Sand control is too difficult? Try mechanics! Scientists use original mechanical principles to turn sand into soil

If someone tells you

Just sprinkle a layer of "white soil" and add some water

It can turn the yellow sand in the desert into soil

It is also a "fertile soil" suitable for vegetation growth.

Would you believe it?

Last year

Because of the scientific breakthrough of "turning sand into soil"

58-year-old mechanic Yi Zhijian

Won the title of "Most Beautiful Science and Technology Worker in 2021"

If it runs according to the normal trajectory

Yi Zhijian's life has nothing to do with "sand"

He was born and raised in Chongqing.

Since I was admitted to university

Now he teaches at Chongqing Jiaotong University

He has been studying mechanics all the way

I was not born on the edge of the desert

Second, I don’t study ecology, plants, soil, geology

The professional backgrounds of these "counterparts" in sand control

Yi Zhijian led a research team in 2016

In the vast sea of ​​sand in the Ulan Buh Desert in Inner Mongolia

"Transformed" into an oasis as big as two football fields

This is almost a miracle.

In 2009, Yi Zhijian's team

An original mechanical principle proposed

At that time, they found that there was a

"Universal Joint Constraint Relationship"

Under this constraint

Soil particles have a certain flexibility

Can retain water, fertilizer and breathable

It also has a certain rigidity

Can maintain plant stability

The desert is so barren.

Because the sand particles don't exist.

"Universal Joint Constraint Relationship"

If there are no constraints, try to establish them.

Holding the scientific theory "code" of "turning sand into soil"

Yi Zhijian devoted himself to the "desert soilification" experiment

In 2013, the research team developed a

Plant cellulose adhesive

This is the "white soil" mentioned at the beginning.

Mix it with sand and add appropriate amount of water

"A plate of loose sand" can be obtained

Same eco-mechanical properties as natural soil

April 2016, Alxa League, Inner Mongolia

Ulan Buh Desert Becomes Yi Zhijian's Team

The first "experimental field" targeted

"Ulanbuhe" means "red bull" in Mongolian

Desertification has become apparent since the Tang and Song dynasties

"The sand is three feet deep and the horses cannot move forward"

In modern times, it has become a mobile desert with no grass growing on it.

The Red Bull has been rebellious for thousands of years

However, after several months of hard work by Yi Zhijian and his team

The first time he showed his docile side——

White clay plays a role

By August of that year, a

A vibrant "island" with fragrant fruits and vegetables

Desert soil field test succeeds in first battle

Yi Zhijian led the team to fight again

More test sites with harsh natural conditions

Taklimakan Desert, Hotan, Xinjiang

Desertified grassland in Ruoergai, Sichuan

Desertification zone in the suburbs of Lhasa, Tibet

Xisha Islands

…

In the desert with a total area of ​​17,000 acres

Their ecological restoration and agricultural planting experiments

All successful

The desert is a no man's land

"Mechanical sand control" is also a "no man's land" that no one has ever reached before

Although the trial was successful

However, the theories and technologies created by Yi Zhijian's team are

Still facing various controversies

The authenticity and value of this technology are questioned

A few experts even doubt that it may bring "harm"

“When an original scientific achievement is born

It is normal to be noticed and even questioned by people.”

Yi Zhijian's team insists on speaking only facts

Field trials for 6 years

They collected a lot of data to answer questions

The problem with deserts is drought.

Don't we need "white soil"?

Can plants grow as long as they are watered enough?

Experimental data from Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang show that

Water consumption of crops in the "desert soilification" experimental site

Lower than the local farmland water-saving irrigation quota

Are the materials added to “white clay” polluting?

Multiple tests by authoritative organizations have shown that

The added materials do not contain any toxic or harmful substances

Soil, water and atmosphere

All meet the national green food origin certification standards

Desert is one of the components of the earth's natural ecology

Turn the desert into an oasis

Is this an act of destroying the ecology?

Regarding the last question

Yi Zhijian’s view is:

Desertification is called the cancer of the earth

It is a major ecological and environmental problem facing mankind.

my country has always attached great importance to desertification prevention and control.

The purpose of the research and development of the "desert soilification" technology is to

It is not to transform all deserts.

How to apply the technology after it matures

There must be a scientific and reasonable overall planning

Yi Zhijian's team insists on speaking with facts

In recent years, the number of doubts has gradually decreased.

More and more affirmation and support

“Seeing high-yield crops grown in the desert

I was shocked and moved.”

Han Guiqing, the first chairman of the FAO Black Soil Alliance

When evaluating the technical achievements of "desert soilification", he said emotionally

“No matter what other experts say, as an agronomist

I strongly support this disruptive innovation."

Mr. Yuan Longping had a dream of "enjoying the coolness under the rice plants"

Yi Zhijian, a desert control expert who changed his career

There is also a dream of "turning sand into fields"

He wants to use his technology

Transform 1% of my country's desertified land

In exchange for 26 million mu of usable land

Mechanics meets the desert

It’s the honor of my life.”

Waiting for his dream to come true

Mechanics meets the desert

Or the honor of an era."

Salute to scientists!

May the dream of “turning sand into fields” come true soon!

Author: Xinhua Daily Telegraph reporter Gu Xun

Source: Compiled from the Xinhua Daily Telegraph January 5, 11th edition report "Turning sand into soil! Mechanics scientists bravely enter "no man's land" and create miracles in cross-border sand control"

Compiled by: Lei Kun, Li Sihan

Producer: Lu Gang

Editor: Wang Ruochen

Proofreading: Zhang Hui