LIBERTY Ostrava reports lowest level of dust emissions ever

LIBERTY Ostrava dust levels now historically low

 LIBERTY Ostrava has just reported its lowest level of dust emissions ever. At around 320 tonnes, the team have reduced emissions by over 20% year-on-year, to a level more than 60% less than stringent European legislation allows, and they now stand at around 99% less than they were at their height in the 1980s.

The team, led by Chief Green Officer, Petr Baranek,  have achieved this historic reduction in dust emissions thanks primarily to the billions invested since privatisation in 2003 on dedusting technologies, including forty bag filters which are considered the most efficient technology to capture dust emissions from the steelmaking process. The largest bag filter was built at Ostrava’s Sinter Plant North, where the surface area of the filtering fabric amounts to 44,000 square meters, equivalent to the area of seven football pitches. The bag filters capture even the finest dust particles PM10, PM 2.5 and PM1 with more than 99% efficiency.

The LIBERTY Ostrava team spends around CZK 200 million (€7.5 million) on the operation and maintenance of the filters each year. Further significant reductions of dust, by tens of tonnes a year, will be achieved using new steelmaking technology, which is planned for commissioning during the second half of 2022.