【History of Haichuan Chemical Industry】Chen Jianyuan – Pioneer and master designer in China’s defense chemical industry, fertilizer industry, and new chemical materials

Thread Content

Looking at Development Through History: History is the Best Teacher. This series of posts is being updated continuously. [Haichuan Chemical Industry’s History] – A comprehensive post: Looking at development through history! Constantly being updated! https://bbs.hcbbs.com/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=5718076 (Source: HaiChuan Chemical Engineering Forum (HuaHaiChuanLiu hcbbs)). Everyone is welcome to participate in the discussion. --------------------------------------------------------- Chen Jianyuan (June 15, 1916 – May 26, 1995) was an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and an expert in chemical engineering. Born in Huai’an, Jiangsu Province, he held various positions including senior engineer at the Ministry of Chemical Industry, deputy director of the technical committee, head of the Sixth Design Institute of the Ministry of Chemical Industry, and president of Beijing University of Chemical Technology. He graduated from the Department of Chemical Engineering at Central University in 1940, obtained a master’s degree from the University of Iowa in the United States in 1948, and received a doctorate from the University of Syracuse in the United States in 1950. He was elected an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 1993 and passed away on May 26, 1995. He was one of the pioneers in China’s field of new chemical materials, making significant contributions to meeting the needs of China’s nuclear weapons, rockets, and other defense-related chemical products. Biography: Born on June 15, 1916, in Huai’an, Jiangsu. Starting in 1921, he attended private schools and elementary schools in Caodian. In 1936, he graduated from Suzhou Middle School in Jiangsu Province with excellent grades. In 1937, when the War of Resistance against Japan broke out, he moved to Chongqing with Central University. In June 1940, he graduated with a Bachelor of Engineering degree and stayed at the university as an assistant in industrial analysis experiments. In July 1942, Chen Jianyuan was transferred to the tung oil cracking plant of Fuxing Company in Chongqing, where he was in charge of the construction and operation of the facility for producing gasoline through the saponification and cracking of tung oil. The facility was put into operation not long ago. In February 1943, Chen Jianyuan went to the research laboratory of the Yunnan Chemical Materials Factory in Kunming to work on research related to the production of soda ash and ammonium sulfate using mirabilite, ammonia, and carbon dioxide. In November 1943, he became a professor of general chemistry at Guizhou University. In June 1944, as the Japanese invading forces advanced toward Dushan, he moved to the Fiber Testing Factory of the Central Industrial Research Institute in Chongqing to participate in the testing, development, and production of paper made from bamboo. In April 1946, Chen Jianyuan accompanied the factory director to Tianjin to take over the enemy-owned Tianjin Pulp and Paper Company. This company was a large-scale enterprise that produced paper using the reed sulfite process, with a daily paper production capacity of 70 tons; it was severely damaged by the surrender of the Japanese invading forces. Chen Jianyuan is in charge of the company’s pharmaceutical and pulping workshops. He led the workers in actively repairing the equipment and learning production techniques, and quickly resumed the preparation of cooking liquor and pulp production. At the end of that year, Iowa State University in the United States agreed to offer a scholarship for Chen Jianyuan to pursue further studies in its graduate school, on the recommendation of his American classmates. In January 1947, Chen Jian went to the United States and joined the Department of Chemical Engineering at that institution, where he worked under his supervisor Gs. Grove on the research of synthetic fibers. In March 1948, she completed her thesis on \"Sodium Hydroxide and Cellulose\" and received her master’s degree. Later, at the invitation of CS. Grove, he went to the Department of Chemical Engineering at Syracuse University in New York State to continue his in-depth research on \"one-step production techniques for synthetic fibers\". Based on polymer physics, which was just emerging at that time, and using conventional methods for studying the microscopic structure of molecules, this project aimed to reform the industrial two-step production process for synthetic silk by significantly simplifying the procedures, reducing the number of equipment needed, and shortening the production cycle. It was therefore both theoretically and economically significant, though it also presented considerable challenges. Through hard work and creative efforts, Chen Jianyuan has made steady progress in his research. In 1949, he was admitted as a member of the American SigmaXi society. In April 1950, he successfully completed the pilot test of the one-step production technology for rayon, earning high praise from his supervisor. As required by his supervisor, he compiled some of the data and fundamental theories from this research into a paper titled \"Configuration and Structure of Sulfononic Acid Fibers.\" The review committee approved it unanimously, granting him a PhD in Philosophy. This paper was published in September 1951 in Volume 34, Issue 9 of the American journal \"Technical Association of The Pulp & Paper Industry\", attracting considerable attention from relevant professionals and being frequently cited. In September 1950, he set off for home via Hong Kong. He returned to his homeland with great enthusiasm, taking the needs of the people as his highest goal; he obeyed all organizational arrangements and was assigned as deputy director of the design department at the Chemical Industry Bureau of the East China Industrial Department in Shanghai, where he was also responsible for the design of a newly built prussic acid factory in Nanjing. In early 1954, experimental research on the production of safety powder using the zinc powder reduction method was carried out in collaboration with Jiaotong University, and the process design was completed. In February 1954, this design office was merged with the Chemical Engineering Design Company of the Ministry of Heavy Industry; Chen Jianyuan was transferred to Beijing to serve as head of the Basic Chemical Industry Department of the Chemical Engineering Design Company (the organization underwent several restructurings over time, becoming successively the Basic Chemical Industry Design Institute of the Ministry of Chemical Industry and the Beijing Chemical Engineering Design Institute of the same ministry), where he was in charge of the process design for phosphate fertilizers and sulfuric acid production. In close cooperation with relevant professionals, the design of China’s first batch of large-scale superphosphate fertilizer plants along with the corresponding large-scale sulfuric acid production facilities was completed, as well as the generic design for 10,000-ton capacity calcium-magnesium-phosphorus fertilizer plants. In 1958, in accordance with higher-level directives, the Beijing Chemical Engineering Design Institute established a Special Department 7, staffed with professionals in areas such as process engineering, equipment design, and civil engineering, to be responsible for the development and design of new chemical materials used in advanced defense applications. Chen Jianyuan served as the deputy chief engineer of the institute (becoming the chief engineer in 1964) and head of Room 7. In 1965, Department 7 was transformed into the Sixth Design Institute of the Ministry of Chemical Industry, with Chen Jianyuan serving as its director and chief engineer until 1978. Over these 20 years, he led designers from various fields to complete the development of 18 specialized defense chemical products, including heavy water, as well as the design of more than 40 projects, thereby meeting the needs of atomic bombs, hydrogen bombs, missiles, aircraft, and other defense and military industries in a timely manner. In March 1978, Chen Jianyuan was transferred to serve as the deputy director of the Second Bureau of the Ministry of Chemical Industry, in charge of research and development in the field of new chemical materials. In 1982, Chen Jianyuan was transferred to serve as the president of Beijing University of Chemical Technology. In March 1985, Chen Jianyuan was transferred to serve as deputy chairman of the Technical Committee of the Ministry of Chemical Industry, where he participated in the formulation of plans for development in chemical technology as well as in the research on major scientific and technical issues. He was also responsible for organizing, coordinating, and guiding key scientific research and development projects, including those aimed at advancing the development of large-scale technologies for new chemical materials. In December 1993, Chen Jianyuan was elected an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. In the early hours of May 26, 1995, Chen Jianyuan passed away in Beijing due to a sudden heart attack for which no treatment could be effective.