There is a woman who strives to ease the strains on electric power supply in the country. She is Hyon Ok Ju, manager of the thermal insulation building materials branch factory of the Pyongyang Thermal Power Station.
Earlier, she worked as director of the analysis station in a sector.
Though insulating brick was not her major, she set foot on the area under the influence of her father.
“My father had long researched insulating brick. He would say that if insulating brick consisting of thermal insulating materials is applied to the boiler, combustion efficiency would be enhanced and environmental pollution prevented,” recalled Hyon Ok Ju.
She succeeded to her father’s research project.
During her study she drew a conclusion that insulating brick could be made from white soot from a thermal power station and locally-abundant clay with no additive.
At the beginning, some technicians regarded it as a fancy. Though many research findings on insulating brick were issued, its mass production based on domestic materials had not been realized.
After painstaking quest and efforts, she established an insulating brick production process based on white soot, before making trial products and going to the Pyongyang Thermal Power Station so as to introduce it.
“Every sci-tech research finding would be impractical and empty talk, if it is not introduced into reality no matter how valuable it may be. I wanted to prove my research success in reality,” said Hyon Ok Ju.
The old insulation walls of a boiler were pulled down and the walls were built with newly-made insulating bricks, then the combustion efficiency of the boiler began to rise.
“I was very happy to see electricity production increase. At the thought that I did something helpful to relieving power shortage in the country, the pains I had taken so far seemed to turn into a happy memory. And I felt an urge to dedicate my all to this place,” she added.
Therefore, Ok Ju became an employee of the power plant and afterwards an insulating brick workteam was set up there before being expanded into a branch factory.
She went to other thermal power stations to render substantial help in establishing the insulating brick production process.
Hyon Ok Ju is continuing her research to improve the technical specifications of the insulating brick.
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