Paskov is a town in Frýdek-Místek District in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic . It has about 3,900 inhabitants.
92-560: The village of Oprechtice is an administrative part of Paskov. Paskov is located between Ostrava and Frýdek-Místek , in close proximity to both cities. It lies in a flat landscape in the Ostrava Basin . The town is situated at the confluence of the Ostravice river and the Olešná stream. The first written mention of Paskov is in a deed of bishop Bruno von Schauenburg from 1267. At the end of
184-634: A blast furnace . The carbon monoxide produced by combustion of coke reduces iron oxide ( hematite ) to produce iron : Coke is commonly used as fuel for blacksmithing . Coke was used in Australia in the 1960s and early 1970s for house heating, and was incentivized for home use in the UK (so as to displace coal) after the 1956 Clean Air Act, which was passed in response to the Great Smog of London in 1952. Since smoke -producing constituents are driven off during
276-525: A pulp producer which employs about 400 people. The D56 motorway from Ostrava to the Frýdek-Místek runs next to the town. The train station named Paskov is located in the territory of neighbouring Řepiště . It lies on the railway line Ostrava– Frenštát pod Radhoštěm . The main landmark is the Paskov Castle. The local fortress was rebuilt into a Renaissance residence in the late 16th century. After
368-690: A Holocaust memorial to the Jewish victims of Ostrava was built in Milada Horáková Park. During World War II the city was occupied by Germany . The occupiers operated a Gestapo prison in the city, and several forced labour camps, including three labour "education" camps, located in Moravská Ostrava, Vítkovice , and Kunčice , and the E21 subcamp of the Stalag VIII-B/344 prisoner-of-war camp in
460-473: A blast of hot air, instead of cold air, in the smelting furnace was first introduced by Neilson in Scotland in 1828. The hearth process of making coke from coal is a very lengthy process. A fire brick chamber shaped like a dome is used, commonly known as a beehive oven. It is typically about 4 meters (13 ft) wide and 2.5 meters (8 ft) high. The roof has a hole for charging the coal or other kindling from
552-684: A branch of the Olomouc-based Supreme Public Prosecutor's Office. Ostrava has several sports clubs in various sports, and has hosted many major national and international sports events. In 2014 the city was one of the European Cities of Sport. Ostrava is home to a number of top-level sports clubs, including FC Baník Ostrava (football), HC Vítkovice Steel (ice hockey), NH Ostrava (basketball), 1. SC Vítkovice and FBC Ostrava (floorball), Arrows Ostrava (baseball and softball), and VK Ostrava (volleyball). Sports venues in
644-440: A coke of appropriate strength (generally measured by coke strength after reaction ), while losing an appropriate amount of mass. Other blending considerations include ensuring the coke will not swell too much during production and destroy the coke oven through excessive wall pressures. The greater the volatile matter in coal, the more by-product can be produced. It is generally considered that levels of 26–29% of volatile matter in
736-418: A long-term plan to destroy the city centre entirely and to turn the land over to coal-mining. The 1990s brought a rapid decline in the city's traditional industrial sectors: iron, steel, chemicals and coal-mining. The last coal was mined on 30 June 1994, which was accompanied by major investments to rectify ecological damage done by decades of heavy industry. The projects ultimately brought major improvements in
828-403: A mixture of coke and peat . Coke may be used to make synthesis gas, a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen . Finely ground bituminous coal, known in this application as sea coal, is a constituent of foundry sand . While the molten metal is in the mould , the coal burns slowly, releasing reducing gases at pressure, and so preventing the metal from penetrating the pores of the sand. It
920-456: A more practical oven for converting coal into coke. Wilkinson improved the process by building the coal heaps around a low central chimney built of loose bricks and with openings for the combustion gases to enter, resulting in a higher yield of better coke. With greater skill in the firing, covering and quenching of the heaps, yields were increased from about 33% to 65% by the middle of the 19th century. The Scottish iron industry expanded rapidly in
1012-495: A patent was granted to Thomas Proctor and William Peterson for making iron and steel and melting lead with "earth-coal, sea-coal, turf, and peat". The patent contains a distinct allusion to the preparation of coal by "cooking". In 1590, a patent was granted to the Dean of York to "purify pit-coal and free it from its offensive smell". In 1620, a patent was granted to a company composed of William St. John and other knights, mentioning
SECTION 10
