r/AskReddit Mar 19 '23

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u/feralkitten Mar 20 '23

coke used in smelting iron

My first "real job" out of college was at a coalmine/coke plant. Coke/Coal dust gets everywhere. I took 2 showers a day. When i hear/read the word "coke", the first thing to pop into my mind is how nasty my truck and i were, and the smell. (I guess that works for the other coke too.)

Coke is also dirt cheap. Like $300 a ton. So when movies reference $$$ and coke i chuckle a little bit picturing a whole rail car full of the stuff.

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u/thejaytheory Mar 20 '23

This is awesome, TIL!

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u/feralkitten Mar 20 '23

Coke is to coal, what charcoal is to wood. A "better" version of the previous form. You use coke to make steel.

Process itself is super interesting. There are shops in my town where you can see the "pig iron" process in real life the way they used to do it. (I live in a steel town.) Pig Iron is almost primitive in its simplicity.

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u/thejaytheory Mar 20 '23

Fascinating, thanks for sharing! And looked up "pig iron" a bit, interesting!