"Science Life • Centennial" academician style 丨 Hou Debang: China's modern chemical industry pioneer

"Scientific Life · Centennial" academician style

For more than 60 years since the establishment of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1499 academicians have been selected and hired. In 2022, there were 20 academicians of the century -old birthday, including Academician Yang Zhenning, the winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics, Academician Wu Mengchao, and Academician Wu Liangzheng of the National Supreme Science and Technology Award. The "Scientific Power" column will continue to publish the stories of these academicians to show their life style.

China Well -off Network Exclusive Specialty

Nowadays, pure alkali can be seen everywhere in daily life. It is unknown that in China a century ago, people were able to eat sour pupa because they did not get high -priced soda. At this time, a person appeared and changed such a situation. He is Hou Debang.

In 1933, when the English version of "Made in Skinthon" was published in New York, the bookmaker produced such an advertising painting: a Chinese teenager on a waterwheel on the paddy field while stepping on the water truck and reading the book. The story described in this advertisement is a "trailer for a trailer" that is circulated in Minhou. The Chinese farmer's teenager in the advertisement is Hou Debang who scored 1,000 points in the future.

As an important founder of my country's modern chemical industry, Hou Debang broke the monopoly of alkali -making technology in the Solvi Group in the lifetime of struggling for the construction of the motherland's chemical industry, and invented the world's most advanced technology in the world. The development of alkali technology in the motherland and the world has made significant contributions.

Unveiled alkali technology

Hou Debang was born in a peasant family in Powei Village, Minhou County, Fujian Province. From 1903 to 1906, he went to Fuzhou Yinghua Academy to study at the aunt's funding. In 1907, he studied at the Fujian -Anhui Railway College in Shanghai and studied railway projects for two years. After graduating, he was an intern at the Jinpu Railway. At work, Hou Debang was determined to master science and technology and use science and industry to save China.

Hou Debang realized that China must be strong in his youth, and gradually established the ideal of "scientifically saving the country" and "industrial saving the country" in the process of growth.

In 1911, he resigned from his work and admitted to Tsinghua School Higher Division. During his studies, he had scored 100 points of 10 points at the door of the door, which made a sensation in Tsinghua Garden. After graduating from Tsinghua School in 1912, he went to the United States to study in the United States.

At the beginning of the 20th century, chemical industry was still a subject of discipline in the world. Hou Debang has a strong interest in chemical industry, and has studied chemical engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Columbia University. After eight years of cold windows, I received a doctorate in Circus in 1921. His doctoral dissertation "Iron Salt Tanning" was serialized in full text by the "American Circular Chemicals Association", becoming one of the classic literatures that are still quoted by the reform world.

In the spring of 1921, Hou Debang, who was preparing for a doctoral dissertation in the United States, received a letter from Fan Xudong and invited him to work at the "Wynn Alkali Company" after graduation to undertake the heavy responsibility of building the first alkali factory in Asia -Wynn Tong Sugan Factory.

Although Hou Debang was born in the study system, in order to revitalize the Chinese nation industry, he was determined to engage in alkali -making and chose to return to China as the technician (the chief engineer) of the Wongli alkali plant. Life course.

In the 1870s, the alkali -making process was the Solvid Alkali method exclusive to the Solvi Association organized by France, Germany, and the United States. The design drawings are only disclosed to their member states, and they are absolutely confidential. In addition to technology, there are also restrictions on business. They adopt partitioning methods, such as the Chinese market monopolized by British Gate. Anyone who has no Solvi Association has no way to ask for production details at all.

Until the beginning of the 20th century, many manufacturers who wanted to explore the mystery of Solvy alkali method ended in failure.

With the close monopoly of alkali technology and markets, the Wynn Alkali Factory bought a brief information of "Solvi" with heavy money. Hou Debang was buried in this simple information and led the majority of employees. After 5 years of hard exploration, he finally mastered the technical essentials of Solvy Alkali and solved a series of technical problems.

However, there is a fatal disadvantage of Solvy alkali method, that is, the salt utilization rate is not high, and about 30%of salt will be wasted, and the mainland salt price is expensive at the time. Hou Debang decided to take a different approach. He explored experiments, continuously designed and improved the plan, led the technical personnel to conduct more than 500 tests, analyzed more than 2,000 samples, and finally succeeded. This new method is named the "combined alkali method", that is, the later "Hou's alkali method" can increase the utilization rate of salt to 96%, and at the same time transform the waste of the pollution environment into chemical fertilizer -ammonium chloride — ammonium chloride — ammonium chloride — ammonium chloride. The new era of the world's alkali industry has been launched.

