Chapter 285 Industrial Revolution
The North China Plain is March when the ice and snow melt.
Near the coast of Shengli Oilfield, an abandoned refining plant has been transformed into a very large seawater desalination plant with a designed production capacity of 10 billion cubic meters of fresh water per year.
However, such a huge production capacity will naturally not start all at once. After all, the local government cannot digest the level of fresh water at 10 billion cubic meters per year.
At this time, a fierce debate was taking place in an office in the factory.
An old professor wearing glasses frowned: "Lao Huang, I object to your plan. Rampantly changing the groundwater reserves may cause unpredictable consequences."
Professor Huang, who was confident on his face, directly retorted: "Haha, Lao Lin, do you know how much the cost of your plan for water transporting on the ground pipeline? Moreover, it will take at least ten years to break the land acquisition and construction along the pipeline, so it is better not to build it."
"But my plan is at least safe." Professor Lin did not think there was anything wrong with his plan.
"Safe? Then what's not safe in my plan?" Professor Huang stood up directly.
Zhang Lingjun, who was responsible for convening this technical argumentation meeting, coughed a few times: "Ahem, please pay attention to the discipline of the meeting."
Professor Lin said unwillingly, "Team Leader Zhang, don't listen to Lao Huang's tricks. His Kanerjing plan is not realistic at all. The underground structure is not static, but will change with time. It is very difficult to maintain the deep underground. Who will be responsible for the problem?"
"I am responsible for my plan." Professor Huang retorted fiercely.
Professor Lin pushed his glasses and sneered: "Haha, are you responsible? What are you responsible for? Will you be shooting you at that time? Or will you take it to refine oil to make soap?"
The two have already debated and become real.
Seeing this situation, Zhang Leader-jun also frowned. He scolded seriously: "Two, today we are talking about science and technology, not buying vegetables in the vegetable market. Please use science to explain the situation."
Faced with Zhang Leader's reprimand, the two and the people in their team also suddenly became quiet.
After a while, Professor Lin was the first to speak: "Sorry, I was so excited just now."
"I'm wrong, too." Professor Huang also took advantage of the situation.
At this time, Zhang Lingjun looked at the venue provider, Yang Qingtian, general manager of Hailufeng Water Company, which is also a subsidiary of Hailufeng Company: "Mr. Yang, what do your company thinks?"
Yang Qingtian, who has always been a little transparent, smiled and raised his head: "The professors said it all make sense. The main problem of Professor Lin's team's plan is that the project is difficult, the investment cost is high, and the construction cycle is long; the main problem of Professor Huang's team's plan is that geological instability, ecological risks are high, and maintenance is difficult."
"Mr. Yang summarized it very accurately. I wonder what Mr. Yang has his best ideas?" Zhang Lingjun asked with a smile.
Yang Qingtian replied with a smile: "I dare not take it for my opinion, but our boss has some ideas."
Seeing Yang Qingtian lifting Jiang Miao out, Professor Lin, Professor Huang and others who were originally trying to say something instantly pressed their own thoughts and waited for the following.
Zhang Lingjun was relieved when he saw that the experts and scholars finally calmed down. Then he supported the scene and said, "Since it is Academician Jiang's idea, I am also very interested. Please describe it to us!"
"No problem." Yang Qingtian stood up.
His assistant quickly played the PPT files prepared in advance, and a pattern was instantly displayed on the projection screen in the conference room.
Yang Qingtian, who stood up, took out a white foam brick: "This is our company's new product, silicon foam brick."
"Silica foam brick?"
"What's the use of this thing?"
The others in the conference room discussed in a low voice.
Yang Qingtian handed the silicon foam brick to Zhang Lingjun on the left, and then explained: "This is a new material made by modified silk protein."
The process of this foam brick is similar to that of diatom bean silk. To be precise, the process of the two is similar.
The process of silicon foam bricks is to make soy proteins in the stage of making soy proteins, which fully emulsify soy proteins and become similar to foam state, and then add diatomaceous earth and other chemical adjuvants to modify.
