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:Call: Without him, petrochemical products such as gasoline, diesel, plastics, rubber, and fibers – these chemicals that we rely on every day – would likely be much more expensive； Without him, the pollution problems in the chemical industry might be even more severe, and the adoption of cleaner fuels would have to be delayed. Since his return to the country in 1955, all of his work has been closely linked to the prosperity of **. This pioneer in the field of catalytic applications in oil refining in our country, a forerunner in the independent innovation of petrochemical technologies, and an innovator in green chemistry, is Min Enze – an 84-year-old academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering, as well as the recipient of China’s **Top Science and Technology Award in 2007. Achievements: His work is related to **strength\" – \"small balls\" and \"microspheres\": Breaking through international restrictions on catalysts; adding sulfuric acid to alcohol to produce ether ； Sulfur in water, when combined with nitre, turns into nitric acid. Due to the effect of trace additives, one substance is converted into another or several substances, its transformation is accelerated or slowed down, or it fuses or separates. In chemistry, these external agents that facilitate such reactions are called catalysts, and the changes that occur are referred to as catalytic reactions. In the 1890s, Americans proposed a method for processing oil using catalysts, which determined the direction of refining technology worldwide. Under high temperature and pressure, the hydrocarbon components of oil are converted into different fractions or products through the surface pores of the catalyst. Put simply, refining catalysts are the core of refining technology; they accelerate the chemical reactions involved in refining and help to produce more target products, just as chips are to computers. Without the development of modern catalytic science and the widespread use of catalysts, there would be no modern petrochemical industry. The continuous development of refining catalysts was the starting point of Min Eun-tae’s work. In the 1950s, the field of petroleum refining catalysts in our country was still in its infancy ； In the 1960s, our country quickly became one of the few countries in the world capable of producing various petroleum refining catalysts ； In the 1980s, new domestic catalysts joined the ranks of international leaders ； In the 21st century, several new green refining and petrochemical processes developed in our country were industrialized for the first time in the world. Min Eun-tae has played a crucial role in these several qualitative leaps. In 1959, the Lanzhou Refinery, built with Soviet assistance, came online; its core component was a fluidized bed catalytic cracking unit that used small spherical silica-alumina cracking catalysts. Starting in 1960, the Soviet Union gradually reduced and eventually halted its supply of catalysts to our country, directly threatening the production of aviation gasoline there. “I entrusted the task of developing catalysts to Comrade Min Enze, who had just returned from the United States and was working at the Petroleum Science Research Institute... They ate in the workshop, slept in the offices, climbed onto the equipment along with the workers, and entered high-temperature dry ovens; they were fully dedicated to research and overcoming technical challenges. ”Yu Qiuli, then Minister of the Petroleum Industry, wrote in his memoirs. “How to dry the catalyst is probably the biggest challenge I’ve encountered in my memory. ”On January 4, in the simply furnished living room, Min Enze recalled to a reporter from Science Times, “Shrinkage stress can easily cause the small balls to break.” How to solve it? In February 1964, I went to the small-ball silica-alumina cracking catalyst factory at Lanzhou Refinery and found that the surfactant impurities they synthesized were too numerous, making it difficult to reduce the surface tension of the small balls. So we found the surfactant ‘Pengpingjia’ in Tianjin, and indeed adding it reduced the capillary pressure that caused the breakdown of the small balls during drying. ”At the same time, Min Enze supervised the design of a mobile catalyst drying oven with a length of 60 meters, capable of controlling temperature and humidity in multiple sections; as a result, the completion rate of the small spherical silica-alumina cracking catalyst products produced reached 92%, which is higher than the 86% level of imported catalysts. In 1964, the spherical silica-alumina cracking catalyst was put into commercial use. At that time, the warehouse only had imported catalysts sufficient to last until July of that year. As its various technical parameters are superior to those of Soviet-imported catalysts, and it is half as expensive as these imported catalysts, it saves tens of millions of yuan in operating costs each year, making our country another country aside from the United States and the Netherlands that possesses this technology. The small-ball silica-alumina cracking catalyst was included by the Science and