Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-10-03
PEAT AS FUEL.
Digging Up the Boys of Maine as Sub
stitute for Coal.

From the Philadelphia Ledger.
"A snort time ago movement was per-
fected in Lewiston, Me-, to transform the
enormous deposits of peat known as Far
wells bog, in Lewiston suburbs. into mer-
charitable and desirable fuel From advices
at hand it looks as if the proposition were
: no vision or at all impracticable, says the
Lewiston Journal.
AS recently as last September Professor
G M. Randall, in a lecture delivered at
augusta under the auspices of the Maine
state Typographical survey commission
showed that the next step in economy is
likely to be the conversion OF peat into
merchantable fuel. A corporation has lust
been formed to prosecute fuel composition
IRON peat. The company's officials, through
Professor Randall, make the following
statement:
I'VE have succeeded in manufacturing a
fuel which for good reasons we call coal,
because 1t contains the same elements that
coal contains. We call 1t synthetical coal
because 1t is formed by synthesis. This coal
has heating value slightly superior to soft
coal.
The first Investigations for determining
the calorific value of fuel We're made in 1914
for the United States navy. At that time
the Importance of the findings was not ap-
preciated as much as at present On eco
nominal lines it is not possible to sepa rate
laboratory science from boiler room prac-
tice. The observing, practical engineer may
determine the approximate amount of moist
ure and ash on the CRATES, and the eyapo-
ra tive efficiency of a coal, but different boil
ers with different drafts and different meth
DDS of stocking produce different effects with
the same COAL
THE question which naturally arises in
connection with the manufacture of fuel is:
Are the constituents sufficiently abundant
in distribution to warrant an outlay of capt.
tai for machinery, patents, &c? In order
to reply to this we make reference to the
ted a ncrf cal of Y-1y
any year, and to many private surveys. 1t
will be found that in every state in New
England there are almost ineXhaustibe boys
of peat. Possibly there is no article that has
received SO little thought and attention from
practical men as has this valuable material.
For instance, from the Massachusetts re-
port of the geological survey l quote: In
nearly fifty towns Of eastern Massachusetts,
taken as a fair average of its quantity in
other towns and other counties, it would
follow that 10000 acres, or 125 square miles,
are covered with peat, having an average
thickness of six feet This area and depth
would yield not far from 200, 00o, 900 tons'
peat is best handled from the bog by
clam shell digger or dredge. 1t is then con-
veyed to disintegrator, which separates
all coarse material, such as roots. From
this diSintegrator it is conveyed to a press,
where it is reduced from so per cent of
water down to 40 per cent. After leaving
the press 1t goes through another disinte-
orator Here lime is added in way which
we have patented, which further effects
drying, and the lime combines with the
water in the peat.
From here the peat is conveyed to a
drier, which is a steel cylinder, varying in
length according to the capacity required
forty feet for a 100-ton plant. The peat is
in the interior of the cylinder, through
which hot air circuates, thus effecting dry
ing down to per cent to 10 per cent. From
here it is conveyed to pug mill, or mixing
mill, where petroleum, in which bituminous
pitch is dissolved, is added. Here it is
fhOrO11ph1U poiYa6 Then If ic RI
large receptacle. from which it Is dis
charged to the briquetting presses. These
briquetting presses are simple mechanical
devices, which make a brick which is a
short cylinder We believe the best shape
to be about two and three-quarter inches
in diameter and one and three-quarter
inches long. Another form is of irregular
length and one-half the diameter"