Chapter 17 First Batch of Products

In the next few days, Xu Qiang was busy between the factory and the peat field.

According to Xu Qiang's plan, he must complete the construction of the peat field sedimentation tank and the three-level water storage tank within this week, and the workload is not small.

In the past life, these tasks only required an excavator and could be easily completed in one morning, but now conditions are limited and everything has to be done by manual excavation.

The three of them worked almost around the clock. Erhu and Liu Jun were stationed here day and night, while Xu Qiang had to work even harder, as he had to go to the factory to work at night. He had to complete the transportation of six tons of raw materials every day.

Long hours of high-intensity work have left Xu Qiang physically and mentally deficient in sleep. He looks listless almost every day at work, which makes team leader Gao Bo very dissatisfied.

But Gao Bo was helpless with Xu Qiang, because this kid did complete the workload required by the workshop every day, which made him unable to find a reason to punish him, but deep down, he already regarded him as a thorn in the side.

Time passed quickly and it was Friday. After get off work, Xu Qiang walked quickly towards the village.

Today is an important day for Xu Qiang, because after nearly a week of hard work, the infrastructure at the peat field has been put in place, and they will officially start refining humic acid fertilizer in the morning.

"Uncle, why don't you go back and get some sleep first." Seeing Xu Qiang, with disheveled hair and dark circles under his eyes, walking towards him in the peat field, Liu Jun said with concern.

"No need. Was the peat crushed last night?" Xu Qiang asked.

In fact, Xu Qiang had wanted to take a good rest for a long time, but he was under a lot of pressure now. On the one hand, the funds he had were about to run out, and he had not yet produced even a gram of humic acid fertilizer. On the other hand, the autumn rice was about to be planted, and if he missed this opportunity, there would be certain problems with the sales of the fertilizer. So he had to make the fertilizer before the autumn rice was officially planted.

"Brother Jun and I worked until late at night and almost destroyed it." Erhu said as if seeking credit.

During this period, Liu Jun and Erhu worked very hard. After dark, they used carbide lamps for lighting, and then used sand nets to grind and sift more than 600 dried peat bricks into powder.

According to Xu Qiang's understanding of the humic acid extraction process, the peat crusher should be controlled at 80 mesh at best, and the maximum can be 20 mesh. The smaller the particles, the higher the purity of the purified humic acid.

However, Xu Qiang only has a sieve for sifting sand for building houses. This sieve has a mesh size of 20, which is just enough to reach the lower limit of the particles required for extracting humic acid. However, it will also affect the final purity of the product.

"Well done, thank you for your hard work!" Seeing the pile of peat debris in the yard like a small mountain, Xu Qiang smiled with satisfaction, and then said: "Let's put the debris into the sedimentation tank now, and it must be completed before ten o'clock!"

Following Xu Qiang's order, Erhu and Liu Jun began to put the peat fragments into bamboo baskets, then carried their loads and walked to the third-level sedimentation tank next to them.

The sedimentation tanks here are dug along the hillside like stairs. Each pit is ten meters long, two meters wide and less than one meter deep. The inside of the tank is made of plastic mulch to prevent water seepage. The mulch these days is actually not very durable, but it can be used for temporary water seepage prevention and the effect is still acceptable.

Above the tertiary sedimentation tank, there is a water reservoir, which is connected to the sedimentation tank below through a water pipe. In the past few days, Xu Qiang and his colleagues have filled it with water. In order to prevent evaporation, a layer of ground film is also covered on it.

Strictly speaking, the water used to extract humic acid is preferably treated pure water. Water quality treatment is also very important in the chemical industry, which directly affects the purity of humic acid extraction. However, Xu Qiang does not have this condition now. Because of its simplicity and oldness, this is also the only solution.

The three men added peat crushed materials into the top sedimentation tank. Xu Qiang measured the thickness with a ruler, and then directed Erhu to release water into the reservoir.

The ratio of water to material is required to be 10:1.
Soon, the water in the top-level sedimentation tank reached the designated water level. Liu Jun poured the caustic soda pulled by the carriage into the tank, and then the three of them began to stir it in the tank.

While stirring, Xu Qiang used test paper to test the pH value of the mixture.

According to the process requirements, the pH value of the solution in the mixing tank must reach 11. When it was detected that the acidity of the solution was too high, Xu Qiang added some caustic soda into it.

Finally, there is the issue of water temperature.

According to the process requirements that Xu Qiang understood, the humic acid alkali extraction step requires the mixed liquid to reach a high temperature of 80 to 95 degrees Celsius, but this water tank is not temperature-controlled, and heating the water temperature is almost impossible.

Fortunately, the weather is hot in this season, and the reservoir is covered with mulch. At noon, the water temperature can barely reach nearly 30 degrees Celsius. However, at such a temperature, the purification effect can only reach half of the specified water temperature.

As a top chemical expert, Xu Qiang's previous work always strictly followed formulas and process flows, but now, he can only continue to relax product standards.

In the high temperature of over 30 degrees at noon, Xu Qiang and the other two were sweating profusely. After the alkaline extraction step was completed, the sodium humate solution flowing out of the primary water pool began to enter the secondary water pool and began the acid extraction step.

The acid extraction of sodium humate uses hydrochloric acid. Compared with alkaline extraction, it does not require high water temperature. The standard is 40 degrees Celsius. Using 30-degree water can also achieve good extraction results.

"Is this black mud soup humic acid fertilizer?"

The three of them worked until after two in the afternoon. After completing the entire extraction process, Liu Jun stared at the black mixed solution flowing into the third-level water tank and asked.

"It still needs to settle and dry." Xu Qiang was still a little excited when he saw the finished product he made for the first time.

"How much can this thing sell for?" Erhu, who was shirtless and sweaty, asked excitedly.

"It depends on the purity. The higher the purity, the higher the price." Xu Qiang pondered for a moment, then continued, "However, our conditions are limited and we lack the relevant equipment, so the purity of this batch of goods will not be too high. It is still unknown whether the supply and marketing cooperative will accept it..."

"What if they don't accept it?" Erhu and Liu Jun became nervous when they heard Xu Qiang say this.

"It's almost time to plant the autumn rice. Fertilizers are in short supply everywhere. I think if we sell them at a lower price, Director Wang will buy them." Xu Qiang smiled and continued, "Don't worry, even if this business loses money, I will bear it alone. Your salary will not be reduced by a penny, and within one or two years, I guarantee that you will be able to marry wives!"

(End of this chapter)