Through this process transformation, the foam bricks produced are very light, but the overall strength is very high and the volume is very large.
Its unit density is about 2.1 times heavier than air.
The density of near-ground air at room temperature and pressure is about 1.2 kilograms per cubic meter, while the density of this silicon foam brick is 2.52 kilograms per cubic meter.
Each ton of silicon wire material can produce almost 396 cubic meters of foam bricks.
Looking at the light silicon foam brick in his hand, Zhang Leader turned his head and asked, "Mr. Yang, can I make a break?"
Yang Qingtian's face changed and he quickly reminded: "Team Leader Zhang, you must wear anti-puncture gloves because the material is very thin. If you use too much force, it will pierce into the flesh."
"Uh..." Zhang Lingjun quickly put the things on the table.
"Although the filaments of this material cannot reach the nanoscale, they are also micron-scale. Some cutting positions cannot be touched casually and are easy to pierce the body." Yang Qingtian explained again.
Others also took this material carefully, and the first feeling when they started, was light and fluttering.
After a while, a staff member came over with several sets of special sting gloves.
After putting on the gloves, Zhang Lingjun tried to break the foam brick. However, he tried his best and his face turned red, but he still didn't break the foam brick.
Others also tried it one by one, but there was no way to break it.
Zhang Leadun, who took off his gloves, asked in confusion: "Mr. Yang, your company's materials are very good, but what does it have to do with our issue?"
"Team Leader Zhang, next I will describe our boss's idea to you." Foam brick returned to Yang Qingtian's hand again, and he said with a smile:
"We have already had a preliminary understanding of the characteristics of this material, but we may not know the production cost of this material. Currently, the price of this foam brick per ton is about 50,000 yuan, which is about 396 cubic meters per ton."
"So cheap?"
"Is it almost 135 yuan per cubic meter?"
"Is this thing intended to be used to replace reinforced concrete?"
"It's not impossible, after all, the strength is very high, I just don't know how many years it lasts."
Yang Qingtian's mouth raised slightly: "I believe everyone has guessed some of the content. That's right. This material can replace reinforced concrete materials. Please see..."
The assistant understood and immediately played the PPT content.
"Because the silicon foam bricks are very light and can be formed in the factory, we can directly produce large components, then transport them to the construction site using a large airship, and then directly install them. The outdoor service life of this material is about 30 to 40 years."
Looking at the simulation animation on PPT, the entire arch bridge structure was transported to the construction site by an airship and then directly installed, everyone was stunned.
Gulu! Professor Lin pushed his glasses: "Mr. Yang, are your plans to build an overhead water transmission bridge?"
Yang Qingtian nodded: "That's right, this is a relatively easy solution at present. We plan to build a water transfer tower with an altitude of no less than 60 meters in coastal areas, and then transfer water to the inland areas through the drop. The altitude of the entire North China Plain is generally around 20 to 50 meters. It is completely possible to use the drop to achieve natural water transfer."
Many people in Professor Lin’s team are active. They actually support the water pipeline project, but their project plan uses step by step pressure to transport fresh water to the inland.
Yang Qingtian also mentioned the problem of this solution, that is, the project cost is high, the transportation cost is high, and the construction cycle is long.
The plan developed by Yang Qingtian on behalf of Hailufeng Company is an improved version of Professor Lin’s team’s plan.
After all, the cost of reinforced concrete is about 800 to 1,200 yuan per cubic meter, while the cost of silicon foam is about 135 yuan per cubic meter.
The cost difference between the two is about 6 to 9 times.
The cost of reinforced concrete can usually reach about 50% to 70% in this special project.
In other words, if the reinforced concrete material is changed to silicon foam material, the overall cost can be compressed to about 40% to 60%. Moreover, since the silicon foam material can be formed in one piece, this can reduce a lot of labor costs and maintenance costs.
