Metallurgy of Upper Silesia in 1750-1796
In the second half of the c18, the technological base for the Upper Silesian metallurgy consisted of blast furnaces, pig iron refiners and forges. The plants were owned privately (by the local landowners), located at the riversides and fuelled with charcoal. In 1750, there were 14 blast furnaces, 40 pig iron refiners and 31 forges in operation. The output was 5000 t of iron. In 1753-55, new ironworks were built in Ozimek and Kluczbork, along with pig iron refiners in Jedlicze, Krasiejów and Budkowice. These were owned by the Prussian state. In the years to follow, the growing internal demand, along with import decrease and export increase, made it possible for the iron production to grow considerably. In 1786, there were already as many as 44 blast furnaces, 151 pig iron refiners, while only four forges. All of these gave 8600 t of iron a year. Since the mid-seventies of the c18, some attempts to produce iron basing on coke and hard coal started. This tendency had a strong support from the director of the Superior Board of Mining in Wrocław, count Friedrich Reden. Those experiments terminated in 1792 with the successful manufacture of pig iron in the Ozimek ironworks blast furnace, fuelled with coke. The coal for it had been mined in the Zabrze “Queen Louise” mine.
A typical blast furnace of the period was 8m high and 10 m³ in volume. The external shape was of a pyramid without the top. Its interior was of stone (sandstone, shale), it was surrounded by a stone setting a few meters thick. The side walls were strengthened with massive oak beams. The output was up to 200 t of pig iron a year, which consumed 600 t of ore, 700 t of charcoal and 100 t of flux.
Royal Iron Works in Kluczbork, blast furmace, fuel=charcoal, propulstion=water, second half of XVIII c.
Metallurgy of Upper Silesia in 1750-1850
In 1800-1850, the output of the Upper Silesian ironworks was constantly growing. The demand for the metallurgy goods increased and so did the export, while the import was limited by the protection duties imposed in 1818 and 1844. The development proceeded in two ways. New ironworks, basing on coke, hard coal and steam engines, were built. In 1802, the state-owned “Royal” ironworks in Chorzów started. It had two blast furnaces and blowers driven by steam machines. In 1805 and 1809, the first private-owned, basing on coke and steam drive, ironworks (“Antonia” and “Hohenlohe” respectively) came into being. In 1828, J. Baildon started the Katowice “Baildon” ironworks, where the first Upper Silesian puddling furnaces were installed. The following ironworks were constructed in: Świętochłowice-“Falva”1825-28, “Zgoda” 1838; Siemianowice-“Laura” 1835-39; Ruda Śląska-“Pokój” 1840. In the same time, the ironworks basing on charcoal and water energy kept on working. They were thoroughly rebuilt and modernized, however. Some new blast furnaces, blowers, pig iron refiners and rolling mils were constructed. In 1850, in Upper Silesia there were 18 coke blast furnaces, 60 charcoal blast furnaces, 249 pig iron refiners and 9 puddling plants in operation. The output was 60000 t of iron, nearly half of which from the ironworks basing on coke and hard coal.
A typical blast furnace of the period was visibly different from the previous ones. By 1850, it was already up to 15 m high and 120 m³ in volume. The external shape was of a cone without the top, standing on a square base. The interior was of firebrick, the setting walls strengthened with iron strips. In 1830, the third jet/tuyère was introduced. Since 1834, the air-heating/hot blast devices appeared which reduced the fuel (coke and charcoal) consumption by 30%, flux by 10 % and ore by 5 %.