#17328552538061104-681: A project funding short "health breaks" for children from high-risk areas. One of the most pressing environmental problems currently facing the city concerns the oil lagoons at the site of the former Ostramo chemical plant. In 1996 the Czech government took over the site and drew up plans for a cleanup. The state-owned company Diamo was created to implement these plans. The situation has been the subject of government-level discussions, and Finance Minister Andrej Babiš visited Ostrava in March 2015. Air quality in Ostrava
1196-557: A relatively-small scale focusing on the Poruba district and featuring architecture in the Socialist realism style. Later, however, the authorities built larger-scale developments of prefabricated apartment blocks in Poruba and created a series of satellite estates to the south of the city (Ostrava-Jih). The city centre was gradually depopulated, and its people were moved out to the suburbs, as part of
1288-487: A siege of Ostrava during which the besieged townspeople released unbridled horses to run in circles around the town. This is said to have confused the attacking armies so much that they fled. In 2008, Ostrava's new marketing logo was unveiled. Designed by Studio Najbrt, the logo "OSTRAVA!!!" is used in public presentations of the city both in the Czech Republic and abroad. The three exclamation marks are meant to symbolise
1380-556: A special trailer. In the winter there is a similar service for skiers known as the "skibus". There are also several golf courses in the region, including the Šilheřovice golf club in the grounds of the local château, and courses in Čeladná , Ropice and Ostravice . About 30 km (19 mi) from Ostrava is another golf course in Kravaře . Ostrava has a long tradition of hosting top-level European and world championships. The Golden Spike international athletics meeting has been held in
1472-510: A top-quality fuel, coking poisoned the surrounding landscape. After 1900, the serious environmental damage of beehive coking attracted national notice, although the damage had plagued the district for decades. "The smoke and gas from some ovens destroy all vegetation around the small mining communities", noted W. J. Lauck of the U.S. Immigration Commission in 1911. Passing through the region on train, University of Wisconsin president Charles Van Hise saw "long rows of beehive ovens from which flame
1564-522: A township. Ostrava grew on the banks of the Ostrá River (now the Ostravice ) from which it took its name. The river still divides the city into two main parts: Moravian Ostrava (Moravská Ostrava) and Silesian Ostrava (Slezská Ostrava). The settlement occupied a strategic position on the border between the two historic provinces of Moravia and Silesia and on the ancient trade route from the Baltic Sea to
1656-405: Is direct reduced iron , where any carbonaceous fuel can be used to make sponge or pelletised iron. To lessen carbon dioxide emissions hydrogen can be used as the reducing agent and biomass or waste as the source of carbon. Historically, charcoal has been used as an alternative to coke in a blast furnace, with the resultant iron being known as charcoal iron . Many historical sources dating to
1748-399: Is also a major railway hub, sited on Railway Corridors II and III and serving as an important centre for cargo and passenger transport between the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia. The city's largest railway stations are the main station ( Ostrava hl.n. ) and Ostrava-Svinov. These stations are important railway junctions. The main line linking Ostrava with Olomouc , Pardubice and Prague
1840-765: Is also contained in 'mould wash', a paste or liquid with the same function applied to the mould before casting. Sea coal can be mixed with the clay lining (the "bod") used for the bottom of a cupola furnace . When heated, the coal decomposes and the bod becomes slightly friable, easing the process of breaking open holes for tapping the molten metal. Wastewater from coking is highly toxic and carcinogenic. It contains phenolic, aromatic, heterocyclic, and polycyclic organics, and inorganics including cyanides, sulfides, ammonium and ammonia. Various methods for its treatment have been studied in recent years. The white rot fungus Phanerochaete chrysosporium can remove up to 80% of phenols from coking waste water. Before bituminous coal
1932-403: Is baked in an airless kiln , a "coke furnace" or "coking oven", at temperatures as high as 2,000 °C (3,600 °F) but usually around 1,000–1,100 °C (1,800–2,000 °F). This process vaporises or decomposes organic substances in the coal, driving off water and other volatile and liquid products such as coal gas and coal tar . Coke is the non-volatile residue of the decomposition,
SECTION 20
#17328552538062024-676: Is currently very poor, with high concentrations of benzopyrene . The pollution is so serious that it has been described in folklore; local people refer to "Černá Ostrava" (Black Ostrava) and have several songs about it. Ostrava has four permanent theatres: the National Moravian-Silesian Theatre (with two permanent venues, the Antonín Dvořák Theatre and the Jiří Myron Theatre), the Petr Bezruč Theatre,