Overall, it can almost reduce the cost of engineering.
Of course, cost reduction is still a small matter, the key is that the construction speed is very fast.
According to the content demonstrated in PPT, as long as the foundation is laid in advance, the remaining main parts of the bridge can be directly produced on a large scale in the factory, and then transported by airships to lift one kilometer-long bridge at a time.
Moreover, because the silicon foam material is very light and has very high strength, the bridge span made of this material can be very large, which further reduces the amount of reinforced concrete used on the foundation.
The components produced by silicon foam materials do not need to consider concrete heat exothermic and thermal expansion and contraction. Basically, the next engineering transformation can be carried out on the day the laying is completed.
This also has another advantage for areas with scarce water resources, which is that it reduces the water used for maintenance and the water used for stirring concrete.
A researcher said slowly: "From the beginning, high-level water transport can be used to allow the water to flow naturally through gravity drop, which can indeed reduce part of the cost during the transportation process."
Another round-faced researcher specializes in water transfer costs. He also said: "To increase water from altitude to a height of 60 meters, it takes about 0.15 degrees of electricity per cubic meter. Considering the current electricity bill, the electricity bill for water transfer is about 0.06 yuan per cubic meter, and 10 billion cubic meter is 600 million yuan of electricity bill, which is acceptable."
"It's true that you can consider it."
Professor Huang’s team did not mention any groundwater water transport plan, but joined the discussion of the water transport bridge plan.
In addition to the North China Plain Water Transportation Seminar was discussed.
The China Railway Engineering Group is also in charge of the construction of the high-speed railway.
Compared with the North China Plain water transfer project, which has not even been evenly matched, China Railway Engineering Group has been secretly convening an experiment.
After the laboratory test data came out, they would quickly hold a management meeting.
Lei Wu, the new chairman of China Railway Engineering Group, said ambitiously: "Everyone has seen it, and now I will announce their own opinions."
A deputy general manager in charge of cost management said: "Now the domestic high-speed rail operation is in a loss-making state. Although some hotlines in the east can barely make profits, the high-speed rail operation in remote areas such as the northwest, southwest, and northeast is generally in a loss-making state. Although the economy has been alleviated this year, it does not mean that we can rest assured."
"Vice President Li makes sense. Overall, the high-speed rail lines that can be profitable in China have been almost fully built. Now there are only a lot of difficult bones left. We cannot continue to follow the old model." Another vice president's face was full of worry.
"I think it is necessary to use silicon foam materials, which not only reduces costs, but also increases the enthusiasm of China Railway Corporation to continue to invest."
"I agree."
"I think so too."
Obviously they know that domestic railway construction has begun to move towards the later stage.
This is also a process that must go through after large infrastructure construction.
Railway construction in many areas has gradually reached saturation. In this case, the scale of railway-related projects will decrease year by year, and then maintain a relatively low update scale, and may even stop.
This situation sometimes has a fatal impact on railway-related industries.
For example, why domestic high-speed rail technology can come from behind is that this huge domestic market is supported.
The reason why Ameika has not developed high-speed rail-related industries is that they have passed the era of large infrastructure in China, and railway construction has long been saturated. In addition, the states are arguing with each other, and private railway operators are unwilling to update. Without internal demand, the high-speed rail industry will naturally not develop.
This situation is about to be faced in China now.
Once we enter the post-large infrastructure era, with the reduction of newly started high-speed rail lines, it is obvious that there is no way to maintain the entire industrial chain by relying solely on the natural renewal of old railways.
As for exporting high-speed rail, this idea is very good, but the reality is very skinny.
The risk of this kind of infrastructure construction project that takes several years is too great. Once there is turmoil in the area or some shameless forces appear, the result will be a loss of money.
For example, if you go to Tianjin to invest in high-speed rail, you will definitely not receive any payment in such areas.
Many places are very poor and do not have many talents yet, so they can’t afford to play high-speed rail at all.
