Indiana daily times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1914-1922, 1920-09-30
FINDS WAY OF
MAKING PAPER
FROM RAW PEAT
British Inventor Opens Way
Out of Wood Pulp
Problem.
TRADE SHOWS INTEREST

LONDON, Sept. 30.--A new process,
which gives promise of revolutionizing
the paper-making industry. has been
found here, for reducing raw peat to
pulp for the manufacturing of paper, by
A. L. Burlin, a prominent British in
ventor.
The process has been successfully dent
onstrated before a number of paper ex-
perts at the Manchester College Of Tech
nology recently, and interest in the paper
trade has been aroused in the invention
to a white heat.
The concensus of opinion of the Brit
ish trade is that a successful solution to
the wood pulp problem has at last been
found and that daylight is ahead out Of
the crisis of the white paper shortage.
IF I can obtain sufficient support for
the promoting of my invention Mr..
Burlin said. 81 am sure that shortage
viii be minimized very soon.
THE details Of the process are COM
pleted, and I am now engaged in work
ing out the costs, which give promise
Of being very low. They viii be ready
at an early date.
MY process depends on fresh-cut peat,
which contains IS per cent moisture.
THE available peat fields are almost
unlimited! The peat used in my demon
strationsto the paper trade delegation was
from English boys, but a better result
may be obtained from Irish peat. Welsh
peat makes excellent brown paper.
Cheshire peat is nice and fbrous, but
l think that the Irish variety is the
best; however. although one kind may
be more suitable than another, any kind
may be used as far as my process is con-
cerned.
LITTLE WASTE
COMPARED TO WOOD.
"Comparing it with wood, there is,
similarly, no waste in pulping. Peat con-
tains varying proportions Of stalks.
which may be made into excellent
brushes. In addition, the resinous mat
ter extracted in pulping has a very largo
agricultural use. As for carriage diff
culties, they cannot arise, for the pulping
viii be done on the peat fields themselves;
II necessary the paper making can be
done at the same place. Alternatively,
the pulp can be compressed into sheets
and carried as wood pulp is at present;
il can afterward be repulped. or kept in
storage for an indefinite period"
Mr.. Burlin was then asked If he had
tried mixing wood and peat pulps, and
he said that he had not.
Peat" he continued, consists of
foliage-heather. bracken. trees. and
sometimes grass, which have already
been decomposed into pulp by nature. If
this material is then subjected to chemi
Gals the work of nature is destroyed IT
was obvious that only simple process
was required. My process does not work
against but is supplementary to, natures.
A new plant is required for the pulp!ng
and for bleaching and washing; but the
* NJ al "a nil of
require specially trained workmen. The
fuel cost is very low, as a small quantity
of gas for heating is all that is neces-
sary.
BLACK sPECKs
OVERCOME.
I'm the earlier trials the paper pro-
duced had some small black specks in it,
but this difficulty has been overcome by
the modification of the machinery As
for the actual paper making machinery,
no alteration will be required, but there
win be some saving in the heaters as re-
CARDS time. The peat-pulp will, how
ever, require no more attention on the
part Of the workmen than the wood-pulp.
The new paper has been found to take
aniline eolors remarkably well. So far
then, the various kinds OF paper produced
are white paper. packing paper. various
colored kinds, sugar bags, wall papers,
bookbinders' cloth paper. artificial leather
and cream paper" he concluded.
prominent London paper manufac-
turer, in commenting on the possibilities
Of the new process, said If the paper
could stand the rapid running machinery
through which news paper is passed it
viii be a very welcome invention. The
most difficult problem the inventor has
to face is transportation, as many peat
fields have been exhausted in four or FIVE
years, and it would not be profitable to
hnild q n1anf % nrnrrr 49, IA