In an instant, ammonia synthesis technology lost its flavor!
The reason why it is not fragrant is not because there are hundreds of millions of tons of saltpeter buried in the desert on the west coast of the Ming Dynasty, nor is it because the empire's saltpeter is a huge industry worth hundreds of millions of dollars. What is the most fundamental reason?
Except for the Ming Dynasty, there are no large-scale saltpeter mines in the world!
This is the most critical reason!
The absence of saltpeter is not just the absence of fertilizers such as nitrate for countries such as Britain and the United States. What is the biggest impact?
It's nitric acid!
Without nitric acid, there would be no explosives and no smokeless propellant. Without all of this, would there be victory in the war?
In this case, we must not be able to synthesize ammonia!
Saltpeter is the empire’s trump card!
By cutting off the supply of saltpeter during wartime to weaken the opponent's war potential, this is almost equivalent to pulling out the teeth of countries such as Britain and the United States!
Synthetic ammonia cannot be used!
…
"then!"
In Henri Dupont's office, after seeing his nephew enter the office, Henri Dupont threw an object to Ramon.
Taking it from the air, Ramon glanced at the object in his hand - colorless, white or gray crystalline, with a glass luster.
"Chilean saltpeter?"
Although Chile has long since perished, "Chilean saltpeter" is still the name people give to South American saltpeter.
"Yes, do you still remember it?"
Henry said quite proudly.
"It was the one that made us tens of millions of dollars during the Civil War!"
This was the proud work of his life. Before the outbreak of the Civil War, Henry Dupont, the president of Caibang Company, realized that once the war broke out, gunpowder would become the second market demand after food, and
Market demand will gradually expand as the war intensifies. Making gunpowder requires a large amount of rough saltpeter. Henry had the foresight to send people to various places to purchase it long ago. At that time, not only were DuPont's warehouses filled with saltpeter, but also saltpeter.
Even the hillside beside the Brandy River where the company is located is piled with saltpeter.
After the war broke out, DuPont became the largest supplier of gunpowder in the north with its abundant supply of saltpeter.
"Yes, of course I remember that the war's consumption of gunpowder was staggering. A few months after the war broke out, it was no longer possible to buy saltpeter in the country, so you sent me to Paris, France, and London, England. In
After I arrived in London, I immediately bought all the saltpeter raw materials in stock in the UK, totaling more than 20,000 barrels. There was even some on the ship. At that time, a cargo ship was sailing from Calcutta to London, carrying 3.35 million pounds of crude saltpeter. I
We also bought all the saltpeter that had not arrived at the port. Four large ships were filled with saltpeter, and the total payment for the goods was more than three million yuan."
When mentioning old things, Ramon seemed a little proud. After all, he was directly responsible for everything.
"Yes, Ramon, all the saltpeter you brought back was made into gunpowder and used in the war. Our company also gained tens of thousands of wealth from this, but it was it that really made our company develop..."
Dupont said, pointing to the Chilean saltpeter in his nephew's hand.
"At that time, because the price of Indian saltpeter was soaring, our profits were very limited, so we set our sights on Chilean saltpeter. Unlike Indian potassium saltpeter, the main component of Chilean saltpeter is calcium nitrate. I did not use potassium carbonate as the binding calcium.
Through the exchange reaction between ions and raw materials that provide potassium ions, we obtained potassium nitrate for making gunpowder, and it was from then on that Chilean saltpeter became the main raw material for our company to make gunpowder and nitric acid."
"Uncle, that's because it's cheaper than Indian saltpeter!"
Ramon said directly.
"Chilean saltpeter is cheaper. Even now, it has a wide range of uses, but its output is huge and the price is relatively low. It is at least cheaper than potassium saltpeter in India. There are a large number of mines in the Ming Empire that mine it."
"Yes, you are right. There are indeed a large number of mines mining it in the Ming Empire. The annual output is two million tons, and it will even exceed 3 million tons soon. According to the official statement of the Ming Empire, the two
It will exceed 6 million tons within the year, enough to supply the needs of the chemical industry and fertilizer industry around the world."
The nephew's words made Henry nod his head repeatedly.
"But, have you ever thought about a possibility... maybe one day, we will lose it!"
"What?"
Ramon looked at his uncle in confusion.
"Losing it? How could that happen?"
"The Atcatamar Desert is the only place in the world where large-scale open-pit mining of saltpeter occurs!"
Henry pointed to the west coast of South America on the map and said.
"And that place belongs to the Ming Dynasty, the Ming Empire, but it is our enemy. If one day, we - including the British, and the Ming Dynasty and his "Four Emperors Alliance" break out at war, what will happen?"
Ramon was shocked by his uncle's rhetorical question.
"This, this...they will definitely not sell saltpeter to us again."
"Yes, why did the Ming Empire continue to increase the mining of saltpeter? Even their large-scale mining caused the price of saltpeter to drop to a certain extent, which made the whole world willing to buy saltpeter from them. Of course,
, because the quality of Chilean saltpeter is very good, high quality and low price, of course we are willing to purchase it.”
Then, Henry looked at Ramon and said.
"But this also directly led to the closure and bankruptcy of many small saltpeter mines, including the Indian saltpeter mines. Ramon, can you imagine what would happen if we and the British ran out of saltpeter after the war broke out?"
what happens?
Do you still need to ask?
In just a moment, Ramon realized the seriousness of this problem. No, it should be said that he realized the wealth stored in it.
"Uncle, we are rich!"
The nephew's reaction made Henry laugh, and he knew that Ramon would definitely understand the key.
"Yes, we are getting rich, and war will definitely break out. I believe that in the next few years, once a war breaks out, the demand for saltpeter will reach an unprecedented scale. Saltpeter is the only way to make nitric acid.
source, and nitric acid is a necessary raw material for making propellants and explosives. But the problem is that the supply of saltpeter is now in the hands of the Ming Empire, the enemy of the United States. In this case, no matter who has the saltpeter,
It is equivalent to controlling the lifeline of the country and controlling the wealth. Ramon, I need you to go to India."
"To India?"
Ramon asked looking at his uncle.
"Isn't it too early to go shopping there?"
"No, it's to go to India to acquire. I need you to go there and acquire those bankrupt saltpeter mines!"
Henry said.
"This time we have to control the saltpeter from the source!"
