plant was built, it would not immediately reach full capacity, let alone overcapacity. Therefore, he designed the production capacity to be a little more than a third, at 200,000 tons. Even so, 200,000 tons was more than three times the production of the largest cement plant in China, the Qixin Cement Plant.

Cement production mainly involves raw material preparation and calcination. The raw materials for cement include limestone, clay, and some iron ore as minor additives. At this time, there was no high-grade cement, so ordinary cement would be chosen to solve the basic problem. The main task was the crushing of raw materials, including limestone, clay, and a small amount of iron ore. This could be accomplished with larger crushers, and the efficiency and maximum crushing capacity would be improved with the use of modern super-hard alloys.

After crushing, the raw materials would be ground. The quality of cement, including its expansion coefficient and other properties, is closely related to the grinding process. The finer the raw materials are ground, the more uniform the mixture, which is beneficial for the subsequent calcination process.

Yang Yuanzhao did not have much research in this area, but he improved and modified the process based on the Qixin Cement Plant. He focused on making the grinding process more robust and powerful, thus improving efficiency.

After mixing the raw materials, they would enter the calcination process, which would use a vertical kiln similar to a steel furnace but not exactly the same. Yang Yuanzhao only increased the size of the kiln without making other changes. For unfamiliar processes, he opted for the most stable and mature design to minimize the risk of problems. Further improvements and modifications would be made after the cement plant was running smoothly or with the help of foreign cement experts.

The processes of raw material crushing, grinding, and mixing, except for the 90-cubic-meter vertical kiln, which was too large to be placed indoors, were all housed in buildings. Yang Yuanzhao provided simple protection for the kiln to shield it from dust, and the rest of the dust reduction would be handled by the greenery. The rest of the equipment was placed in rooms, with six-meter-high factories connected by steel columns and beams, and reinforced with welding, allowing these parts to be enclosed and concentrated, reducing the floor area to some extent.

Even with these reductions, the total floor area for a plant with an annual capacity of 5.4 million tons, including all the supporting facilities and machinery, exceeded 5,500 square meters. The tallest buildings would be three stories, 18 meters high, and the lowest would be two stories, 12 meters high. This was a significant task.

"Alright, that's all the details!" Yang Yuanzhao handed the drawings to Qian Hu, who was sweating profusely. The massive steel structure of over 12,000 square meters was a far cry from the 100 to 200 square meters he had imagined. Moreover, most of it had a 6-meter span, with special areas like the crusher, feed opening, and mixing room requiring 12 or even 15 meters, which put enormous pressure on the overall strength and structure.

"Boss, this, this..." Qian Hu stammered, unable to speak.

"Draw the plans first!"

"This!" Qian Hu still looked troubled. Seeing his distressed face, Yang Yuanzhao felt helpless. This was somewhat like forcing a square peg into a round hole. Qian Hu was just a blacksmith, and he had only recently started working with steel structures. He barely knew a few words and had a rudimentary understanding of pressure, strength, and load-bearing. If not for the superior quality of Yang Yuanzhao's steel, he would never have dared to let them design it.

Even so, this task was beyond his capabilities. Seeing Qian Hu's reluctance to take on the task, Yang Yuanzhao thought for a moment and said, "Alright, I'll design it. You just need to take the on-site measurements. Can you do that?"

"Yes, yes!" Qian Hu hurriedly replied. Although he was not well-educated and barely understood mathematics, he had learned some basic measurement and simple room design during his study of steel structures. Seeing Qian Hu run off in fear of being called back, Yang Yuanzhao shook his head and focused on the drawings.

In fact, Yang Yuanzhao had already designed the basic plans during their walk. Now, he needed to refine them, deciding on the specific structure. The dozen or so models that Qian Hu and his team had made could be used in this design. He sat under a tree and took out a piece of paper, using a pencil and ruler to start the detailed design.