I was the Founding Father of the United States

Chapter 192 Coal Tar Fractionation

"—I understand, Your Excellency!"

James Merlin's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly nodded, saying, "I assure you, absolutely no information will leak out of the steel mill!"

As an expert, he knew very well how valuable such a refining reverberatory furnace would be if it could truly turn pig iron into wrought iron on a large scale!

Pig iron is brittle and hard, and its applications are limited. But wrought iron is completely different. Its uses go far beyond the rails of the Mara Railway mentioned by His Excellency the Governor. It can be used for structural components supporting houses and ships, steel plates, bridges, and even the pure iron ships mentioned by the Governor!

From small household items to furniture and utensils, everything can be made from wrought iron!

It is no exaggeration to say that this is a new technology worth at least hundreds of thousands of pounds, a value so great that it could claim the lives of hundreds or thousands of people!

He would never dare to challenge the boss's bottom line, nor would he want any technical thieves to appear in the steel mill!

Because that can really kill people!

Upon seeing this, the deputy manager Wolf, who was standing nearby, also quickly stated that he would warn all those in the know to keep it a secret.

To show their importance, the two also called over the technician in charge of supervising the construction of the reverberatory furnace and made him recite the company's confidentiality regulations on the spot.

Chen Wenbin glanced at the middle-aged man who had come up to him with excited eyes, and waved his hand, saying, "—You don't need to memorize the confidentiality regulations. I remember you, Mr. Black Wyatt. You were the first immigrant to receive technology options at Robin Steel!"

I believe in your loyalty to the company!

Upon hearing Governor Chen address him by name, George Wyatt's eyes hardened instantly: "Your Excellency! God is my witness, I would rather die than betray you!"

Chen Wenbin patted him on the shoulder: "I believe in you! But if that day really comes, I'd rather you were alive!"

Go to work!

"—Yes, Your Excellency!"

Watching his retreating figure, Chen Wenbin nodded gently.

He didn't actually expect the refining reverberatory furnace to remain a secret for long. Sooner or later, the secret would be known to the outside world as the continuous supply of wrought iron products was sold.

But they should delay as long as possible, ideally until war breaks out between North America and Britain. At that point, his steel mills and arsenals would become the cornerstone of North America, providing a continuous supply of muskets and artillery.

Well, speaking of guns and cannons, he is about to send troops to subdue the Native Americans in Ohio. Firearms alone are not enough; he also needs some light steel cannons.

In addition, the procurement and domestic production of saltpeter must be accelerated; otherwise, if war breaks out, the British Navy could blockade the supply of Indian saltpeter.

In response, they could only wait for French aid, which was far too passive.

Thinking about this, he couldn't help but feel a headache coming on, because he had absolutely no information about North American nitrate mines.

He did know that Peru in South America and the islands in the South Pacific had abundant guano saltpeter resources, but distant water cannot quench immediate thirst—it seemed that the only option was to use a primitive method: collecting urine to produce saltpeter.

Just then, the newly built Robin Chemical Plant and the University of America's chemistry lab were located to the west of the steel plant, so he simply called his guards and rushed over.

Upon arriving at the chemistry lab, they found Ethan Randall, the manager of Robin Chemical Company and director of the chemistry research institute, wearing a white lab coat.

This was a 36-year-old Scotsman, a graduate of the University of Glasgow, who used to work at the lead and sulfuric acid plant in Birmingham. After reading about oxidation theory, he had a profound realization and came directly to join Lord Chen.

When Chen Wenbin finished explaining his need for traditional saltpeter production, the middle-aged chemist asked with a puzzled look, "Your Excellency, I do know the method of piling saltpeter, it's not a secret, but why are you wasting manpower to piling saltpeter fields to produce saltpeter?"

The East India Company's saltpeter is of good quality and cheap, costing only 6 to 8 pence per pound. If you need it, you can just buy it directly from them!

Chen Wenbin was speechless for a moment. Britain had limited its supply of saltpeter to North America. He couldn't very well tell the East India Company that he was stockpiling saltpeter in preparation for war, could he?

Then he saw the bottles and jars in the laboratory and an idea struck him. Since hoarding for war was not an option, surely using them as preservatives for canned goods and chemical consumables would meet the demand!

It's perfectly normal that he needs more saltpeter since he's planning to hunt North American bison on a large scale for canned meat.

Thinking of this, he pretended to suddenly realize something, "Haha, you're right. Purchasing Indian saltpeter is indeed more convenient than building our own saltpeter fields, but it takes at least seven or eight months for the goods to arrive after each purchase. We still need to control a portion of our own saltpeter production capacity. You can choose two students to be in charge of this!"

Randall had no choice but to agree, "————Alright! I'll make time to guide them."

Chen Wenbin nodded, then changed the subject, saying, "By the way, Mr. Randall, I assigned you two projects before: one was to extract some raw materials from coal tar, and the other was to study the properties of mercuric nitrate—have you made any progress lately?"

"Of course!"

When talking about his research results, Randall grinned and immediately pulled Chen Wenbin to a laboratory table. Pointing to several glass beakers filled with liquid, he opened the stopper of the first bottle and proudly shared, "I had the steel mill make three cast iron distillation kettles for me, and then, following your instructions, I heated and fractionated the coal tar."

This bottle is the first to produce steam. Its boiling point is lower than water, it has a fragrant aroma, and it produces thick smoke when lit. I don't know what it can be used for yet.

Chen Wenbin was stunned. It was distilled from coal tar, had a lower boiling point than water, and had an aromatic smell—wasn't this just benzene and xylene?

This stuff is a potent carcinogen!

I rely on!

He quickly grabbed the stopper and sealed the beaker, then pulled Randall and ran out of the laboratory. Once outside, he was panting heavily.

A bewildered Randall rubbed his arm, which was aching from being gripped, and stared blankly at Governor Chen. "—What happened? Is there something wrong with that liquid?"

Chen Wenbin glared at him. "Of course! That liquid is extremely dangerous. Contact with it for a period of time will weaken your body, make you sick, and then you'll die a painful death!"

"—My God!"

Chen Wenbin shook his head and told the truth, "No, I didn't."

"Then how did you know—"

"That was a revelation from God!"

Upon hearing this, Randall stared at Governor Chen speechlessly. He didn't believe that Governor Chen was a prophet. In his opinion, Dr. Robin Chen was clearly a great scientist, so why did he like to call himself a prophet? He really didn't know what he was thinking.

The two men stared at each other for a few seconds, but the boss's authority prevailed. He reluctantly swallowed his questions and said directly, "—Sir, I request permission to conduct toxicity testing on animals!"

"Can!"

Chen Wenbin nodded in agreement, "But before that, I need to update the safety operation manual for the chemistry lab!"

From now on, all laboratory personnel must take full protective measures when handling substances of unknown nature, at least by wearing the gas mask I invented earlier!

Violators will have half a month's salary deducted for the first offense, three months' salary for the second, and six months' salary for the third, plus a one-month suspension to study the operation manual!

Randall swallowed hard and nodded obediently.

Even if the boss didn't say anything, he was still afraid of contracting a strange disease!

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