In terms of treatment of ammonium bicarbonate, Solvy alkali method makes ammonia rest. The Hou's alkali method is to add salt to the crystallization of ammonium chloride, and ammonium chloride can be used as a chemical raw material. In addition, the Hou's alkaline method is reduced by 1/3 of the equipment required by the alkali method, which greatly reduces the funds of the construction plant, which not only greatly improves the utilization rate of salt. The cost of alkali is 40%lower than the Solvi method.

In August 1926, at the Philadelphia Expo in the United States, Wynn's red triangle brand pure alkali was awarded the gold medal and was known as "the symbol of modern China's modern industry progress."

After Hou Debang explored the mystery of the alkali method, he did not have his own, but to make money, but to make the world share this scientific and technological achievement. To this end, he wrote all the technologies of the alkali method and his practical experience as the monograph "Skin -Alkali Manufacturing", which was published in the American Chemical Society in New York in 1933. For the first time, this chemical masterpiece has completely disclosed the secret of Solvy alkali. The advent of this book has a sensation in the chemical industry. It is recognized by the chemical industry of the chemical industry in the world as the authority of the alkali industry, and has been translated into a variety of text publishing, which has played an important role in the development of the world's alkali industry.

Wilson, a well -known American chemist, said that the book was "a major contribution to Chinese chemists' contributions to world civilization." Until 2004, the view of the book was cited by the American scientific quotation (SCI).

Fuxing National Chemical

In the late 1950s, my country vigorously developed agriculture and urgently needed fertilizer. Limited to the actual situation of my country's technical level at that time, the Ministry of Chemical Industry decided to develop a new variety of fertilizers -ammonium bicarbonate.

In 1958, Hou Debang personally led the team to the Shanghai Chemical Research Institute and began to plan and build a synthetic ammonia factory in Shanghai. The new process of ammonium bicarbonate forms a unique small nitrogen fertilizer technology in my country. In the same year, Hou Debang was awarded the "Carbonization Method Synthetic ammonia -based ammonium bicarbonate" invention certificate issued by the State Science and Technology Commission.

Chemical plants have always been one of the major sources of pollution. As a chemist, chemical technology experts and the main leaders of the chemical industry, Hou Debang has always attached great importance to environmental protection and did a lot of work on prevention and control of pollution.

Hou Debang attaches great importance to solving the problem of pollution from the beginning of the choice. He believes that the location of the site should be as conservative as possible, and it must do everything possible not to occupy high -yield cultivated land. You can build the factory on the small hills or less steep hillside, and use non -production or low -yield land. For example, choose the site in the city, and it is advisable to have convenient transportation, raw materials and products that are easy to transport, and sufficient water and electricity supply. At the same time, Hou Debang also pays great attention to the development of low pollution or pollution -free technology to replace those high pollution technologies and eliminate pollution in the production process.

Before and after the founding of the People's Republic of China, Hou Debang walked twice into Zhongnanhai to discuss the industrial construction of New China with national leaders. Since then, he has actively devoted himself to various tasks such as the scientific and technological community, industry, etc., and served as a member of the Central Finance and Economic Council, a consultant of the Chemical Bureau of the Heavy Industry Department of the Ministry of Industry of the Ministry of Chemical and Industry, and the director of the Chemical Technology Committee of the Department of Chemical and Industry.

In his later years, Hou Debang did not stop his work, and still struggled at the front line of chemical development.

In 1972, although Hou Debang was increasingly ill, he still asked to inspect the factory many times to help solve technical problems. He also invited scientific and technological personnel to meet at home to discuss the improvement and development of small alkali technology.

In November 1973, Hou Debang wrote to Premier Zhou Enlai: "The German list is old, weak and sick, and I am afraid that it will soon be born. The fewer reference books contributed to the country in China. Please ask the Prime Minister to designate the Beijing Library or the Chinese Academy of Sciences Library. "

Pioneering Chemical Road, Debinghua List. Hou Debang worked hard for his life. The course of his struggle, his achievements created in chemical industries such as alkali and manufacturing fertilizers, and light up the light of the star for science. ("Well -off" · China Well -off reporter Li Huijun comprehensively organized)

(Introduction)

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Hou Debang

(1890 ~ ​​1974)

Born in Minhou, Fujian. Famous scientists, outstanding chemists, founders of Hou's alkali method, and pioneer of China's heavy chemistry industry. One of the founders of the modern chemistry industry, the authority of the world's alkali industry. In 1955, he was selected as a member of the Department of Sciences (academicians) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

("Well -off" · China Well -off Exclusive Draft)

This article was published in "Well -off" in late August 2022

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