People Interview: Chambers: Empower innovation and put knowledge on the wings of imagination

Qian Borong is
former chief engineer of CNOOC Changzhou Coatings and Chemical Research Institute Co., Ltd.
Person Profile
graduated from Tsinghua University in 1966 with a major in polymer. For many years engaged in the research and development of coating chemistry, production and scientific and technological management, has been the National Science Congress and national defense industry awards. He has served as the leader of the first 863 project in the coatings industry, and has participated in international academic and international standards conferences

. Nearly a hundred papers have been published. From 1979 to 1981, he worked in the United States for two years as a visiting scholar. He has extensive theoretical and practical experience and has participated as a lecturer in national coating formulation training courses and other training courses. One of the editorial board members of the monograph "Paint Craft" (Fourth Edition). In 2015 by the China Coatings Industry Association as "China's paint industry 100-year-old influential person." He currently serves as a consultant to the National Technical Committee for the Standardization of Coatings and Pigments.
Media Interview / Coatings and Protection
What impression did your chemistry industry make on you in the early years of your graduation from Tsinghua University?
graduated from Tsinghua Department of Engineering and Chemistry in 1966 and was assigned at the end of 1967. It was a turbulent time, when a lot of work was left unattended and graduation photos were not taken. The chemical industry is no exception, I assigned the work of the Sichuan Chenguang Chemical Research Institute also completely shut down work. After joining the Paint Chemical Research Institute of the Ministry of Chemical Industry in 1969, the situation is slowly changing and gradually moving to the right track.
like most students who have just come out of campus, what was your initial ideal?
then wanted to read so many years of books, hoping to do something in the chemical industry, the knowledge learned for the country to contribute, do something. Of course, when you work, you get a salary that you don't have to pay at home.
the 1980s and 1990s after the reform and opening-up, what progress has China made in coating technology? What role did the Paint Industry Research Institute of the Ministry of Chemical Industry assume at that time?
third plenary session of the Eleventh Central Committee was held in 1979, and I was most impressed by the changes brought about by openness, because reform still needed a process to be effective. In the early 1980s, people's minds have changed a lot, hoping to understand the past do not know, do not understand the outside world, hope that the country can take off again, the industry can continue to progress. The paint industry produced 343.6 million tons per year (in 1978, ranked 8th in the world), and reactors began to use thermal heating instead of backward direct heating methods. And began to introduce foreign advanced technology and advanced equipment, especially beijing red lion alcoholic acid 12m3 reactor and Beijing Oriental Chemical Plant introduced nearly 40,000 tons of acrylic and ester large-scale devices, promoting the progress of industry technology, expanding the impact of latex paint and popularization and application. After the reform and development, especially in the late 80's and early 90's, a large number of foreign paint raw materials and coatings enterprises have entered China, promoting the further development of coating technology.
The Paint Industry Research Institute of the Ministry of Chemical Industry was established in Lanzhou in 1969 (relocated from several research rooms of the Tianjin Chemical Research Institute), and was the first specialized coating research institute in China, with 600 employees at its peak. From the 75th to the 8th Five-Year Plan period to undertake many of the country's key science and technology projects. Although the conditions were very difficult at that time, but also to go up the mountain to repair the war-ready road, dig bomb shelters, accept the labor exercise on the farm, but the enthusiasm of science and technology personnel, work enthusiasm is still very high, completed like red flag car paint, tropical machine tool paint, aviation temperature paint, high-temperature paint, lysolic acid Coatings, rare earth drying agents, powder coatings, aerospace melt insulation coatings, titanium dioxide pigments and transparent iron oxide red pigments, such as a large number of countries urgently needed high-tech projects, involving various applications of the national economy, leading the development of the entire industry, led to the development of national paint scientific research. At the same time, the Ministry of Chemical Industry coating science and technology information station, the Ministry of Chemical Industry paint and pigment quality testing center and the National Coatings and Pigment Standardization Committee, to undertake the development of the industry services.
did the way you work and think abroad affect your later work during your time as a visiting scholar to the United States?
was sent by the state to the Department of Polymer Chemistry at the New York Polytechnic University in 1979 as a visiting scholar for two years. The study of the thermodegradation of silicone polymers was completed in 2 years (the paper was presented at the 1983 ACS Annual Meeting) and he attended a number of graduate courses and visited coatings-related companies (e.g. DuPont, Perkin Elmer, etc.).
