OKK Koksovny company is completing the coking battery construction at CZK 1.6 billion

OSTRAVA, (1 June 2010) – OKK Koksovny (Coking Plants) company, a member of the hard coal mining New World Resources Group, has started drying a new coking battery constructed at a cost of CZK 1.6 billion. It is planned to start trial operation in November 2010.

This large investment represents a significant event for the whole domestic industry, as well as a signal that the coke production in Europe continues to have good prospects.

The new coking battery is installed in place of the former battery, which was decommissioned by the company in 1998 due to the large wear and tear and reduced demand for coke, and which was demolished later on. “It has the same capacity as the decommissioned battery, however the coking battery charging and exhalation exhaust system is completely new and complies with the strictest environmental requirements,” said Michal Kuča, Director, OKK Koksovny.

In constructing the coking battery, a total of 3,315 tons of fireclay, 5,470 tons of ganister, 1,920 tons of refractory concrete and special mortars were used.

The main product of the new coking battery will be foundry coke, which is used in foundries and newly also in insulation production technologies. Significant quantities of this product are purchased by companies from Germany, Austria, Russia and Slovakia. Another product will be blast-furnace coke, which is mainly used for raw iron production in blast furnaces. The Ostrava Coking Plants deliver it to the Třinec Ironworks, and also to Austria and Finland.

Technological Note:

The coking battery drying  is a process where the newly constructed battery is dried up by means of ignited, technically clean coke-oven gas to get rid of moisture penetrated into refractories during the battery construction. This process takes places slowly and switches to the battery heating itself. During this process, major transformations of refractory crystalline modifications occur. 

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For further information, contact:

Vladislav Sobol, Media Representative of OKK Koksovny
725 595 417, vladislav.sobol@okd.cz

Notes for Editors:

OKK Koksovny (Coking Plants) company, having its registered office in Ostrava, is a subsidiary company wholly owned by the coal mining New World Resources Group. OKK Koksovny (Coking Plants) company is the largest European foundry coke producer and leading producer of blast-furnace, heating and technological coke types, designed particularly for foundries and metallurgical production, special metallurgy, heating and other purposes. The company also produces other coking chemical products which are formed during high-temperature carbonization of coal. At present in two coking plants – Svoboda Coking Plant and Jan Šverma Coking Plant, OKK operates a total of four coking batteries with a total of 226 chambers. Over one thousand employees work with the company.