Many people may have guessed that what Wei Chen is going to do is a very simple saponification reaction.
Half of the ten time-travel novels in the previous life were soap-based, which is not surprising at all.
However, soap is not Wei Chen’s goal this time.
The reason why we don’t make soap is because people’s cleaning supplies in this era are actually not as scarce as later generations imagined.
Regarding the current situation of Dazhou's cleaning supplies, Wei Chen had already inquired about it at the grocery store in the county town.
The most primitive "washing powder" is plant ash that is available in every household.
The ancients discovered the cleaning effect of plant ash very early. "Book of Rites" records: "If the crown is dirty, mix it with ashes to cleanse it; if the clothes are dirty, mix it with ashes to cleanse it."
In short, if the clothes are dirty, just add plant ash to the water and the clothes can be washed clean.
However, with the development of the times, this cleaning method has gradually been eliminated. Nowadays, the most widely circulated among the people is another purely natural plant detergent - saponin.
Honey locust, also known as honey locust, is the fruit of the honey locust tree. Crush the honey locust and add it to clean water, and you can use it directly to wash clothes.
Honey locust trees are widely distributed in Dazhou and can be seen almost everywhere. There are many honey locust trees growing in Xiyin Village. One tree can pick dozens of kilograms of honey locusts.
The soap locust is easy to use and has good decontamination ability, but it has a fatal flaw, that is, the smell is too strong, which is not very friendly to the wealthy and powerful people who pursue fragrance.
The powerful people in the Zhou Dynasty used another more advanced washing product - "Yizi".
The decontamination ability of "Yanzi" far exceeds that of soap locust, and it also has the effect of moisturizing the skin. It also contains various spices to neutralize the peculiar smell of pig pancreas itself, which is also unmatched by the original soap locust.
Wei Chen inquired and found out that Dazhou's "Yazi" production technology is very mature.
First, wash the pig pancreas, remove the fat and grind it into powder, then add sugar, alkali (plant ash or other natural minerals), molten lard, and various spices to make it into the size of a glutinous rice dumpling. This is "pancreas" The final product.
Wei Chen was also surprised after knowing the specific production process of "Yizi".
Molten lard and alkali are added to it. Aren't these the two main raw materials for the saponification reaction?
The working people of Zhou Dynasty may not know the term saponification reaction, but they have actually used it in production and life!
Moreover, pig pancreas is also rich in enzymes. Under its catalysis, the saponification reaction will occur more fully. The effect of this "pancreas" may be even better than the soap made by Wei Chen using local methods.
After understanding this, Wei Chen finally understood that there was no way he could make a fortune in Dazhou by making soap.
When comparing prices, soap can never be cheaper than saponins. People just pick it up for free. How can this be compared?
In terms of effectiveness, the soap made by local methods will not be more effective than the current "Yazi" in Dazhou, unless Wei Chen can engage in industrial production on a large scale, but this is obviously a fool's dream.
However, Wei Chen is also a top student in 985 School. Although he is a liberal arts student, his knowledge is so deep, how could he be defeated by such a small difficulty?
Wei Chen clearly remembered that in addition to producing fatty acid salts (the main component of soap), the saponification reaction also produced another by-product.
This thing is more valuable and useful than soap, but it has been ignored intentionally or unintentionally by those time-traveling predecessors.
And Wei Chen's goal is to tinker with it.
There is nothing to say about the previous steps, they are exactly the same as making soap.
Wei Chen first asked Zhang Xu to dig a dustpan of plant ashes from under the stove, sieve the plant ashes, add water until the plant ashes were covered, boil it, and then let it sit for a while.
When the eggs float after being put in, the time is almost up. At this time, the supernatant in the plant ash water is the lye Wei Chen needs.
This lye is corrosive to a certain extent and can easily burn the skin, so Wei Chen did not let Zhang Xu touch it, but carefully skimmed out the supernatant liquid with his own hands using a porcelain bowl.
Then Wei Chen and Zhang Xu worked together to set up a large pot and put all the lard Wei Chen bought from Youyang into the pot to heat it up.
Finally, pour the lye into the pot bit by bit, stirring continuously for about two or three hours to allow the two to fully react. Next, it’s time to wait.
During this time, Wei Chen was not idle either. He and Zhang Xu went out to the stream to pick up a large basin of fine sand and pebbles. Zhang Xu happily washed the pebbles there, while Wei Chen washed the broken charcoal he brought back. After washing all these things with clean water several times, Wei Chen found a clean empty jar, made a small hole with an iron awl, and inserted the half-foot-long thin tube into it.
Spread cotton cloth on the bottom of the altar, and put a layer of the finest carbon on the cloth, then spread a layer of cloth, and put a layer of small pieces of carbon on the cloth.
Then it's cloth - fine sand - cloth - small pebbles - cloth - large pebbles. After five layers of this, a simple filter is completed.
Wei Chen smiled with satisfaction and returned to the kitchen with the filter jar. At this time, the saponification reaction in the pot was almost complete, and the oily yellow soap on the top layer had begun to solidify.
Wei Chen quickly skimmed out the pure soap at the top with a bowl. After this part solidified, it became soap.
Zhang Ming and Wei Ruyi watched Wei Chen busy for a long time, and they had been holding back questions for a long time. When they saw Wei Chen made something, they finally couldn't help but ask: "Brother Chen,
What on earth are you tinkering with?"
Wei Chen smiled and pointed at a basin of soft soap and said: "This is called soap. It can be used for washing and bathing. It is much easier to use than soap locust."
"Is it really that useful?"
After hearing this, Wei Ruyi and Zhang Ming were both skeptical.
Zhang Xu was a kid, so he couldn't bear it any longer. He got up and went to get the dirty clothes he had changed in the morning. He used a wooden basin to get some water, grabbed a handful of soap, and started washing clothes. p>
Zhang Xu rubbed it gently, and a lot of white bubbles appeared on the side. After rubbing it a few more times, the stains on the clothes disappeared.
Zhang Xu happily picked up the wet clothes and tossed them around. Zhang Ming next to him was also stunned: "This thing is as useful as the soap used by rich families!"
"It just smells like lard!"
Wei Ruyi squatted next to the wooden basin and smelled it, and couldn't help but frown slightly.
Wei Chen coughed awkwardly. The soap made from lard has not been deodorized and will smell like a lingering lard smell.
To mask this smell, a large amount of spices must be added, but in that case, the cost of making soap will also increase a lot, which is one of the reasons why Wei Chen does not make soap.
After making the soap, there is still some turbid soap and the alkaline waste liquid at the bottom in the pot.
In fact, this waste liquid is not waste at all, it contains the treasure that Wei Chen really needs.
Wei Chen scooped out the light yellow waste liquid and poured it into the filter jar that had been prepared.
After a while, a trickle of water slowly flowed out from the thin tube at the bottom of the altar. At this time, the waste liquid has become clear and transparent after being filtered.
Wei Chen looked at the clear liquid that was constantly flowing out, and seemed to see a golden mountain shining with dazzling golden light. His eyes were full of excitement and excitement.
Finally, I made this glycerin!
Next, as long as he goes through simple distillation and purification, his plan to make a fortune will be ready!