【History of Haichuan Chemical】Who says only foreign countries can dominate the industrial sector? China is the originator of compressors
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I. The origins of the compressor: From the Warring States period to the Industrial Revolution. When it comes to the level of industrial development, Germany is often mentioned as a developed country; perhaps this is something we answer instinctively. You may know that China has a long history, and that inventions such as the compass, papermaking, printing, and gunpowder were created in China. But you might not be aware that the invention of the compressor also originates from China. As early as the Warring States period, the wise ancient Chinese began researching air compression. To facilitate lighting fires and metal smelting, they invented a fire-aiding tool called “tuó”; this was the earliest such tool and also the precursor to the bellows. In technical terminology, a bellows is a type of air pump. The tuō, also known as tuó yuè. “A “tuō” is a wind bag made of cowhide ； ““Kǒng” refers to the air duct of the bellows. The operation is very simple: open the leather bag, and air enters the bag through the intake valve ； The leather bladder is compressed, and the air inside it passes through the exhaust valve into the air duct, and finally into the smelting furnace. It can be said that ancient China was responsible for driving the development of metal smelting.
However, Germany is the birthplace of modern air compressors. In 1640, Germany invented the first (mechanical) vacuum pump. Subsequently, around the year 1800, the first single-stage reciprocating compressor was successfully manufactured in Britain, and since then air compressors have seen rapid development.
Technological development of compressors. China is slowly rising! Modern compressors generally include reciprocating, rotary, turbine, screw, and centrifugal types. Vortex compressors are mostly used in integrated freezing and refrigeration equipment, and cold storage accounts for over 60% of the market for vortex compressors in this sector. Emerson/Turbocharger holds a market share of up to 68%. In the field of turbo compressors, our country focuses relatively more on research related to household refrigeration appliances; it remains at a disadvantage in the area of scroll compressors. Compared with the United States and Japan, our country invests less in overall technological research and development in this field, and its technical expertise is insufficient.
After 2015, the number of patent applications for rotor compressors in our country surged! The reason is that leading Chinese companies such as Gree and Midea have invested heavily in research and development for rotor compressors, which has led to the continuous emergence of new technologies. The top five compressor manufacturers alone account for 87% of the domestic market share, leaving countries like the United States and Japan in the dust! It has turned out that as long as we are willing to put in the effort, there is nothing that a Chinese person cannot do.