Chapter 1676 - 1582: High Value-Added Products

Chapter 1676: Chapter 1582: High Value-Added Products

The Count Saigul beside him also received a mask, but just from the appearance alone, it was not as sturdy as the one Regent had.

Lavoisier led Joseph towards the gate of the chemical factory at the front, curiously asking: "Your Highness, what is this gas mask you’re talking about?"

"Simply put, it’s a tool that can isolate harmful and toxic gases," Joseph gestured with his hands around his head, "made of leather and copper buckles covering the head, with glass observation ports at the eyes, and a tube at the mouth and nose part. Inside the tube are filtering materials like cotton, carbon granules, and lime.

"This thing can isolate most harmful gases; for example, it’s best to wear it near the heating furnace."

Upon entering the workshop, the smell of sulfur became stronger, and Joseph found himself uncomfortable, even through the mask.

Saigul added beside him: "Sounds somewhat similar to the bird-beak mask used by doctors."

Lavoisier immediately shook his head: "No, what His Highness described is clearly a meticulous technological invention. With it, I can confidently add lead agents."

Honestly, in the exploration stage of chemical technology, there’s not much difference from alchemy.

No one knew what materials would be effective when added, so everything from mercury, lead, to arsenic compounds had to be tried.

Hence chemists of this era generally had short lifespans—not all were killed by explosions; more were poisoned.

Joseph continued: "Let’s leave it to the arsenal to handle processing. You’ll need to find time to coordinate with them on technical standards."

"The arsenal?" Lavoisier seemed puzzled, "I thought it would be the medical equipment manufacturer."

Joseph sighed lightly: "The arsenal will be slightly more efficient."

Yes, he knew well that in a few decades, gas masks would appear on the battlefield, with armies of various nations needing to equip them in large quantities.

He suddenly thought if gas masks were invented early, would it deter the mad officers from even considering using toxic gases in combat from the beginning?

Yet the waves of heat from the vulcanization furnace rushed at Joseph, almost as if trying to roast him.

But he noticed that seven or eight technicians were gathered less than two meters from that cast-iron boiler and seemed to have been standing there for quite a while.

Lavoisier looked at the factory facilities, not quite sure what to say; it took him a while to speak: "Your Highness, you see, I’ve roughly realized your initial concept. But currently, we can only make small items no thicker than 2.6 centimeters, and we’re still exploring more optimal heating curves and additives."

Saigul, however, widened his eyes in surprise, instinctively asking: "What, what are these used for?"

The factory manager hurried over, quietly introducing the equipment in the distance: "You see, over there is the ’compression machine,’ used for repeatedly rolling and tearing raw rubber to make it soft and increase plasticity.

"Currently, we’re using manual compression, but we’ve planned to replace it with a steam engine to boost efficiency."

"Oh, over there, like a chemistry lab, is the ingredient room; ’optimized rubber’ requires complex reagents, all mixed there."

Indeed, to maximize confidentiality, the production process here wouldn’t even mention ’vulcanization,’ replacing it with the term ’optimization.’

The manager then pointed to the closer equipment: "Raw rubber goes here for ’mixing,’ being thoroughly combined with reagents...

"That side is the mold table, used to shape the raw rubber...

"The closest one to us is the heating furnace, the most core technological part.

"After complex heating processes, the raw rubber completes optimization and turns into..."

As he was speaking, a technician beside the vulcanization furnace turned and pulled the bell on the pillar.

Another technician loudly announced: "Everyone, attention, standard furnace opening procedure."

The cast-iron furnace chamber was opened, spewing out massive dust, filling half the workshop.

Three technicians cooperated to carefully pull out the trays with rubber pieces, followed by a series of complex demolding and cleaning tasks.

Lavoisier pointed at the technicians and said to Joseph: "Your Highness, it will still take several hours for complete cooling."

He took a deep brown "pancake" the size of a dish from an assistant: "See, this is the finished product just made this morning."

Joseph received this ordinary-looking rubber piece of the later era, but inside he was extremely delighted.

This is what is called a high-value-added product!

Rubber shipped from America costing thousands of francs per ship, after vulcanization, could sell for hundreds of francs per box. And a shipload of raw rubber could be processed into several hundred boxes!

It’s not even worth complaining, as unfriendly nations wouldn’t get a supply.

Saigul, however, again timely exhibited his ignorance in high-end technology, hesitantly asked: "Well, this thing doesn’t seem special..."

Lavoisier replied with a somewhat impatient tone: "Count, you can’t judge a person’s knowledge just by their appearance; the same applies to rubber.

"This insignificant-looking optimized rubber is waterproof, extremely wear-resistant, more flexible than leather, and more corrosion-resistant than metal. Oh no, it doesn’t corrode at all.

"It withstands temperatures as low as minus fifteen degrees without cracking and retains excellent elasticity in boiling water."

He picked up another rubber strip and wound it around his finger: "See, using it at the steam engine’s pipe connections will easily achieve high sealing standards.

"Using it as padding in the army’s ammunition boxes will prevent accidents even if dropped from the vehicle.

"The most important application is in carriages. Wrapping an elastic rubber around the wheels will make the ride a hundred times more comfortable than now, and it won’t slip even on wet roads.

"Railroad sleeper pads have similar effects, significantly reducing vibrations caused when wheels roll over tracks. My assistant estimates that placing rubber sheets between rails and sleepers can extend rail maintenance intervals by four to six times!"

Saigul was stunned by the revelation.

Joseph nodded and continued: "You reminded me to quickly include rubber sheets in rail laying standards.

"Oh, and gas street lamps. Rubber sealing rings can significantly reduce gas pipeline installation costs."

Currently, gas pipeline sealing uses rivets and lead seals.

It’s basically pouring melted lead on the junctions of two pipes during construction, then hammering it firmly with a small hammer.

This method requires high skills, and even skilled craftsmen have to repeat it several times to meet sealing requirements.

Moreover, once lead solidifies, repairing or modifying the pipeline routes is extremely troublesome.

Thus the sealing process accounts for one-third of pipeline laying costs.

If rubber rings were used for sealing, everything could be simplified to—place the sealing ring, tighten the screw thread.

A worker trained for half an hour could undertake the construction.