In the Gobi Desert, the heat is scorching and the heat waves are rolling.In the simple brick-making workshop of Dongfeng Energy Center, Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, the staff is busy. Square bricks are coming out of the machine, from material matching, mixing, pressing, to brick production, packaging, automated production equipment, assembly line workflow, daily output of 10,000 to 15,000 square bricks.

“The raw materials of these bricks are 49% waste residue, 37% fly ash, and 14% cement produced by our power generation and production boilers. They are mixed with hydrostatic pressure and burn-free. The strength of the bricks reaches an average of more than 30 MPa. It is mainly used for greening and beautification of the center. Ground laying, etc."The brick-making staff of Dongfeng Energy Center told reporters.

“The establishment of the brick factory ended the history of only production and no governance, opened a new stage of governance while producing, and injected new impetus into the high-quality development of the center."Liu Jiping, chief boiler system engineer of Dongfeng Energy Center and head of the brick factory, said.

The central power plant, built in 1958, has always followed the model of thermal power generation and is the main source of electricity for space launches and residents of the site.In the course of more than 60 years of operation, a lot of waste has been produced.During this period, Dongfeng Energy Center also thought of many ways to deal with these wastes, but due to cost, transportation and other realities, it has not been properly resolved.

“About ten years ago, we made plans and came up with three sets of plans one after another, but in the end none of them landed. Five years ago, when the equipment was introduced, we wrote a plan and a paper specifically, but it was shelved because of cost issues."Liu Jiping introduced.

Talking about the establishment of the brick factory, Liu Jiping introduced that one is the urgent need to deal with the unit's “three wastes” (waste solid waste liquid and waste gas). The waste gas and waste liquid are better treated. For example, the waste liquid is sewage treatment. Now the sewage in the site is used for greening and irrigation after treatment.Solid waste refers to solid waste that has not been further processed.In particular, after the transformation of the power plant was completed in 2019, all cinder and fly ash were discharged around the power plant, causing great pollution to the surrounding environment, and the fly ash is much lighter in quality, which has certain safety risks.Another reason is that in recent years, the center has implemented grid management, greening, beautification, and hardening of the site area, and the demand for floor tiles has increased.

Combined with the actual situation, in January this year, Dongfeng Energy Center established an investigation team.He has gone out for research three times to understand the ash treatment situation of surrounding power plants, investigate brick-making equipment, and go to manufacturers for on-site research.

“After research, we have a basic understanding of the brick-making process, use, cost, etc. on the market. Finally, according to our actual situation, we coordinated with the equipment manufacturer and put forward relevant process improvement needs. Customized production of this set of equipment we are now using."Liu Jiping introduced.

The brick-making equipment entered commissioning in mid-June this year. After installation, commissioning and training, it began to enter the mass production stage in mid-July.At present, it mainly produces square bricks of 20x10x6 (cm) specifications. In the later stage, the molds can be replaced as needed to produce different types of bricks.

The establishment of the brick factory is the specific practice of the “three wastes to three treasures” of Dongfeng Energy Center. In recent years, the unit has always integrated innovation and development into the whole process of power supply and plumbing production. In terms of engineering construction, technological transformation, operation and management, it has vigorously researched and promoted new equipment and new technologies. The level of informationization and intelligence of equipment has been continuously enhanced, and the system reliability and safety have been significantly improved, which has effectively enhanced the high-quality development of the unit.

Set up an academic Committee for Scientific and Technological Innovation, and set up 7 artisan technological innovation teams to target technical problems and hidden dangers.Carry out research projects and technical research on new materials, new processes, and new technologies, encourage and support public innovation, advocate post personnel to be based on their own positions, and actively carry out small creations, small inventions, and small innovations, forming 34 scientific and technological achievements of “three new and three small”, and promoting the great development of unit construction with small post transformations.

The rapid consumption of ash is based on the use of new technologies, new materials and new processes in the “three new and three small”.“The bricks we make now have a certain proportion of cement added. In the next step, we will continue to investigate and cooperate with all walks of life to use new processes and materials to reduce the proportion of cement, and even to the extent that cement is not used at all, it is greener, environmentally friendly and efficient, and the utilization rate is improved."Liu Jiping said.

During the research process, Liu Jiping's team members not only considered the utilization of waste such as ash from the unit, but also the recycling and reuse of construction waste in the center.“Now there is no problem with this set of equipment consuming construction waste.In the future, based on the use of new materials, it will also expand a wider range of uses, such as the use of new pouring materials for the diversion channel of the launch site, and the rapid construction of the temporary apron of the Dongfeng landing site.”