History of coke production in the world

17th century

The origins of cokemaking can be traced back to the beginnings of the Industrial Revolution, in the early years of the 17th century. This was the era that saw Sir Henry Platt propose a method of coal processing, derived from the then common wood pyrolysis – heating of wood in kilns with limited air access in order to produce charcoal. The product of coal pyrolysis was at first used only for heating and in selected food industry processes (e.g. in beer brewing), since this refined fuel did not yield combustion waste products that could spoil the final product. At first, coke was manufactured in primitive kilns.

18th century

Abraham Darby discovered in 1709 that coke is an excellent reducing agent suitable for the production of iron. Natural coal was unsuitable for this purpose inter alia because of the waste products of its combustion. Darby's breakthrough was one of the key discoveries behind the onset of the Industrial Revolution as it cut the costs of iron and steel production. The original primitive kilns were replaced with more sophisticated coke ovens of various designs.

19th century

Coke production in the Ostrava region dates back to the 1840s. In 1892, the coking plant “Ignát” was founded. Later to be renamed Jan Šverma, the coking plant eventually came under OKK Koksovny, a. s., but it was recently decommissioned. 

Detailed history of cokemaking industry in Ostrava Region.

20th century

The basic prototype of the modern coke oven was developed in 1940. The early ovens were approximately 12 m long, 4 m high and 0.5 m wide, and fitted with doors on both sides. The incoming air was preheated with hot combustion gases. Recovery of waste heat enabled the production of higher temperatures and increased the speed of the coking process. Since 1940, the process has been mechanised, and perfected with structural materials. The modern systems can contain coking chambers up to 20 m long and 8 m high.