Technology Committee in the compilation of important scientific and technological achievements for the years 1963 to 1964. In 1960, with the development of the Daqing oil field, refineries faced a urgent need for microspherical silico-aluminum catalysts. The manufacturing technology was monopolized by the United States, making it impossible to obtain such catalysts, and their prices were very high. Before the Spring Festival in 1963, the task of developing a catalyst was once again assigned to Min Enze. “The Ministry of Petroleum ordered us to extract every drop of crude oil, using the most advanced fluidized-bed catalytic cracking technology available at the time to convert heavy oil into gasoline, diesel, and liquefied gas – a process that required microspherical silicoalumina cracking catalysts. ”Min Enze identified a technical approach for manufacturing microsphere silico-alumina cracking catalysts that suits China’s national conditions; it involves readily available raw materials and requires less research and development effort, which facilitates accelerated construction and meets the requirements of the Ministry of Petroleum to set up factories as soon as possible. This time, the challenge is to \"produce microspheres whose sieve composition and mechanical strength meet the fluidization requirements in catalytic cracking units,\" and it is necessary to \"ensure that the spray dryer has an appropriate nozzle structure.\" Thus, while researching methods for catalyst production, Min Eun-tae broke with convention by building a medium-sized spray dryer in advance to study nozzle structures. They quickly developed a specialized nozzle that is still in use today. In 1965, a factory for producing microspherical silicoalumina cracking catalysts at a rate of 8,000 tons per year was finally put into operation, making China the third country aside from the United States and the Netherlands to master this technology. “Min Enze was the leader in both technological breakthroughs related to \"small balls\" and \"microspheres\". Soon after, he succeeded in developing platinum reforming catalysts and diatomite-phosphoric acid composite catalysts, for which he received the National Science Conference Award in 1978 and an invention certificate in 1965. In the early 1960s, China’s petroleum industry successfully mastered five key process technologies in oil refining: catalytic cracking, catalytic reforming, delayed coking, urea degreasing, as well as the related catalysts and additives, thereby reaching the forefront internationally. At that time, the movie \"Five Golden Flowers\" was being shown, and people happily named these 5 technologies as the \"Five Golden Flowers\". The four oil refining catalyst manufacturers – Qilu, Changling, Lanzhou, and Fushun – which produce 130,000 tons of oil refining catalysts per year and hold the vast majority of the domestic market share – were all established and developed based on the catalyst manufacturing technologies he researched and developed. At present, China’s refining catalysts and related molecular sieve catalytic materials are being exported to regions such as Europe, the United States, Asia, and Africa, and it has become one of the four major suppliers of refining catalysts in the world. The search for molecular sieves and amorphous alloys: Catalyzing a new world. After the reform and opening up, China’s catalytic technology for oil refining met the needs of the petroleum refining industry at that time, while catalytic technology for petrochemicals relied largely on imports, making innovation urgently necessary. In 1980, the head of Mobil Oil’s research center visited China and shared Mobil’s successful experience in the field of molecular sieves: it involved developing new catalytic materials rather than catalysts themselves. Inspired by this, Min Enze researched the history of innovation in petrochemical technology, explored how catalytic materials have evolved, and studied the approaches adopted by large foreign companies. He ultimately concluded that new catalytic materials are the source for creating new catalysts and new processes. Min Enze also proposed another clear research approach: new reaction engineering is the essential path to inventing new processes. Therefore, he conducted targeted fundamental research in new catalytic materials such as novel molecular sieves and amorphous alloys, as well as in new areas of reaction engineering like magnetically stabilized fluidized beds, thereby providing \"new tools\" for the innovation of petroleum refining and petrochemical technologies. To this end, he was responsible for establishing the Basic Research Department at the Institute of Petroleum Sciences, where pioneering guided basic research was carried out at the forefront of petroleum refining and petrochemical technology. In the winter of 1984, He Mingyuan was assigned to work under Min Enze as the head of the research department. “Min Enze said we can no longer follow others blindly; we must achieve innovation through fundamental research that provides guidance. ”So they led a group of graduate students on a new long march to search for new catalysts. After a decade of hard work, the ZRP