2116-511: Is different from thermal coal, but arises from the same basic coal-forming process. Coking coal has different macerals from thermal coal, i.e. different forms of the compressed and fossilized vegetative matter that compose the coal. The different macerals arise from different mixtures of the plant species, and variations of the conditions under which the coal has formed. Coking coal is graded according to its ash percentage-by-weight after burning: The "hearth" process of coke-making, using lump coal,
2208-413: Is discharged manually through the side door. When the oven is used on a continuous basis, the walls and roof retain enough heat to initiate carbonization of the next charge. When coal was burned in a coke oven, the impurities of the coal that were not driven off as gases accumulated in the oven as slag – effectively a conglomeration of the removed impurities. Since this slag was not the desired product, it
2300-476: Is home to about 500,000 people, making it the largest urban area in the Czech Republic apart from the capital Prague . Ostrava grew in importance due to its position at the heart of a major coalfield , becoming an important industrial engine of the Austrian empire. During the 20th century it was known as the "steel heart" of Czechoslovakia thanks to its status as a coal-mining and metallurgical centre, but since
2392-420: Is in the city centre. The most notable structures are theatres, banks, department stores and other public buildings dating from the turn of the 20th century, at the time of Ostrava's greatest boom. The central Masaryk Square, named after the first President of Czechoslovakia Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk , features the historic old city hall building and a Marian plague column from 1702. Nearby Smetanovo Square features
2484-468: Is mostly low-lying, with a highest point of 280 m (920 ft) above sea level. The city is situated at the meeting point of four rivers: Oder , Opava , Ostravice and Lučina . It differs from most neighbouring regions by the high concentration of industry, dense population and the geographical conditions of the Ostrava Basin. The Poodří Protected Landscape Area extends to the city's territory in
2576-443: Is on a seal dating from 1426. The first coloured version dates from 1728. The horse is often interpreted as a symbol of Ostrava's position on a major trade route, or as a figure taken from the coat-of-arms of Ostrava's first vogt (reeve), while the golden rose probably comes from the family coat-of-arms of the bishop of Olomouc Stanislav I Thurzo . This explanation is supported by most modern literature. Another theory suggests that
2668-537: Is served by three railway companies: České dráhy , RegioJet and LEO Express . Ostrava's high concentration of heavy industry created various environmental problems in the city, particularly in relation to air quality. Measurements performed by the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute show that levels of atmospheric benzopyrene and dust particles are among the highest in the country. Although Ostrava still has to contend with environmental issues,
2760-476: Is still burning deep beneath the surface, which gives the slag-heap its own microclimate . On 10 December 2019, a shooting at a hospital in Ostrava left eight people dead, including the perpetrator. Ostrava is located about 270 kilometres (170 mi) east of Prague . It lies mostly in the Ostrava Basin lowland, only the southwestern part of the municipal territory extends into the Moravian Gate . Ostrava
2852-409: Is the third largest city in the Czech Republic in terms of both population and area, the second largest city in the region of Moravia , and the largest city in the historical land of Czech Silesia . It straddles the border of the two historic provinces of Moravia and Silesia. The wider conurbation – which also includes the towns of Bohumín , Havířov , Karviná , Orlová , Petřvald and Rychvald –
Paskov - Misplaced Pages Continue
2944-399: Is the transport and logistics hub of the north-eastern part of the Czech Republic, located close to the borders with Slovakia and Poland, and with an airport and highway connection nearby. 25 km (16 mi) south of the city centre is an international airport, Leoš Janáček Airport Ostrava , which links the city with several European destinations (IATA code: OSR; ICAO code: LKMT). It is
3036-409: Is used as coking coal, it must meet a set of criteria determined by particular coal assay techniques. The bulk specific gravity of coke is typically around 0.77. It is highly porous . Both the chemical composition and physical properties are important to the usefulness of coke in blast furnaces. In terms of composition, low ash and sulphur content are desirable. Other important characteristics are
3128-560: The Adriatic Sea known as the Amber Road . Its location helped the town to grow and flourish. However, Ostrava began to decline in importance after the Thirty Years' War , and it was occupied by Danish forces in 1626, and by Swedish forces from 1642 to 1650. A turning point in Ostrava's history came in 1763 with the discovery of extensive deposits of high-quality bituminous coal on
3220-591: The Antonín Dvořák Theatre and the Functionalist Knihcentrum bookstore. To the west are a series of grand, imposing bank buildings and the Elektra Palace on Nádražní Street, while to the north is the New City Hall with its landmark viewing tower, overlooking the large open space of Prokeš Square. The city centre also has two notable religious buildings – the 13th-century Church of St. Wenceslaus and
