Chapter 12: then translation of chapter title

Zhang Qian led the crowd to the prepared podium nearby, looking at them he said: "I am now going to start lecturing on the manufacture of smokeless powder and yellow explosive (no need to add the system, you guys understand), those of you who have been assigned by the Brigade Commander definitely have some foundation, and you have also studied chemical engineering, if you have any questions during this process you can interrupt me at any time."

To produce smokeless powder, the first step is to produce sulfuric acid; without it, no matter who you are, even if you rack your brains, you cannot make smokeless powder, because sulfuric acid is the mother of gunpowder.

Then what methods are there for producing sulfuric acid? Currently, the world mainly has two processes for producing sulfuric acid.

The first is the contact process; the equipment is complicated, I won't go into that, but importantly it also requires fine platinum powder as a catalyst.

Platinum powder is just ridiculous; the base doesn't even have platinum, where would we get the powder? So this method is basically blocked, after all the equipment is too complicated to set up and there's no platinum powder.

The second method is called the lead chamber process; this method is relatively simple: sulfur and saltpeter are placed together and ignited, the produced gas combines with water to form sulfuric acid. However, due to the strong corrosiveness of sulfuric acid, the entire production process must be carried out in a lead chamber that can resist strong acid corrosion, and the lead chamber requires a large amount of lead plates to build.

But the problem is, the base is now blockaded; where can we get those lead plates? This route is also impassable.

"Actually, when I thought about this point, I almost wanted to give up; the conditions of our base are too poor, we lack too many things, many people even only know what lead is through a pencil. Even if we bother the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region Machinery Factory, it would be quite troublesome, and besides they have other tasks. But since the method is thought up by people, without lead plates I can only look for substitutes that can replace lead plates, and this substitute must also be something we can source locally and use immediately."

Zhang Qian looked at the crowd and then pointed to a large ceramic jar.

"This ceramic jar is not for everyone to drink water; the ceramic jars that ordinary people use at home to hold water or store grain can resist acid corrosion." (The tower method is not allowed to be written, I deleted it directly; interested readers can look it up.)

Zhang Qian took a sip of water and looked at the people who were thinking.

"What I just said is the method for producing sulfuric acid; after we have sulfuric acid, adding nitrate to it ultimately becomes nitric acid. But this is only the beginning; we still need nitrocellulose."

However, the production of nitrocellulose is rather complicated; moreover, because the base lacks everything, even with Zhang Qian's academic level he had to conduct many experiments before finding a suitable substitute.

Overall, it's just sulfuric acid plus nitric acid added to defatted cotton; that's what they call "hillfolk have their own clever plans, the working people are most glorious." (Still can't write it; I just looked and this stuff is actually controlled.)

"Don't think what I said is easy; the actual operation is very complicated." Looking at the eager crowd, Zhang Qian said: "Throughout the entire production process, we must be careful; homemade production means greater risk."

After a morning passed, the people had a certain understanding of the principles of producing sulfuric acid, nitric acid, and nitrocellulose. After lunch, they returned to the workshop to begin studying the principles of nitroglycerin and nitrated starch.

"The base lacks the conditions to decompose fats with high-pressure steam; (those who understand know it can't be written… basically first make glycerol, then a ceramic dish water bath) to obtain qualified nitroglycerin."

"The production of nitrated starch is much simpler than the previous few; we already have nitric acid and sulfuric acid, we carry out the reaction under appropriate conditions, then add crushed starch, and then…"

(This part is also something those who understand know; it's already getting a bit risky, this nitrated starch also comes out, I feel people would be too dangerous.)

)

"You can think about it first; if you don't understand, it's fine; if you have questions, boldly ask them, and I will answer each one."

Zhang Qian returned to the podium and said to the crowd: "Our theoretical lesson for today ends here."

Nitrocellulose can be used to manufacture smokeless powder, effectively avoiding problems such as insufficient chamber pressure, poor gas flow, excessive residue, and incompatibility of recoil devices and gas-operated automatic mechanisms with black powder ammunition.

Currently, the base's arsenals produce hand grenades imitating the German M24 grenade. However, due to the filling, its power is far inferior to that of the original German factory; given the base's current industrial level it is difficult to manufacture TNT, but if we use nitroglycerin as the filling, the power can be greatly increased.

As for the use of nitrated starch, Zhang Qian intends to use it to imitate the American Mark II hand grenade. The current MK2 grenade's interior is filled with TNT, but during the early war the US faced a TNT shortage, so the interior was often filled with a nitrated starch composite.

The M24 grenade is an offensive grenade, the MK2 grenade is a defensive grenade; using the two together can greatly enhance a unit's combat effectiveness.

After a week passed, the comrades had become familiar with the process of makeshift chemical engineering; fortunately, no accidents occurred.

On December 10, 1939, the Jinxi Northwest Chemical Plant was officially established. The chemical plant was initiated by the head of the Procurement Department, Zhang Qian; it imparted skills and trained many military-industry talents, providing the base's arsenals with tons of raw materials.

The plant can on average produce monthly 4,500 kilograms of concentrated sulfuric acid, 1,500 kilograms of concentrated nitric acid, 300 kilograms of smokeless powder, 3,000 kilograms of nitroglycerin explosive, and 1,500 kilograms of nitrated starch.