molecular sieve was finally developed in 1994, and it was named one of the “Top Ten Scientific and Technological Achievements in the Country” for 1995. The following year, He Mingyuan was elected an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Different explorations are taking place simultaneously. In 1925, the American scientist Reaney invented the crystalline Reaney nickel catalyst, which has been widely used in organic synthesis for over 80 years. However, manufacturing such catalysts can easily pollute the environment, and their catalytic performance also needs to be improved ； In industrial applications, this catalyst can only be used in batch reactors, resulting in low reaction efficiency and difficulties in separation. Should improvements be made based on the existing scientific knowledge of Raney nickel catalysts, or should new approaches be pursued to develop new catalytic materials and reaction processes? Min Eun-tae chose the latter path. The material of Reney nickel catalysts is crystalline; they use amorphous materials, thereby changing the scientific basis of this catalytic material ； Traditional reactors are kettle-type; they use magnetic fields to control the catalyst, creating a magnetically stabilized bed, thereby shifting the technical foundation of reaction engineering. Amorphous alloys and magnetically stabilized beds have become the new tools for this technology. In 2005, this technology won the First Prize for Technical Invention; previously, this award, which represents the highest level of technical innovation in China, had remained unawarded for six consecutive years. This qualitative leap took 20 years and the efforts of several hundred people. Over the past 20 years, as the lead researcher on this project, his student Zong Baoning evolved from an ordinary researcher to the deputy chief engineer at Sinopec Research Institute of Petrochemical Science, while chief designer Min Enze’s hair changed from black to completely silver. He wrote a humorous poem to reflect on the joys and sorrows of those 20 years: market demand, passion as a driving force, thorough consideration, and endless fun ； An idea suddenly emerges, clarity comes, innovation is discovered, and it’s very joyful ； Amidst the joy, worries arise again, whether due to personnel or conditions ； It’s like eating hot and spicy food – spicy yet delicious; by persevering, one will eventually see results! Overcoming green petrochemical technology: to end the \"silence\" of spring. Someone described it extremely thus: \"Chemistry is lovely, but chemists are detestable.\" Chemists who are eager to discover and create new compounds have found that while they bring convenience to the world, they also cause severe environmental pollution, revealing the dual nature of such efforts. One of the important development directions in the 21st century is the development of green chemistry technologies to eradicate environmental pollution at its source. “From the perspective of green chemistry, pollution is severe in China’s petroleum refining process. China plans to bring the quality of gasoline and diesel up to international standards by 2010, which poses demands for a green revolution in petroleum refining technologies such as catalytic cracking, hydrogenation, alkylation, and isomerization. ”He Mingyuan said the task was urgent, adding that “in line with Mr. Min’s vision, we need to focus on fundamental research that can help eliminate pollution at its source,” and that “the same approach should be applied to the synthesis of organic chemicals, as well, to ensure control from the outset.” Caprolactam is an important and in-demand chemical raw material, widely used in industries such as textile fabrics, carpets, automotive parts, and packaging films. In 2001, China’s self-sufficiency rate for products was only about 35%. In the 1990s, Sinopec invested 6 billion yuan to introduce two caprolactam production units. By 2000, due to factors such as dumping, these two units incurred annual losses of nearly 400 million yuan. Sinopec has decided to use advanced technologies to carry out technical upgrades for it. As the deputy head of the task force, Min Enze led the scientific research efforts brought together from across the country to develop comprehensive green technology development plans for the two sets of devices. While turning a profit, the caprolactam plant has significantly reduced emissions of waste gas, wastewater, and waste residues during production, making it a true example of green technology. Since 1998, this single technology has generated direct benefits of tens of millions of yuan per year. It was a process of digesting, absorbing, and re-innovating the introduced technologies, which lasted for over a decade. The Origin Story: How to Achieve Independent Innovation – There Are Guidelines to Follow. A World-Class Catalysis Expert Who Began His Career Late in Life. This is the story of such a seasoned catalysis expert who managed to overcome numerous challenges; he had 13 years of professional training in a field that had nothing to do with catalysts at all before entering this industry. “I switched careers halfway through; I used to study chemical