3312-753: The Aréna Chamber Theatre and the Ostrava Puppet Theatre – which hosts the international Spectaculo Interesse festival every odd-numbered year and the Theatre Without Barriers festival every even-numbered year. Ostrava is home to the Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra , and hosts a number of international annual or biennial classical music festivals, including Janáček May , the St Wenceslaus Music Festival and
3404-718: The Cathedral of the Divine Saviour , the second largest church in Moravia and Czech Silesia . Ostrava's central district contains works by architects including Karel Kotas, Josef Gočár , Ernst Korner and Alexander Graf . Poruba is a large district of Ostrava in the western part of the conurbation, noted for its distinctive 1950s Socialist realist architecture. Inspired by the grandiose buildings of Soviet cities, Poruba also incorporates historical pastiche features drawing on ancient, Renaissance and Classicist models. The main entrance to
3496-553: The Ostrava Days new music festival. Since 2002 Ostrava has been the venue for the annual multi-genre music festival Colours of Ostrava , which features an international line-up of artists and attracts crowds of tens of thousands. Other cultural events in Ostrava include the film and theatre festivals One World , Ostrava Camera Eye ( Czech : Ostrava Kamera Oko ), the International Outdoor Films Festival, and
3588-728: The UNESCO World Heritage List . Ostrava is home to various cultural facilities including theatres and galleries. Various cultural and sporting events take place in Ostrava throughout the year, including the Colours of Ostrava music festival, the Janáček May classical music festival, the Summer Shakespeare Festival and NATO Days . Ostrava is home to two public universities: the Technical University of Ostrava and
3680-525: The University of Ostrava . In 2014 Ostrava was a European City of Sport. The city co-hosted (with Prague) the Ice Hockey World Championships in 2004 , 2015 , and 2024 . On 14 September 1990, Ostrava's City Authority approved the division of the city into 22 boroughs, effective 24 November that year. On 1 January 1994, Plesná separated from Poruba and became a separate borough. Since then,
3772-611: The Velvet Revolution (the fall of communism in 1989) it has undergone radical and far-reaching changes to its economic base. Industries have been thoroughly restructured, and the last coal was mined in the city in 1994. However, remnants of the city's industrial past are visible in the Lower Vítkovice area, a former coal-mining, coke production and ironworks complex in the city centre which retains its historic industrial architecture. Lower Vítkovice has applied for inclusion in
Paskov - Misplaced Pages Continue
3864-496: The coppicing of forests became unable to meet the demand, the substitution of coke for charcoal became common in Great Britain, and coke was manufactured by burning coal in heaps on the ground so that only the outer layer burned, leaving the interior of the pile in a carbonized state. In the late 18th century, brick beehive ovens were developed, which allowed more control over the burning process. In 1768, John Wilkinson built
3956-417: The legal limit for coke oven emissions exposure in the workplace as 0.150 mg/m benzene -soluble fraction over an eight-hour workday. The US National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has set a recommended exposure limit (REL) of 0.2 mg/m benzene -soluble fraction over an eight-hour workday. Coke can be used as a fuel and as a reducing agent in smelting iron ore in
4048-469: The " cracking " process is also a form of coke. Petroleum coke has many uses besides being a fuel, such as the manufacture of dry cells and of electrolytic and welding electrodes . Gas works manufacturing syngas also produce coke as an end product, called gas house coke. Fluid coking is a process which converts heavy residual crude into lighter products such as naphtha , kerosene , heating oil , and hydrocarbon gases. The "fluid" term refers to
4140-519: The 13th century, a fortress was built here. Until 1538, the village was a fief of the Olomouc bishophric . In 1538, Paskov was acquired by Jan IV of Pernštejn . In the following decades, it often changed hands. The municipality became a town in 2011. Paskov was known for the Paskov Mine, where hard coal was mined from 1966 to 1999. The town is known for the industrial company Lenzing Biocel Paskov ,
4232-562: The 20th century, the city was nicknamed the country's "steel heart". In 1931 the Jewish community in Ostrava numbered 6,865 (5.4% of the population). About 8,000 Jews from the Ostrava district were murdered in the Holocaust during the German occupation in World War II . The Nisko Plan included the first deportation train transports of 1,301 Jews from Ostrava on 17 and 26 October 1939. In 1994,
