Returning to 1949, I decided to hand it over to the state.

As Zhou Chunsheng finished speaking, his voice grew softer and softer, clearly revealing a deep sense of frustration.

Seeing his frustrated expression, Jiang Fan knew that this guy had really tried his best.

Asking a mechanical engineer who works with gears and lathes to tackle chemical processes is indeed like trying to break a rock with your weakest link.

He stopped, patted Zhou Chunsheng on the back, and comforted him:

"Mr. Zhou, it's alright, don't worry."

"Actually, the name 'chemical engineering' sounds intimidating, but at our current stage, the principles are not complicated at all. Let me explain."

"The core of this thing is to take advantage of the fact that different substances have different boiling points. At the same temperature, the gas with the lower boiling point evaporates first, while the liquid with the higher boiling point remains at the bottom, and then it can be condensed with water."

"It's like when we're making meat soup in a big pot in the cafeteria, there's a layer of oil floating on top. You take a spoon and skim off the oil and put it in a bowl... It's that simple."

"...It's...it's that simple?" Zhou Chunsheng's eyes widened as he listened to Jiang Fan's unpretentious description, completely dumbfounded.

"Yes, it's that simple."

Jiang Fan shrugged: "It's essentially just a large distiller, no different in essence from the small pots we use to boil liquor in the winter in rural Northeast China."

"The only difference is that brewing wine produces alcohol, while what we're distilling from crude oil is propane and butane gas."

After hearing these words, Zhou Chunsheng stood there in silence for a full ten seconds.

Then, he swore:

"Damn it, Engineer Jiang, you should have told me this sooner! If you had said it was a small-scale boiler, I wouldn't have been worrying about it for so long!"

Jiang Fan almost burst out laughing.

It's no wonder Zhou Chunsheng was so stubborn.

Because people with cognitive impairment have their minds filled with various professional mass transfer coefficients, plate efficiencies, and thermodynamic formulas, their thoughts naturally become extremely complex.

But in 1949, as long as the principle of fractionation could be implemented, even if the packing material in the tower was made of broken bricks and wire mesh, as long as gas could be produced, it would be an epoch-making industrial advancement.

After all, we're not building a rocket; the message is what matters.

"Alright, alright, let's go, let's get to work!"

Jiang Fan continued walking out, then suddenly remembered something and instructed Zhou Chunsheng:

"However, I must emphasize a safety issue to you first. We need to set up this purification equipment outdoors in the open air."

"Open-air? Why? It would be much more convenient to use a crane in the workshop." Zhou Chunsheng asked, somewhat puzzled.

Jiang Fan's expression was grave: "Because the associated gas from the original crude oil contains a large amount of hydrogen sulfide and other toxic gases."

"If you operate in a closed workshop, even a slight leak will prevent the gas from escaping. If a worker takes a couple of breaths, he or she will suffer acute poisoning, and even a miracle worker couldn't save him."

"Therefore, we must find a spacious, well-ventilated open space to set up the equipment."

Upon hearing the word "poisoning," Zhou Chunsheng immediately understood the seriousness of the problem.

He stopped smiling and nodded:

"Understood. Safety first. I'll arrange for people to move the equipment and find a suitable location right away."

After hearing this, Zhou Chunsheng was so eager to get to work that he turned and left.

Jiang Fan pursed her lips helplessly and quickly called out to stop him:

"Hey, Mr. Zhou, don't rush off like that!"

"Do you know what materials and equipment are needed for this job?"

Zhou Chunsheng slammed on the brakes, stopped abruptly, and turned around.

He was so excited that all he could think about was the words "boil a small amount of liquor," and he had no idea how to actually boil it.

Jiang Fan rolled his eyes at him, stepped forward, and gestured as he gave instructions:

"Listen carefully, first get a big iron pot, the larger the diameter the better, then get a few iron pipes, the sealing joints must be intact, and then get a pressure-resistant metal sealed container."

"We also need to find a few rolls of thin copper tubing. If we can't find copper tubing, lead tubing will do. And we need to get a few sacks of high-quality coke from the logistics department!"

"Also, get some river sand, gravel, and activated carbon."

"Finally, prepare a few metal buckets with screw-on lids and a blower."

Zhou Chunsheng knew nothing about chemical engineering, but his memory for the common mechanical materials in these workshops was excellent.

As soon as Jiang Fan finished reporting, he had already made a list in his mind and immediately asked:

"That's all?"

That's all.

Zhou Chunsheng was now completely confident and nodded emphatically:

"Okay, let's go!"

After saying that, he turned around and ran off to call for backup.

Watching Zhou Chunsheng's hurried figure disappear into the distance, Jiang Fan couldn't help but sigh softly.

If only we had modern, sophisticated chemical processing equipment.

Stainless steel bubble cap trays, DCS precision temperature control system, online chromatograph, digital pressure transmitter...

Just pick any item, and this job will be done beautifully and safely, increasing the output several times over.

Although these iron pots, iron buckets, and copper pipes could do it, the efficiency was too low and the losses were too great.

"Ugh."

Forget it, as long as we can produce the product, that's fine.

Jiang Fan sighed inwardly and quickly followed.

Although the materials are simple, there are still many details that he needs to control and supervise on-site.

For example, the filling ratio of activated carbon and sand, the temperature range for coke heating, the inclination angle of the condenser pipe...

You still need to grasp these details yourself first.

...

It must be said that Zhou Chunsheng's coordination skills are truly outstanding.

In less than two hours, he not only swept everything off Jiang Fan's list and moved it all over, but also specially picked a prime spot.

This vacant lot is located in the northwest corner of the factory area, backed by a red brick wall.

It was well-ventilated on three sides, the ground was rammed hard, and there was a drainage ditch right next to it.

Jiang Fan was very satisfied and decided to start construction here.

By this time, a number of workers had already gathered at a distance outside the open space to watch the spectacle.

Everyone heard that Engineer Zhou and that Engineer Jiang were going to build a stove outside, and they all curiously peeked in, but because they heard that they were going to conduct some kind of toxic experiment, they were a little scared and dared not get too close.

Soon, after all the equipment was almost set up according to Jiang Fan's plan, he dusted off his hands and rolled up his sleeves:

"start!"

He then directed several strong workers to build a simple stove on the ground using firebricks, leaving an air inlet at the bottom.

Then they placed the huge iron pot on it.

Next, he instructed his men to connect the blower's duct to the furnace to ensure that the coke at the bottom received sufficient oxygen and maintained a stable high temperature.

Next is the condensation system.

The conditions were rudimentary, making it impossible to have modern jacketed glass condenser tubes.

Jiang Fan could only have his men forcibly bend those thick iron pipes and thin copper pipes into a spiral shape using gas welding, creating a set of winding "water-cooled heat sinks".