Gas production in the Czech Republic yesterday, today and tomorrow

Abstract

The Czech Republic is one of the most advanced countries in the world in the field of gas industry. The production of gas from coal started here as early as 1847 and has been developing intensively since then. Initially, the gas was used to light the streets, which is why it was referred to as town gas. Soon its use also spread to other areas, e.g. for heating water and housing heating, but also for washing clothes and almonds and a number of other activities. A significant change occurred in the middle of the 20th century, when the process of coal gasification was developed, which began to replace the less effective methods of gas production with carbonization. The first pressurized gas plant in Bohemia was put into operation during the 2nd world war in Záluží near Litvínov and supplied gas not only to local chemical plants, but also to large cities in its vicinity via a high-pressure gas pipeline. Other pressurized gas plants were located in the 1950s in Úžín and in the early 1970s in Vřesová. The production of town gas in the Czech Republic at that time reached a volume of almost 4 billion m3/a. The construction of the transit gas system from the Soviet Union to mainland Central and Western Europe and its commissioning in the first half of the 1970s meant a gradual decline in the production of town gas and its replacement by natural gas. Therefore, the pressurized gas plants were gradually taken out of operation. The last gas plant in Vřesová ceased operation in the summer of 2020. However, gas production technologies are still being developed in the Czech Republic. Several devices for gasification of bio-mass and devices intended for gasification of various al-ternative fuels have been implemented. The interruption of natural gas supplies from Russia in the summer of 2022 has again revived interest in these technologies, especially in industrial enterprises with high gas consumption in technological processes.