4324-464: The 4th century describe the production of coke in ancient China . The Chinese first used coke for heating and cooking no later than the 9th century. By the first decades of the 11th century, Chinese ironworkers in the Yellow River valley began to fuel their furnaces with coke, solving their fuel problem in that tree-sparse region. By 1078 CE, the implementation of coke as a replacement to charcoal in
4416-502: The Bishop granted Ostrava the right to use the horse in its coat-of-arms out of gratitude for the assistance that the town provided to the people of the Bishop's estate in Hukvaldy when the estate was being looted and pillaged. Apparently the help came so quickly that the pillagers did not have time to attach bridles to their horses before making their escape. There is also a legend which tells of
4508-651: The Church of Saint Lawrence was built in 1740–1746 and expanded in 1828. Ostrava Ostrava ( Czech: [ˈostrava] ; Polish : Ostrawa , German : Ostrau ) is a city in the north-east of the Czech Republic and the capital of the Moravian-Silesian Region . It has about 280,000 inhabitants. It lies 15 km (9 mi) from the border with Poland , at the confluences of four rivers: Oder , Opava , Ostravice and Lučina . Ostrava
4600-614: The Class I roads 11, 56, 58 and 59. The city has a dense public transport network consisting of trams , buses and trolleybuses . The first trams, introduced in 1894, were powered by steam engines. The network was rapidly expanded, and in 1901 it was electrified. New tram lines were built mainly to the south and east of the city centre, where they would not have to cross the narrow-gauge railways linking Ostrava with Karviná and Bohumín . Trolleybuses were introduced in 1952, as in other Czech towns and cities after World War II. Initially there
4692-538: The M10, M25, and M40 test crush indexes, which convey the strength of coke during transportation into the blast furnaces; depending on the blast furnace's size, finely crushed coke pieces must not be allowed into the furnace because they would impede the flow of gas through the charge of iron and coke. A related characteristic is the Coke Strength After Reaction (CSR) index; it represents coke's ability to withstand
SECTION 50
#17328552538064784-586: The Moravian-Silesian Region. The District Court is based in a new building on U Soudu St. in the Municipal District of Poruba . Its jurisdiction covers the territory of the City of Ostrava. The district courts of Ostrava and Brno are the largest in the country in terms of the number of judges. In addition to these courts Ostrava is also home to regional and district Public Prosecutor's Offices, as well as
4876-559: The Polanská Meadows, both of which form part of the Poodří ( Oder Basin) nature reserve. A rare geological feature found in the city is the granite erratic boulders . Originally from Scandinavia, they were left behind after the last ice age , when the ice sheets retreated. Another feature is the Ema slag heap , an artificial hill made of mining waste (slag) that offers panoramic views. The waste
4968-642: The Rochester and Pittsburgh Coal and Iron Company constructed the world's longest string of coke ovens in Walston, Pennsylvania , with 475 ovens over a length of 2 km (1.25 miles). Their output reached 22,000 tons per month. The Minersville Coke Ovens in Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania , were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991. Between 1870 and 1905, the number of beehive ovens in
5060-689: The Silesian bank of the Ostravice River. In 1828, the owner of the local estates, Rudolf Jan, the archbishop of Olomouc , established an ironworks , which was named after him as the Rudolfshütte. Later, the ironworks passed into the ownership of the Rothschild family and became known as the Vítkovice Ironworks . The company became the driving force behind Ostrava's industrial boom. By the second half of
5152-699: The Summer Shakespeare Festival (held on an outdoor stage at the Silesian Ostrava Castle ). Folklore festivals include the Harmony ( Czech : Souznění ) international festival of Advent and Christmas traditions and crafts, Folklore Without Borders, and the Irish Cultural Festival. Ostrava has several museums and galleries: There are four urban monument zones in Ostrava – Moravská Ostrava (the historic centre), Ostrava-Poruba, Ostrava-Přívoz, and Ostrava-Vítkovice. Much of Ostrava's architectural heritage
5244-645: The US increased from approximately 200 to nearly 31,000, which produced nearly 18,000,000 tons of coke in the Pittsburgh area alone. One observer boasted that if loaded into a train, "the year's production would make up a train so long that the engine in front of it would go to San Francisco and come back to Connellsville before the caboose had gotten started out of the Connellsville yards!" The number of beehive ovens in Pittsburgh peaked in 1910 at almost 48,000. Although it made
5336-503: The cemented-together carbon and mineral residue of the original coal particles in the form of a hard and somewhat glassy solid. Additional byproducts of the coking are coal tar pitch , ammonia (NH 3 ), hydrogen sulphide (H 2 S), pyridine , hydrogen cyanide and carbon based material. Some facilities have "by-product" coking ovens in which the volatile decomposition products are collected, purified and separated for use in other industries, as fuel or chemical feedstocks . Otherwise