My overall feeling is that the learning and working environment is very relaxed, the work is basically done independently with the help of a guiding professor, from the acquisition and commissioning of instruments, raw materials to use, as well as literature access, test outline arrangements, etc., to train master's, doctoral or post-doctoral theory and practice of both basic skills. Extra-curricular homework in class is also an enlightening exercise that asks students to comment on the work of their foregoings and make suggestions for improvement. The company's senior researchers can set their own topics, freedom is great, but everyone seriously and actively do research, for the company to help. This emphasis on mobilizing the individual's thinking ability, as well as on the basis of previous people to have their own innovation and discovery of enterprising spirit for life to be used, generally they will never chew other people have chewed. Be sure to find ways to have original and new discoveries. All these do have a great impact on themselves, especially the multidisciplinary cross-science of paint, which requires us to think from different angles, different levels, different positions, learn from, and transplant. Imagination and thinking are, to some extent, more important than knowledge itself, something I have been emphasizing in many lectures, articles, and trainings.
the 21st century, the development of China's paint industry has accelerated. From a technical point of view, new technologies, new processes, new equipment, new varieties are constantly updated, what technologies do you think have a greater impact on the coatings industry?
Since the implementation of China's first mandatory standards on the limits of harmful substances (especially VOCs) in coatings in 2000, the industry's enthusiasm for the development of green and environmentally friendly coatings has been rising, water-based, high solids, UV curing, powder and solvent-free coatings have been highly valued by the state, research institutes, enterprises and universities have invested a lot of manpower and material resources. In water-based coatings, a series of multi-phase emulsions of nuclear shell structure have been introduced, which has greatly improved the performance of latex paint, expanded the application field, and shifted from the construction field to the industrial field. The independent development of water-based metal flash paint (the first 863 project in China's coating industry), the introduction and entry of colored steel coatings into the market, the process transformation of phosphorus-free, neutral coating and 3C1B system in the automotive field has greatly promoted the process transformation of automotive coatings. Technological innovation, the emergence of silane treatment technology, two primer system and other new technologies, color steel plate from the building board to home appliance plate coating transformation, industrial coatings to PU, epoxy, acrylic, silicone / fluoride resin and other synthetic resins as the main body of the system. In addition, the coating standard system and international standards have also greatly promoted the trend of domestic technology to the international closer.there has been academic controversy about nanotechnology and graphene technology in recent years, and the conceptual hype that has been used to do so is either academic impetuous or commercially frivolous. What do you think of this?
nanotechnology and graphene technology are two new technologies developed in the past ten years, whether they can be applied in coatings and how effective they are, all of which need to be tested by practice. I think the first thing to do is to be clear about why these two materials are used. What role does it play in coatings? What is the rationale for the action? Before we can figure out these problems, we will blindly promote and use them, which can only be a commercial hype, or a fashionable, technology to pay for the practice. There have been jokes about "nano washing machines". Of course, the market is much more rational now than it used to be. I suggest that conditional units, especially the Academy of Sciences and universities can do more rational research, the reason is clear, enterprises can be targeted to develop products. What we need is scientific discovery, practical work, otherwise it is a pot of mixed soup, confused, to a certain extent also buried the role of these two new technologies should play.
you have the most memorable work experience during your time as Chief Engineer of Changzhou Coatings Research Institute?
I left my job from 1996 to 2013 and have been working in this position. Mainly to assist the leadership of the hospital to do a good job in technical clearance and technical development and technical personnel training. The most memorable first thing is that the first 863 project from 1997 to 2000 from the declaration, defense, cooperation to the completion of acceptance, it is not easy. The coatings industry has been regarded as an empirical and process-based industry with low technical content. Since then by the state included in a branch of the field of new materials, has been a multi-faceted attention and concern, this project in the careful research of researchers and the active cooperation of FAW, the successful development of high-tech content of the car with water-based metal flash paint; But things always go in the right direction. Now the quality system of the people's mouth and the military mouth can play a real role, the heart is also very happy. has played an important role in the development of china's coatings for a long time, taking on many key science and technology projects, which project do you think is the most challenging?
