Western Region, Border Town.
The washing stones purchased from Silver City filled four ships, and it took several days just to unload them.
Now that there were enough raw materials, the soap production plan should be officially put on the agenda.
The supporting factory and warehouse had already been set up, and the soap factory was located next to the industrial park, next to the No. 2 steam assembly plant, with the same shape. The roof, beams and wallboards were all made of wood, and the size was a circle smaller. Moreover, the cutting and hoisting of the wood were all handled by the witches, so the construction period only took a short week.
Using washing stones, that is, natural alkali, to make soap was essentially a series of chemical reactions. The raw materials needed were also very common, in addition to soda ash, a large amount of lime milk and grease were also needed. Lime milk was the suspension at the bottom of the container after lime was immersed in water. It was used to react with soda ash to produce caustic soda, and then the caustic soda reacted with grease to produce high-grade fatty acid salts and glycerol. The former was even soap, while the latter was an extremely important raw material for explosives.
Before, when making soap, Roland had already tested the whole reaction process in the castle backyard. The principle was basically the same, but in order to expand a small amount of trial production to mass production, he still needed to develop reasonable processes and specifications, and more importantly, he needed professional chemists to guide the production.
For this reason, he called the chief alchemist into his office.
"Your Royal Highness, you asked for a large-scale production of sulfuric acid, I have already thought of a possible plan." As soon as he entered the door, Kyle Sichi shouted loudly, "However, this requires a large amount of lead, as well as a blacksmith who can turn the lead into containers. I heard that one of your witches can accurately cut metal, and those rumbling iron lumps were made by her, can I …"
"Of course. Report to me the shape and size of the container you require. I'll have the Witch Union do it." Roland beckoned him to sit down. "I didn't ask you to come here today to make acid, but for another task."
"Your Royal Highness, recently I really can't find time to do anything else," Kyle repeatedly shook his head, "Large-scale acid production is a difficult challenge, I must go all out." He paused, and then added, "Even my disciples can't do it, they are all helping me prepare for this, no one can leave."
"Rest assured, it won't take too much of your time," Roland took a sip of tea, "You also don't need to transfer your proud disciples, just a few apprentices will be enough."
"Then … what's the mission?"
"Manufactured soap is a cheaper version of the soap sold in the Convenience Market. Other than the smell, it has the same function as soap. It can be used for bathing, washing clothes, and cleaning tableware."
"Is it the saponification reaction mentioned in 'Elementary Chemistry'?" Kyle asked while stroking his beard. "The reaction that uses sodium hydroxide and oil to produce alcohols and salts?"
It had to be said that hearing standard chemical terms from an Alchemist's mouth was a very strange feeling, especially when the term was coined by him. Roland held back his laughter and nodded seriously. "That's right. It's the saponification reaction recorded in the ancient books. I also used it to figure out how to make soap. "
"Then what do you need me to do? If it's not very important, I suggest you put it off until later. After all, it's fine even if your subjects don't bathe for a few days. They can just soak their clothes and plates in the river. "
"It is very important," said the Prince emphatically. "Or rather, the manufacture of soap is not important, but the by-product of its production is something I need at present."
"You mean … mellow?" Kyle didn't think much of it.
"Yes, alcohol, you can also call it glycerin," said Roland. "It is a very important raw material, and its significance is no less than the two acids."
"Well," Kyle Sichi shrugged. "But I have to say, I don't have the time to implement it myself."
He gently exhaled, dealing with the Chief Alchemist was really tiring. "You only need to pick out a few clever apprentices and demonstrate it in front of them. I will recruit some of my subjects to carry out the production, but after all, they know nothing about chemistry, so there must be someone to check every step. " The Prince paused for a moment. "You can also think of it as a chemical experiment that has never been put into practice. If it was in an alchemy workshop, this process could mean the discovery of several alchemy formulas, enough to make an apprentice obtain the title of Alchemist."
It was probably the last sentence that convinced Kyle, "In that case, I will take the afternoon to teach the apprentices what you have arranged."
"Very good," Roland smiled. "You should also know that the most important part of the production process is to produce a sufficient amount of sodium hydroxide," he wrote down the reaction formula on a piece of paper. Before the invention of the synthetic alkali process, natural alkali was the most important raw material for making alkali. The latter's main component was sodium bicarbonate, which could be decomposed into sodium carbonate, carbon dioxide and water when heated. Because of the abundance of raw materials and the simplicity of the process, it was still in use until modern times. "Heat and decompose the washing stone, dissolve it in water, and filter it, and you can get a relatively pure sodium carbonate solution."
"Next, heat it with the lime milk, and you can get a sodium hydroxide solution. The purification method should be easy for you to think of," he explained while writing. "Clarify, distil, mix, and repeat this step until the concentration of the solution is high enough that after cooling a large number of crystals can be precipitated."
These were all the contents of the "Elementary Chemistry". Because of the many nicknames of the two alkali, it was extremely easy to confuse them (such as caustic soda, soda ash, soda ash, sodium bicarbonate, sodium bicarbonate, and so on). It was also an important knowledge point for the exam, and he had memorized the relevant contents of the textbook, so he could still remember it clearly.
"I understand," the chief alchemist looked at the reaction formula from beginning to end, "But Your Highness, what about the oil?"
"I will arrange for these materials to be sent to you." Animal oil was still an expensive thing in this era, but the last time the personal guard went on a trip to purchase seeds from the olive trees in Fallen Dragon Ridge, Border Town now had a reliable source of vegetable oil. Although they were currently only growing them on a small scale in the castle's backyard, with Leaf's ability to accelerate the ripening process, it wouldn't be a problem to harvest a bunch of fruits in a day.
The extraction of olive oil was also very simple. After the fruit was ripe, the oil could be squeezed out using a physical method, and then through a filter to remove the debris and dregs, they would be able to obtain a clear oil.
Finally, after briefly explaining the production of the soap and the requirements for the glycerin extraction, Roland let Kyle Sichi leave the office.
In this way, when the soap factory started operating, he would have a stable source of glycerin.
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