Release that Witch

The cement production process was very simple. First the limestone would be ground into powder, afterwards it was mixed with clay, iron powder, and then it would be calcined with either a dry or wet method. It could then be used after the final grinding together with the plaster. The raw materials were very common, only the iron could be difficult to obtain and hold in a large number, the critical fact lied in the process of reaching the right calcine temperature.

Roland did not remember the specific temperature needed to produce cement, even if he did remember it, he did not have the possibility of measuring and controlling the temperature — whether it was with an infrared thermometer or a thermocouple temperature-measurement gun both tools were unavailable, this made the production of the cement countless times more complex. He only knew that the temperature was almost similar to the melting point of iron, and that the calcination process was also a difficulty in the production of cement.

In the era of less advanced smelting technology, maintaining the temperature of the furnace has been a problem for all people. The heat loss of an ordinary open furnace was too great; it was difficult to maintain a temperature at 1200 degrees. But then he would also require a high temperature resistance furnace, he would also have to figure out how to make firebrick. The traditional iron making blast furnace would be heated up to the point of melting, the temperature may be up to the standard, but the narrow chamber was too small for cement calcination to take place, Roland was afraid that the time before the Months of Demons was not long enough for him to prepare all of this.

Therefore, Roland’s design for the kiln did not have any heating measures, he relied purely on Anna’s capabilities.

The broken-down particles of limestone and clay were all mixed together with water into a slurry, this was then evenly spread within the kiln. The knights then locked the door and walked away. Afterwards Anna would enter from the back door, use her fire to bake the earthen slurry until it melted into the iron powder.

Roland was somewhat restless; this was his first step towards upgrading Border Town. If he couldn’t produce cement, building a wall in three months would be just empty talk. Without the wall, there would be no people who would be willing to stay in this place. Whether it was in real life or within fictional literature, if you wanted to progress, a stable base was always essential.

“Your Highness, can this kind of product really hold the stones together?” Carter, standing at the side of the fourth prince asked. Although the prince had told him that this was the latest results from the research of the alchemists of Graycastle, he was still skeptical. After all, those people really haven’t made any useful products so far.

“Who knows? Anyway, that’s what they said it would,” Roland spread out his hands in resignation.

The world of alchemy and astrology were known as the sage arts. In the mainland, these professions were all very popular. In general, the royal family would develop their own alchemist and astrologers, meant for refining and predicting fate. For ordinary people, these studies were too classy. In light of this, Roland would naturally make the source of cement formulas out to be from the alchemists in the capital. As for whether the chief knight believed him or not, it didn’t matter.

Through the window they could see the flame gradually stop burning, it seemed that the calcination was complete.

When Roland stood up and went to take a look, Carter had been driven away from the gardens, so he was waiting alone by the front of the backdoor for the brick.

The gates creaked open and Anna walked out. The First thing Roland did was to drape a robe over her body, then brought a cup of water for her, “How are you?”

The face of the witch was full of dust, due the wet processing system and the amount of dust was also low, but the hot air needed for the calcination still produced quite some dust. She was not wearing a mask, staying inside for more than 10 minutes was obviously not too comfortable. She coughed and nodded, “The slurry has already changed into powder.”

Roland waited until the temperature in the kiln cooled down enough, although he needed to wrap a wet towel around his head, he still grabbed the shovel and stepped into the back door.

He was instantly surrounded by the hot air, for some time he felt that it was difficult to breath, the skin on his hands was roasted immediately. Fortunately, taking a shovel of powder did not take too much time, otherwise if he stayed for a few minutes longer in that environment he would fall into shock from the high temperature.

“Is this what you wanted?” asked Anna, who was now wearing her witch outfit.

“It looks very much like it,” Roland spread out the fine powder flat on the ground, using his finger to sense the temperature, “to know if it is definite we will need to test it first.”