5428-719: The city every year since 1961. The Ostrava Marathon was established in 1954 and has been held annually since 1974. In 2004, 2015, and 2024 Ostrava co-hosted (with Prague) the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship at the Ostrava Aréna . The Trade Union Stadium was a 60,000 capacity stadium that existed between 1954 and 1999. It was used primarily for motorcycle speedway but also hosted the Spartakiad in 1955 and 1960. Major sporting events to have been hosted in Ostrava include: The first mayor of Moravian Ostrava
5520-429: The city has been divided into 23 boroughs, further divided into 37 administrative parts: The city's coat of arms features a blue shield with a rearing silver horse standing on a green lawn. The horse wears a golden saddle and a red coverlet. At the top right of the shield there is a golden rose with green leaves and a red core. The horse in the coat-of-arms wears no bridle. The oldest known depiction of this coat-of-arms
5612-689: The city include athletics facilities, football pitches and stadiums, ice rinks and ice stadiums, multi-purpose sports halls, tennis courts, squash clubs, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, among others. The most important facilities are operated by the city-owned company SAREZA. The company's outdoor swimming pool in Ostrava-Poruba is the largest facility of its kind in Central Europe. Ostrava has opportune conditions for cycling, with its generally flat terrain and an extensive network of cycle routes. There are also several popular leisure and recreation areas in
SECTION 60
#17328552538065704-407: The city with a distinctive architectural heritage include Přívoz (with its grand Art Nouveau buildings) and the Jubilee housing development ( Czech : Jubilejní kolonie ) in Hrabůvka, built as a workers' housing complex in the 1920s. Ostrava's Regional Court is based in a historic building on the Ostravice embankment (Havlíčkovo nábřeží) in the city centre. Its jurisdiction extends to the whole of
5796-403: The city's environment and quality of life. Ostrava became an important tourist centre that offered easy access to the nearby Hrubý Jeseník and Moravian-Silesian Beskids mountains. As well as hundreds of hectares of recultivated former mining land, the city also has numerous natural landscape features of interest, many of which are protected nature reserves. They include the Polanský Forest and
5888-464: The coal blend are good for coking purposes. Thus, different types of coal are proportionally blended to reach acceptable levels of volatility before the coking process begins. If the range of coal types is too great, the resulting coke is of widely varying strength and ash content, and is usually unsaleable, although in some cases it may be sold as an ordinary heating fuel. As coke has already lost its volatile matter, it cannot be coked again. Coking coal
5980-405: The coal. Carbonization starts and produces volatile matter, which burns inside the partially closed side door. Carbonization proceeds from top to bottom and is completed in two to three days. The heat required for the process is supplied by the burning volatile matter, so no by-products are recovered. The exhaust gases are allowed to escape to the atmosphere. The hot coke is quenched with water, and
6072-435: The coke was used instead of coal in cooking ranges and to provide heat in domestic premises before the advent of central heating . In the US, the first use of coke in an iron furnace occurred around 1817 at Isaac Meason's Plumsock puddling furnace and rolling mill in Fayette County , Pennsylvania . In the late 19th century, the coalfields of western Pennsylvania provided a rich source of raw material for coking. In 1885,
6164-533: The coking of coal, coke forms a desirable fuel for stoves and furnaces in which conditions are not suitable for the complete burning of bituminous coal itself. Coke may be combusted producing little or no smoke, while bituminous coal would produce much smoke. Coke was widely used as a smokeless fuel substitute for coal in domestic heating following the creation of " smokeless zones " in the United Kingdom. Highland Park distillery in Orkney roasts malted barley for use in their Scotch whisky in kilns burning
6256-464: The creation of what by the end of the 17th century was called pale ale . In 1709, Abraham Darby I established a coke-fired blast furnace to produce cast iron . Coke's superior crushing strength allowed blast furnaces to become taller and larger. The ensuing availability of inexpensive iron was one of the factors leading to the Industrial Revolution . Before this time, iron-making used large quantities of charcoal, produced by burning wood. As
6348-401: The damage suffered in the Thirty Years' War , it was reconstructed in the Baroque style. The castle was nationalised after World War II and from 1950 to 2004 it housed an oncology hospital. Since 2013, the castle complex with a naturally valuable part of the castle park has been owned by the town. Today the building houses a museum and serves cultural and social purposes. The Baroque complex of