's hard to say which project it is. More challenging projects should be: electrophoretic coatings and colored steel plate coatings in the 1980s and 1990s, elastic polyurethane coatings, spacecraft ablation insulation coatings, nuclear power plants on and off the island coatings, water-based metal flash paint, 15,000 tons of nuclear grade protective coatings results transformation project and the establishment of marine C3-C5 environmental heavy anti-corrosion coating system and other national key projects. about the field of coatings science and technology talent and its growth, as a senior science and technology workers and managers of what qualities do you value most? In what ways should emphasis be placed on training?
training of talents depends first and foremost on the characteristics of the industry, coating science and technology involve a wide range of disciplines, belong to interdisciplinary disciplines. Plus the coating itself is in the middle of the entire industrial chain. This requires the paint industry's scientific and technical personnel not only understand the resin and coating itself knowledge, but also to a certain extent will be more important to understand the structure of raw materials and paint performance, at the same time, because the coating is a semi-finished product, need to be coated to the work piece after filming to play its protection, decoration and functional role, so we must understand the properties of the substrate, especially the microstructive properties of the surface, in order to form a certain life cycle of the coating.
In this sense, I advocate the development from the height of materials science, not only to design the formulation, but more importantly, how to design and prepare coatings according to the structure of the raw materials, as well as the characteristics of the object being applied, as well as the impact of the construction environment and the use of the environment, which is the basic requirements for coating engineers. To learn the correct thinking ability, especially the ability of horizontal thinking, from different perspectives, different levels, different dimensions of observation and thinking, so as to propose the best solution. Just like a war, only a confidant can fight a hundred wars.
specifically, we should cultivate and exercise from the aspects of basic theory, experimental hands-on ability, literature consultation, thinking of analyzing problems, good at summing up, team spirit and career. In short, to do, can write, will analyze, will summarize, will speak.
with the improvement of quality-based and sustainable development awareness, many coating enterprises have invested heavily in the construction of research and development centers to strengthen the driving force of innovation and core competitiveness, but in fact some are weak. What do you think of this?
coating enterprises to develop the most lack of talent, is a pioneering spirit of talent, good at thinking about the problem of talent, is able to calm the heart to seriously consider the development of enterprises, is able to and the common destiny of the enterprise talent. Many enterprises have money, land, is not really to help the development of enterprises talent. Of course, you can introduce talent, but the best way is to train themselves, such a person intimate, sincere. Hardware is important, of course, and more importantly software. Research and development center is very important, but more important is that research and development center should have talent, planning, projects, for the development of enterprises to play a guiding role and support role. Otherwise it's an empty shelf, a flower shelf for people to see. Research and development center leaders and research and development personnel to be hands-on, more important is to move the brain, to understand the industry's domestic and foreign dynamics, to understand the dynamics of competitors, to know how to use their strengths, find the way to differentiated development, to avoid homogenization. At the same time from the perspective of the entire industrial chain to analyze the industry, analysis of the market, from raw materials to paint production, to construction applications, ready, so as to be full of vitality, eternal vitality. coating varieties according to the function of many categories, of which anti-corrosion coatings are a large category. In recent years, environmental protection policy is becoming more and more stringent, forcing anti-corrosion technology innovation. What do you think are the current pain points of corrosion-resistant coatings technology? Will there be big progress in the next few years?
China specializes in anti-corrosion coatings of national enterprises are not too many, the scale is not too large, resulting in large-scale projects and infrastructure of anti-corrosion coatings system is still mainly controlled by foreign-funded enterprises, including technical level, product quality stability, engineering construction and capital investment capacity and other issues. From the point of view of anti-corrosion coatings themselves, how to comply with the trend of environmental protection in the world and more and more stringent environmental regulations is a major challenge. Personally, I think that in the field of anti-corrosion development and promotion of water-based coatings to be cautious, C1-C3 environment may be relatively large, but from C4 to be cautious, C5 above is currently impossible. Some projects can be pre-coated (to control VOC emissions) and then assembled on site to avoid and reduce unwered emissions. Emphasis may also be given on the application of high solids and solvent-free coatings in the field of corrosion protection, especially in the field of heavy corrosion. In adapting to and complying with environmental regulations to consider the issue, to blue sky, but also green water and clean soil, not only blue sky.
you are China's paint development experience, but also industry senior experts, you think the current paint industry in China at what level?
China's paint industry began more than 5,000 years ago and is now the world's largest producer, producing more than 20 million tons (twice the output of Europe). Since the reform and opening up to develop faster, new technologies and new products are emerging, coupled with foreign top raw materials supply