engineering. ”With a kind expression on his face, Min Enze recalled the times before and after he entered this industry. In 1942, he was admitted to Chongqing’s National Central University to study civil engineering and architecture ； Later, in my sophomore year, I transferred to chemical engineering. In 1948, he went to the Department of Chemical Engineering at Ohio State University in the United States to pursue graduate studies. “If I must find the connection between me and oil refining, it is from 1948, when I visited the Ashland Refinery in Kentucky, where the dark brown crude oil was miraculously transformed into clear and transparent gasoline. ”In 1955, Min Enze was assigned to the Beijing Petroleum Refining Research Institute, which was under construction at the time, and thus began his career in catalysts. Everything is difficult at the beginning. Back then, all conditions were very difficult; the laboratory consisted of a few bungalows borrowed from Beijing Petroleum Institute. At that time, the catalysts used in oil refining were imported from the Soviet Union, and research in this field was non-existent. Including Min Eun-tae, no one had ever experienced the process of moving catalysts from the laboratory to industrial production; many people had not even seen what a catalyst looked like before. Min Enze is faced with a desert: large oil fields in the country have not yet been discovered or developed ； With a limited petroleum refining industry, catalyst products had to be imported entirely from the Soviet Union. Pressure and difficulty excite Min Enze greatly. I haven’t studied catalysis; I’m learning as I go, starting from scratch. Foreign catalyst manufacturing technologies are strictly restricted, so he sought inspiration from the slightest clues of technological development abroad. Try, fail, try again… Work is another way of living. Someone once said that, in the quiet of the night, the room with the last light on in the residential area for the staff of the Institute of Rock Mechanics was Min Enze’s home. “The old man thinks about catalysts every day, whether he is at work or during his free time, whether he is at the office or on a business trip elsewhere. The old man couldn’t sleep well at night; almost every night he would get up to read, think about things, and write papers. It’s often the case that we discuss a problem the afternoon before, and the next day the old man will tell me that he got up at three or four in the morning to think about it, and then shares the answer he found. ”Student Yao Zhilong said that Min Enze never told anyone about the times he didn’t sleep well, even though he sometimes really did have trouble sleeping and would get up to read or write. Perhaps this reverses the cause-and-effect relationship between \"poor sleep\" and \"getting up in the middle of the night to write papers\", because anyone who has stayed up late knows that if the cells in the cerebral cortex are too excited, it is difficult to fall asleep, or only light sleep is possible. “When the gentleman meets his old friend, they talk about work aside from exchanging pleasantries, sharing the latest developments in their jobs and asking about any new ideas. The older generation of scientists were very simple; their lives and work were almost completely intertwined, or rather, work was another form of lifestyle. ”Drawing fresh insights from the literature, Min Enze reads a large number of foreign-language magazines every day, and frequently attends domestic and international forums as well as technical development seminars. Min Enze believes that to engage in research, especially innovation, it is necessary to be aware of the latest developments in one’s field of study as well as international advancements. Min Enze has to borrow around 20 foreign-language professional journals from the library every month, read them thoroughly, and select some important articles for his students to copy. “Some might be several copies; at times, one article was copied more than 20 times and distributed throughout the entire hospital, to everyone whose work is closely related to it ； Then return the journal to the library. ”Yao Zhilong said. This* habit has been around I don’t know since when. Starting in 2000, the task of copying documents fell on Wen Langyou: “It’s like a relay race; it was passed from Fu Jun and Xie Wenhua to me.” This process is not only a way for the scholar to draw fresh insights from the literature, but also a form of retraining that guides us to stay at the forefront of international research. ”Senior engineer Wen Langyou has been working under Min Enze as a doctoral student since 1995, followed by a postdoctoral period; he is now a professor-level senior engineer and continues to work alongside his mentor. Min Enze requires that students’ graduation theses “have innovative perspectives, be well-structured, and use precise language.” Zong Baoning recalled the process of making those revisions; after changing it 7 times, he couldn’t help but go to his teacher and say bluntly, “I can’t keep modifying it – our styles are different.” And these days, that’s not how things are done in society; everyone aims to do things