In recent years, China has built several high-speed rail lines in the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia, and there is no gain in other regions at all.
The market cannot be opened up outside and the internal shrinkage is also shrinking, which has led to many railway construction practitioners generally pessimistic about the future.
Lei Wu, who was ordered to be in danger, naturally wanted to change this predicament, but in more than a year since he took office, he still couldn't change the general trend of the overall decline in railway investment scale.
Until last November, the laboratory of Hailufeng Company developed a new material. After they obtained the laboratory samples through some relationships, they had been studying how to use this material.
This material exhibits excellent properties in all laboratory tests.
Although the service life is only 30 to 40 years, this means that when completely exposed to the outdoors, if a layer of cement mortar or asphalt sand is applied outside, it can effectively isolate the air and light, and can extend this service life to about 50 to 60 years.
And by about 50 years, we can actually replace new parts directly.
Therefore, China Railway Engineering Group quickly held an executive meeting with the goal of promoting the application of silicon foam materials in the construction field as soon as possible.
If the cost of engineering construction can be saved by half, the overall investment can be reduced a lot, making the return cycle of China Railway Group shorter.
Of course, this matter is not just about China Railway Engineering Group. China Railway Group has also held several executive meetings and technical seminars recently.
However, the content discussed by the China Railway Corporation is not the issue of using new construction materials, but the plan is to use new materials developed by Minqin Group to build new trains.
Because their team of engineers conducted careful analysis, if new materials are used to manufacture the train, the overall weight of the train can be reduced by about 35%.
Reducing the overall weight of the train can increase the payload on the one hand, and reducing energy consumption on the other hand.
In addition, the electricity cost of high-speed rail lines has dropped a lot now. After the cost in all aspects has been reduced, it will be a considerable share.
After a series of analysis, the management of China Railway Group has known that if new materials are used in railway construction and new materials are used in trains, coupled with the decline in power costs, the overall operating cost of high-speed rail can be reduced by about 20%.
This year, the overall revenue of China Railway Group was 1.36 trillion yuan, which barely made a profit of 5.8 billion yuan. This shows that the net profit of the entire railway system is really too low.
If the operating cost of high-speed rail can be reduced by 20%, then the China Railway Group can make at least 200 billion yuan while maintaining the current fare price.
As long as it can make continuous profits, the National Railway Group will have the capital to invest in new railways and renew old railways, so that the entire high-speed rail industry chain can barely be maintained.
Otherwise, with the current profitability, the money you will only need to invest in new railways in the future.
This decline in operating costs can also turn some railway lines in a slight loss into profitable lines.
In addition, China Railway Corporation is also considering the use of Minqin Group's new solar photovoltaic panels to cover all the entire railway line. Anyway, the railway is not like a highway. Railways with fixed lines have become very developed. It is not necessary to observe the situation ahead with the naked eye.
If all railway lines can be covered with solar photovoltaic panels, then during the operation of the high-speed rail, it can not only achieve self-sufficiency in electricity, but also take out electricity, further improving the overall profitability.
Of course, as a state-owned enterprise, even if China Railway Corporation can achieve good profits, the official will use the method of reducing the fare prices to put its overall profit in a relatively reasonable range.
The impact of new materials has begun to spread to the entire domestic industrial chain.
Dozens of core industries have begun to be fully updated in high-speed rail, engineering, bridges, automobiles, shipbuilding, passenger aircraft, drones, airships, containers, aerospace, water purification, pollution treatment, electricity, photovoltaics, wind power, energy storage, fuel, textiles, semiconductors, etc.
This change has evolved into an industrial revolution.
Moreover, the industrial revolution spread very rapidly this time, mainly because of the development of AI and information technology, which makes many technologies more convenient to implement.
However, this industrial revolution is currently limited to domestic. Although foreign countries know more or less the existence of these new materials, since Hailufeng Company does not allow export of technology and related raw materials and products, it is difficult for foreign companies to reproduce.
(This chapter ends)