The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-06-01
PEAT AS A POSSIBLE FUEL.
A Foreign Invention That Americans
May BE Glad to Employ.
Electricity.

In view OF the frequent coal strikes that
take place and the consequent rise in price
OF that commodity, few words regarding
the availability Of turf or peat briquettes
as fuel should prove interesting If nothing
more. According 10 our consul in Berlin,
great progress has been made in Germany
during the past dozen years in the manu-
facture and use of briquettes from brown
coal or Ignite. held together by a matrix of
bitumen, either developed in the material
itself by heating or added as bi-product
of gas and coke manufacture. But as the
supply of brown coal is limited some Substl-
tute has of late been sought in which peat
would form the principal ingredient. The
problem has been to devise new and mex
pensive process by which peat can be de-
prived of its excess of water, and, without
admiXture of bituminous other coal, con-
verted into briquettes of sufficient heating
power TO replace those made from other and
more costly materials. Numerous processes
more or less successful have been perfected
and tested on an industrial scale, until
finally one invented by Engineer Stauber is
announced which has the Endorsement OF
the Royal Chemical Testing Station at Ber-
lin
According to the published report of this
institution the briquettes made from turf by
the Stauber method contain 454 per cent
fixed carbon. asa per cent. hydrogen, 29%
per cent oxygen and 900 per cent. of ash,
and have thermal value of 3.S06 calories
This is fully w to the standard of brown
coal. which latter has the defect of con-
tanning from 1.04 TO Pa per cent. of sui
wholly free from that impurity and are
therefore adapted to a number of uses for
which charcoal is now employed. German
brown coal Of average quality contains as
it comes from the mines 90 to 65 per cent
of water. and the secret of successful and
economical briquette manufacture from
that material is TO reduce the proportion
of water 10 about II per cent. by the APP
plication of just sufficient heat to melt the
bitumen which IL contains and soften the
whole mass to a consistency at which it
presses readily into briGuettes or blocks.
which cooling harden and become solid
and clean TO handle.
The Stauber process for working peat
consists, so far as has been revealed, of
series of specially contrived machines by
roots and other impurities eliminated. the
water removed by compression 20 the prop
er proportion and the cleansed material
reduced to a uniform consistency and
pressed into molds by automatic machinery.
To what extent heat is used or whether
coal tar is ever employed a matrix to
strengthen the structure of the briquettes
does not as yet appear. What is asserted
on apparently trustworthy authority is that
by the new process peat VIII to a large ex-
tent replace Ignite as "A cheaper and far
more abundant material for briquettes,
| and that briquettes so made will have a
| sufficient thermal value-not only for do
nestle heating, but for making steam and
| various minor processes of manufacture
| for which bituminous coal has heretofore
| been deemed indispensable. 1t is expected
| that the new process will not only serve to
| greatly relieve the scarcity of fuel in Ger
many. but eventually furnish a surplus for
| qxnort