[Anecdotes from HaiChuan Chemical] Testing domestic lubricants using used telephones

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When news of the introduction of large-scale chemical fertilizers reached Yunnan, Governor Zhou Xing realized that this was a great opportunity for the agricultural sector to make a turnaround. However, in southern Sichuan, even if **agreement is reached on Yunnan importing large quantities of fertilizers, the investment required is still quite substantial. After much consideration, he decided to go to Anfu Town in Yibin, Sichuan. It is located on the banks of the Jinsha River, close to the natural gas production areas in southern Sichuan, making it a site of great strategic importance. Upon hearing the news, Sichuan Province Governor Li Dazhang readily agreed. With the approval of the relevant higher-level authorities, more than 80 square kilometers of land in the three communes of Shuidong, Shuihe, and Anfu in the former Yibin area were incorporated into Yunnan. Shuifu County originated from here. At that time, Shuifu was surrounded by mountains and isolated from the outside world; it was famously lacking in all five things: water, electricity, roads, railways, and communication. The difficulties involved in building large fertilizer plants can be imagined from this. However, man can overcome nature; no matter how “difficult” it was, the Yunnan Natural Gas Fertilizer Plant will eventually come into existence. Once, the ammonia synthesis plant was ready for commissioning. Someone opened the three sets of coupling guards and found that the couplings were tightly wrapped like by ancient vines from a primeval forest, with the inner and outer gear rings completely blocked by black sludge. It was a close call; if it had been a few minutes later, the three couplings would have been twisted apart. The American experts present glanced at the Chinese personnel, then used their fingers to pick some black sludge from the bearing and carelessly and rudely applied it to engineer Xu Yuanzeng’s hand, smiling coldly and saying, “Mr. Xu, this is the lubricant made in your China!” ”Shame, embarrassment, distress. “We will find out the reason. ”Xu Yuanzeng said awkwardly. The expert ignored them and walked away with his head held high. Xu Yuanzeng stayed at the scene to carefully inspect things together with the maintenance workers. It was soon discovered that a large amount of black oil sludge was also deposited in the degassing tank of the seal shaft return oil line. When the seal oil tank collector was opened again, there was even more sludge. This shows that the problem lies not in the lubricant. A barely noticeable sense of relief crossed Xu Yuanzeng’s face; the problem might lie in the seal oil system. More and more people gathered at the scene, and someone suddenly asked, \"Could it be the catalyst dust from the reactor?\" ”Xu Yuanzeng’s mind suddenly cleared, and he quickly recalled that when loading the catalysts into the synthesis tower, American experts were on site to provide guidance; they used a screening method to remove many damaged catalysts. Could it be that the catalyst continues to deteriorate during the heating and reduction process, with the dust carried into the compressor by the recycled gas exiting the tower? To verify whether his judgment was correct, Xu Yuanzeng found an old telephone, removed the magnet from it, and used that magnet to attract the black sludge. In this test, the oil sludge contaminated with iron catalysts was immediately firmly attracted by the magnet. The real culprit has been found! Facts are the most convincing. It’s not that the quality of Chinese lubricants is poor; it’s the catalysts used by the Americans that are problematic! The American experts requested that the high-pressure cylinder be opened in order to inspect the oil seals of the entire shaft seal, and Xu Yuanzeng followed their instructions exactly. The thick layer of black sludge accumulated inside the cylinder once again eloquently proves that full responsibility for the accident lies with the U.S. side. This time it was the \"foreigner\" who turned red with embarrassment.