LIBERTY Ostrava by-product back on the menu for road builders

Steel is not the only product from LIBERTY Ostrava which is helping to build the infrastructure of our modern world. The Blast Furnaces also produce a huge amount of slag, which is a by-product generated during the process of hot metal production. Slag is normally used in the construction industry, where it serves as high-quality road base material amongst other uses. As it is used as an alternative to natural stone it’s an environmentally friendly material.

Unfortunately, slag’s positive reputation was unjustly harmed in the Czech Republic a few years ago when it was blamed for the undulations in a new highway around Ostrava. As a result of the claims, slag was banned from use in road construction. However, thanks to LIBERTY Ostrava’s collaboration with the specialist scientists at the Technical University of Ostrava that unsubstantiated claim has now been refuted. The scientists were able to prove that the undulations had been caused by the use of other materials, not the slag provided by LIBERTY Ostrava. This means that blast furnace slag has now been returned to its rightful position as one of the most highly-certified products for road construction.

LIBERTY Ostrava continues to supply this material to many infrastructure projects in the region, including the construction of the nearby Frýdek-Místek by-pass road to which Ostrava supplied 150 tons of slag. The first cars are expected to drive on this bypass, massively reducing congestion in the area, by next February.