6440-409: The dynamism, energy and self-confidence of Ostrava and its people. The light blue colour of the city's name is based on the heraldic tradition, while the exclamation marks are a contrasting darker blue. The first written mention of Slezská Ostrava (Silesian Ostrava) dates from 1229, when it was described as a settlement. The first mention of Moravian Ostrava (Moravská Ostrava) in 1267 describes it as
6532-493: The fact that solid coke particles behave as a fluid solid in the continuous fluid coking process versus the older batch delayed-coking process where a solid mass of coke builds up in the coke drum over time. Due to a lack of oil or high-quality coals in East Germany , scientists developed a process to turn low-quality lignite into coke called high temperature lignite coke . Scrap steel can be recycled in an electric arc furnace ; and an alternative to making iron by smelting
6624-565: The first airport in the Czech Republic to have its own rail link, which opened in 2015. The road infrastructure of the region is centred on the D1 motorway , which runs from Prague via Brno and Ostrava into Poland. Ostrava is 360 km (220 mi) from Prague by motorway, 170 km (110 mi) from Brno, 90 km (56 mi) from the Polish city of Katowice , and 310 km (190 mi) from Vienna . Other major roads which pass through Ostrava are
6716-424: The part of Poruba built at this time is through a grand triumphal arch. The Vítkovice district was for several decades the centre of the local iron and steel industry. The influx of workers led the company to build housing for its employees, plus civic amenities, a town hall and a church. The historic parts of the district are built in the company's distinctive style featuring red-brick façades. Other districts of
6808-591: The present-day district of Petřkovice. After the war, the city's German-speaking population were expelled in accordance with the Potsdam Agreement . 231 German-speaking citizens were killed in a massacre at an internment camp, known as the Hanke Lager Massacres . The liberation of Ostrava by the Red Army led to the city entering its greatest period of expansion. Initially, the new housing projects were on
6900-405: The product derived from low-ash and low-sulphur bituminous coal by a process called coking . A similar product called petroleum coke , or pet coke, is obtained from crude petroleum in petroleum refineries . Coke may also be formed naturally by geologic processes. It is the residue of a destructive distillation process. The industrial production of coke from coal is called coking. The coal
6992-529: The production of iron in China dramatically increased the industry to 125,000 tons per year. The iron was used for the creation of tools, weapons, chains for suspension bridges, and Buddhist statues. China is the largest producer and exporter of coke today. China produces 60% of the world's coke. Concerns about air pollution have motivated technological changes in the coke industry by elimination of outdated coking technologies that are not energy-efficient. In 1589,
7084-508: The region surrounding Ostrava; the Beskids and Jeseníky Mountains (about 30 km (19 mi) and 60 km (37 mi) from Ostrava respectively) are popular with skiers in the winter season, and hikers, cyclists and anglers from spring to autumn. A special "cyclebus" shuttles between Ostrava and the Beskydy Mountains from May to September, enabling cyclists to transport their bikes on
7176-704: The requirements of the iron industry in Britain were about 1,000,000 tons per year in the early 1850s, rising to about 7,000,000 tons by 1880. Of these, about 5,000,000 tons were produced in Durham county, 1,000,000 tons in the South Wales coalfield, and 1,000,000 tons in Yorkshire and Derbyshire. In the first years of steam locomotives , coke was the normal fuel. This resulted from an early piece of environmental legislation; any proposed locomotive had to "consume its own smoke". This
7268-526: The second quarter of the 19th century, through the adoption of the hot-blast process in its coalfields. In 1802, a battery of beehive ovens was set up near Sheffield , to coke the Silkstone coal seam for use in crucible steel melting. By 1870, there were 14,000 beehive ovens in operation on the West Durham coalfields , producing 4,000,000 long tons of coke per year. As a measure of the expansion of coke making,
7360-458: The situation has improved over time. In 2015 ArcelorMittal, then one of the biggest polluters in the region, implemented 13 major ecological investment projects worth CZK 3 billion. One new installation filters out 61 tonnes of dust per year. The City of Ostrava is also involved in a range of projects focusing on environmental improvements, including a web portal, www.zdravaova.cz , which enables citizens to monitor current air quality indicators, and
7452-717: The southwest. Ostrava is 20.5 km across from north to south (Antošovice–Nová Bělá), and 20.1 km across from east to west (Bartovice–Krásné Pole). Ostrava has an oceanic ( Köppen : Cfb ) or humid continental ( Dfb ) climate, according with the isotherm 0 °C/-3 °C, the second most common in Europe (the average temperature in month most cold is −1 °C (30 °F)). The climate features hot, humid summers and relatively mild winters, with an average annual temperature of 10.2 °C (50.4 °F) (January: −1.2 °C (29.8 °F) July: 23.5 °C (74.3 °F)) and average annual precipitation of 580 mm. Ostrava
