【History of Kaichuan Piping】On September 26, 1964, the pneumatic slide valve was manufactured

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In October 1962, the Ministry of Petroleum decided to pool technical resources from all sectors in order to develop new refining processes and technologies independently. These focused on five areas of process technology: fluidized catalytic cracking, platinum reforming, delayed coking, urea dewaxing, as well as related catalysts and additives. These are what petroleum industry professionals refer to as the “Five Golden Flowers”. At the top of the \"five golden flowers\" is the catalytic cracking unit. The most challenging component in this unit is the slide valve used to control the catalyst circulation flow; it operates by utilizing tiny pressure differences to regulate the opening of the valve, requiring a sensitivity of one in four hundred and an accuracy of one in a hundred, as well as excellent stability. In other words, as long as there is a change in system pressure of two thousandths of an atmosphere, it should respond immediately, make automatic adjustments, and the distance of movement must be extremely precise. Back in those days, only the United States could produce such high-tech equipment. Mission and Glory have once again chosen the machinery factory. At the end of 1963, the Ministry of Petroleum selected the Machinery Factory of Lanzhou Refinery to carry out the trial production of slide valves. Although the conditions were very poor at that time, the workers and officials were not intimidated by the requirement of a \"sensitivity of one in four hundred\"; they were determined to help alleviate the country’s difficulties, bring honor to Lanzhou Refinery, and create valves that could live up to expectations. They emancipated their minds, conducted investigations and research with a scientific approach, analyzed the situation, and through various meetings that brought together workers, technical personnel, and leadership officials, they made preparations in terms of ideology, technology, equipment, and other aspects. After experiencing repeated failures, overcoming one difficulty after another, surmounting various challenges, success after success was achieved. On September 26, 1964, the pneumatic slide valve was manufactured. After 1,074 tests and evaluations, its sensitivity reached one in six hundred, its accuracy exceeded one percent that of those used in the United States, and it also outperformed American spool valves in terms of stability. On October 1, 1964, the Lanzhou Refinery installed a slide valve on a float for the National Day parade, taking it to the entrance of Gansu Province as a gift for the 15th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. When someone blew air into the signal collector of the slide valve, it moved, which surprised the leaders and the public present, and they cheered with joy at China’s mastery of such technology. 　　In 1978, the single and double-acting slide valves won an award at the First National Science Conference.