as quickly, efficiently, and cost-effectively as possible. ”Min Eun-tae corrected, saying, “It’s not a style issue; it’s a skill level issue.” As for ‘doing things quickly, efficiently, and cost-effectively’, that is a matter related to society. As a student here, there are standards to meet; if one cannot fulfill them, then they shouldn’t do it. ”Min Enze understood that talent should not only focus on catalyst research but also be able to bring catalysts to industrial application, and this requires long-term training. Peaches and plums need not speak; a path is formed beneath them. Since 1987 to the present, he has supervised over 50 students, including 16 master’s students, more than 20 doctoral students, and over 10 postdoctoral researchers; many of these students have since become key figures in China’s petroleum refining catalysis industry. Today, his students have become plant directors and chief engineers at catalyst factories, managers and deputy managers at petrochemical plants, vice deans and deputy chief engineers at research institutes, as well as professors at higher education institutions... By reflecting on themselves three times a day, staying diligent in thinking, and being good at drawing conclusions, they can avoid many detours. “When solving problems, he pays close attention to summarizing experiences from both domestic and international contexts in order to find the best methods to guide practice, which is also a reflection of his distinguished character. ”Wen Langyou said. “The old man often told us that it’s impossible for one person to master all eighteen types of martial arts; it’s better to make 18 friends, each with their own unique skills. So when the old gentleman encountered problems related to chemical reaction engineering, he turned to his senior from Central University and Academician Chen Jiayong from the Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences ； If you encounter problems related to membrane separation, turn to his junior colleague, Academician Xu Nanping, who is the vice president of Nanjing University of Technology ； When faced with problems in physical chemistry, he turned to Han Buxing, a researcher at the Institute of Chemistry... With this intellectual support, his problems were all solved easily. ”Yao Zhilong said. “‘\"Learn in the midst of war,\" \"learn while fighting,\" \"failure and setbacks teach us, making us wiser.\" The old man often used these words to inspire himself and everyone else, encouraging them to learn while practicing and reflecting, to go from experiments to failures, and from failures back to experiments, moving forward through exploration until success is achieved. ”Yao Zhilong said that he greatly admires the man for having a thorough understanding of the Theory of Contradiction and the Theory of Practice. Min Enze has spoken on various occasions about the lessons to be drawn from the four disciples on their journey to obtain scriptures in \"Journey to the West\". Today’s young people are smart, eager to learn, and good at innovation, but they lack a strong sense of teamwork. “Sun Wukong has seventy-two forms of transformation and ‘modern weapons’ such as fiery golden eyes, but he still relies on that team; without Pigsy and Sha Seng, he alone cannot help Tang Seng complete the mission of obtaining the scriptures. ”With the advancement of science, there are increasingly more areas of intersection between disciplines; a single research topic or project may involve multiple disciplines, requiring collaboration with other scientists and technologists. “To obtain the scriptures, one must go through 81 difficulties. Tang Seng was extremely determined; no matter how many obstacles he faced, his resolve to obtain the scriptures never wavered... When doing things, one must also follow rules and be honest and trustworthy. The tightening spell on Tang Seng is the rule used to restrain Sun Wukong. This is especially true in academic pursuits; without rules, nothing can be accomplished ； It is difficult to achieve great things without integrity. Things such as academic fraud and plagiarism are absolutely unacceptable. ”In 2003, Min Enze had a casual conversation with the Chongqing painter Gu Yue. Gu Yue said that he had visited many famous mountains and rivers in Sichuan on numerous occasions; when creating a painting, he would draw inspiration from the steep peaks, rugged cliffs, rushing rivers, and magnificent waterfalls he had seen during these outings to compose his artwork. In this seemingly ordinary conversation, Min Enze reflected that \"we too need to study papers, patents, and works from various times and places, both domestic and international, to draw on their best aspects and understand clearly whether the starting point for our research should be to explore what others have not explored, fill in the gaps others have left, or to pursue original innovation.\" Go to the **** departments, technology markets, corporate factories, and product users to understand ** and market demands, and then identify the tasks that need to be carried out to provide current technical services, develop next-generation products and processes, and explore new technologies.