7544-422: The top. A discharging hole is provided in the circumference of the lower part of the wall. In a coke oven battery, a number of ovens are built in a row with common walls between neighboring ovens. A battery consisted of a great many ovens, sometimes hundreds, in a row. Coal is introduced from the top to produce an even layer of about 60 to 90 centimeters (24 to 35 in) deep. Air is supplied initially, to ignite
7636-401: The use of coke in smelting ores and manufacturing metals. In 1627, a patent was granted to Sir John Hacket and Octavius de Strada for a method of rendering sea-coal and pit-coal as useful as charcoal for burning in houses, without offense by smell of smoke. In 1603, Hugh Plat suggested that coal might be charred in a manner analogous to the way charcoal is produced from wood. This process
7728-610: The violent conditions inside the blast furnace before turning into fine particles. Pieces of coke are denoted with the following terminology: "bell coke" (30 - 80 mm), "nut coke" (10 - 30 mm), "coke breeze" (< 10 mm). The water content in coke is practically zero at the end of the coking process, but it is often water quenched so that it can be transported to the blast furnaces. The porous structure of coke absorbs some water, usually 3–6% of its mass. In more modern coke plants an advanced method of coke cooling uses air quenching. The solid residue remaining from refinement of petroleum by
7820-435: The volatile byproducts are burned to heat the coking ovens. This is an older method, but is still being used for new construction. Bituminous coal must meet a set of criteria for use as coking coal , determined by particular coal assay techniques. These include moisture content, ash content, sulphur content, volatile content, tar , and plasticity . The goal is to achieve a blend of coal that when processed will produce
7912-473: Was Hermann Zwierzina . The list of mayors and other top city officials of the time includes: Ostrava is twinned with: Coke (fuel) Coke is a grey, hard, and porous coal-based fuel with a high carbon content. It is made by heating coal or petroleum in the absence of air. Coke is an important industrial product, used mainly in iron ore smelting , but also as a fuel in stoves and forges . The unqualified term "coke" usually refers to
8004-423: Was akin to that of charcoal-burning; instead of a heap of prepared wood, covered with twigs, leaves and earth, there was a heap of coal, covered with coke dust. The hearth process continued to be used in many areas during the first half of the 19th century, but two events greatly lessened its importance. These were the invention of the hot blast in iron-smelting and the introduction of the beehive coke oven. The use of
8096-454: Was given off was stored in gas holders , to be used domestically and industrially for cooking, heating and lighting. The gas was commonly known as " town gas " since underground networks of pipes ran through most towns. It was replaced by " natural gas " (initially from the North Sea oil and gas fields) in the decade after 1967. Other byproducts of coke production included tar and ammonia, while
8188-525: Was initially just discarded. Later, however, coke oven slag was found to be useful, and has since been used as an ingredient in brick-making, mixed cement, granule-covered shingles, and even as a fertilizer. People can be exposed to coke oven emissions in the workplace by inhalation, skin contact, or eye contact. For the United States, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has set
8280-458: Was not employed until 1642, when coke was used for roasting malt in Derbyshire ; previously, brewers had used wood, as uncoked coal cannot be used in brewing because its sulphurous fumes would impart a foul taste to the beer . It was considered an improvement in quality, and brought about an "alteration which all England admired"—the coke process allowed for a lighter roast of the malt, leading to
8372-513: Was not technically possible to achieve until the firebox arch came into use, but burning coke, with its low smoke emissions, was considered to meet the requirement. This rule was quietly dropped, and cheaper coal became the normal fuel, as railways gained acceptance among the public. The smoke plume produced by a travelling locomotive seems now to be a mark of a steam railway, and so preserved for posterity. So-called "gas works" produced coke by heating coal in enclosed chambers. The flammable gas that
8464-559: Was one trolleybus route which encircled the city centre. The network was gradually expanded in the 1950s and 60s, replacing the narrow-gauge railways . A route to the Fifejdy housing estate was built in the late 1970s. The last expansion of the trolleybus network came in the mid-2010s, when a route was built out to the new terminal in Hranečník. 17 tram lines currently operate in Ostrava. There are 52 bus lines and 14 trolleybus lines. Ostrava
#805194