When Ning Xiu got home, he locked himself in the house.

The second elder, as well as Qilang and Shilang, didn't know what Ning Xiu was doing.

Of course, Ning Xiu was not in Wen Shu.

There is still some time before the township test, and there is no need for him to race against time at this time.

He was working on the preparations before making glass.

As a Ph.D. student in chemical engineering, I naturally know the process of making glass.

It's just that due to the limited conditions, he can't make the glass all at once.

But now that he has the foundation to make cement, it's easy to make glass on top of that.

As we all know, the main components of glass are sodium silicate, calcium silicate, and silicon dioxide, which are the melts of these three. And to prepare glass, soda ash, limestone and quartz sand are required.

Needless to say, soda ash and limestone are available on the market. As for quartz sand, it will take some effort to get it.

Ning Xiu knew that the Ming Dynasty had already used quartz sand to cast Buddha statues, so quartz sand must have been mined in the Ming Dynasty. But he found that there were no merchants selling quartz sand in the market.

After several inquiries, he learned that the government is responsible for the mining of quartz sand, and it is difficult for ordinary people to contact it.

It's not that hard to do. With his relationship with Governor Li, it is not impossible to obtain an authorized license to mine quartz sand.

As long as you have these three things, you can officially start making glass.

The process of making glass is basically divided into several steps. The first step is to pre-process the raw materials. Quartz sand, soda ash, and limestone are mixed together for crushing, and dehumidification is carried out to ensure the drying of raw materials.

This step is very simple and can be done at Ning Kee Workshop.

The next step is to dissolve the glass raw material. These mixed raw materials are sent into the kiln for high-temperature heating, and liquid glass can be obtained through complex chemical reactions at a high temperature of more than 1,600 or so.

When Ning Xiu was preparing cement, he once set up a kiln in his own workshop. But the maximum temperature of that kiln was between 1200 and 1400 degrees, which could not meet the 1600 degrees required for glass firing.

Ning Xiu had to call the master who built the kiln for him last time to help him build a new kiln.

At present, it seems that it is impossible to make cement and glass at the same time if you want to use one kiln for multiple purposes.

Don't look at the temperature difference of only 200 degrees, but it is related to whether the glass can be successfully prepared. In this matter, Ning Xiu didn't want to take risks.

When the kiln is re-erected, the direction of the kiln mouth and the way of building the kiln will be different, and other things cannot be carried out without the completion of this work.

After the glass is dissolved, the next step is to form, this step is very critical, and the quality of the glass depends on the molding step.

Liquid glass is usually poured into a pre-prepared mold as needed to make it into the desired shape, such as various wine glasses and bottles, and glass windows.

Finally, the molded glass is heat treated, and the structural state of the glass is changed by annealing and quenching.

The production process is well understood, and the only difficulty now is the dissolution and heat treatment links.

As early as the Shang and Zhou dynasties, the Chinese people unexpectedly made glass. It is said that it was accidentally obtained by a potter when he was firing pottery.

However, the glass fired by the Chinese people is very fragile, and it is not heat-resistant or cold-resistant, which is indeed much worse than the glass fired in modern times.

Liuli has these shortcomings because the Chinese people can not master the two links of dissolution and heat treatment.

If Ning Xiu can't make a breakthrough in these two points, the glass made will not be too competitive compared to the local glass. It may even be inferior to glass, after all, from a purely aesthetic point of view, glass is much stronger than glass, and it belongs to the art level.

The advantage of glass is that it can be mass-produced, and its cold and heat resistance is better than that of local glass.

Ning Xiu found that there was still a long way to go before the glass could be completely popular in Daming.

The road should be taken step by step, and the meal should be eaten one bite at a time.

Ning Xiu had to make preparations first......

He rubbed his forehead and got up and walked towards the carved door. It didn't matter if he pushed the door, he immediately heard an 'oops'.

Ning Xiu looked intently, only to see Shichiro lying on the ground covering his buttocks, grinning at him in embarrassment.

"Shichiro, you've been outside the house?"

"Third brother, don't mind, I also listened to the second uncle's instructions to eavesdrop outside your house. The second uncle was worried about what you were doing in the house alone, so he asked me to eavesdrop outside the house, and break into the door if there was any change. ”

Ning Xiu glanced at him angrily and said, "It's a shame that my father came up with it, what stupid thing can I do if I'm so good?" ”

After that, he stepped forward and pulled up Shichiro and said, "I'm preparing to make a new type of glass, well, I call it glass." ”

Shichiro's big eyes flickered and blinked, "Glass? The name is novel, is this thing more beautiful than glass? ”

Ning Xiu shook his head and said, "If you talk about the degree of beauty, glass is definitely not as good as glass." But glass can be used by more people and can enter the lives of more ordinary people. ”

Shichiro was fascinated by this, swallowed his saliva and said, "This glass is so good, how to make it?" ”

Ning Xiu patted him on the shoulder and said, "Speaking of which, making glass is similar to making cement. Do you remember the master who built a kiln for our family last time? Go and bring him in, I want him to build another kiln as I asked. ”

"Third brother, can't the original kiln be used? How much money does it cost to build a kiln again? ”

Ning Xiu smiled and said, "Don't worry, the third brother will assure you that this money will definitely not be spent unjustly." After a pause, he continued: "If glass can really be mass-produced, the profit will definitely be more than cement and soap combined. ”

Shichiro heard a stirring spirit and clenched his fists excitedly.

"This glass is so powerful? Okay, I'll go and ask the master to build the kiln! ”

With that, Shichiro was about to turn around and leave.

"Wait."

Ning Xiu hurriedly called out to him and said, "When you go, please tell the housekeeper by the way, and ask him to buy some limestone and alkaline noodles and come back." ”

"Okay." Qilang replied repeatedly: "What about you, third brother?" ”

"I'm going to go to the government again, and whether I can successfully make glass depends on this trip to the government."

Ning Xiu and said.

The mining of quartz sand needs to be approved by the government, and Ning Xiu urgently needs this raw material, and it is inevitable to go to the government again.

Ning Xiu could see that Governor Li liked the wine he made very much, and he could take this opportunity to bring a few more bottles of wine.

Coming and not being rude, Ning Xiu gave Li Zhifu so much wine, and then asked him for permission to mine quartz placer ore It would not be abrupt.

Of course, Ning Xiu is not mining for nothing, he will pay the government silver according to the market price.

Isn't it beautiful for both sides to take what they need?

......

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