Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1921-08-16
wv ASHINGTON Aug. 13.-Wide use OF
Nv the natural peat deposits in this

w the natural peat deposits in this
continent as a substitute for or
supplement to coal and fuel oil is possible
as result of the development Of the deposits
in Minnesota and the perfection of ma
chimes to make the raw peat good heat pro-
ducing material. 1t is estimated that there
are 20,000,000 acres of peat bearing land IN
this country and 30,O00,000 acres in Canada.
On the land in the United States there are
thirteen billion tons of peat, with more than
half of the supply centered in Minnesota.
One of the difficulties which has always
stood in the way of using this material as
commercial fuel has been getting the mois-
ture out of it, so that it would be approx
mately as good as coal Machines are now
in operation which go far toward accomplish
ing this end.
H. w. Richardson, meteorologist and Off
cial weather forecaster for the region around
Duluth, Mimi, has made study OF the peat
question for a number of years, and believes
that it's use as fuel is entirely practical be-
cause of the low cost that improved methods
of cutting and drying make possible. long
series of tests has been made, and while 1T
was found that Jumps of coal were better
than Jumps of peat as fuel, due to the amount
of moisture retained by the lump peat,
crushed and atomized peat was found to be
about equal to crushed coal in the units or
heat produced.
Crushing coal before feeding it into the
fires of factories has been found to be eff
cacioUs and economical, resulting in economy
in the amount of fuel needed for the produc-
ton of any particular amount of heat energy,
and an additional saving in that the coal
could be fed into furnaces exactly as required,
an impossibility with lump coal.
Atomized coal or peat is fed into the fur
naces after being mixed with air, the mix
ture being floated or waited into the fires
without substantial pressure to form the
feeding stream of air. Crushing coal for fuel
purposes is a growing industry, one concern
in Minneapolis alone crushing and dlstrlb-
uting over 500 tons of coal daily for near
by factories. Similar crushing plants are
being started at Duluth and it's neighboring
city, Superior Wis.
Must Use Machines
In turning to the American peat supply
for fuel it was realized the use of laborers
for digging and drying peat was out of the
question, as it would make the cost of pro-
duction so high that the product could not be
marketed. Peat dug mechanically and dried
by artificial heat or chemicals was out OF
the question also, it was found as the margin
of profit between producing cost and market
ing price must necessarily be small. Ma
chimes were perfected, therefore, and are IN
use and declared to be successful and prac-
teal, which will dig up the peat, pulverize
it and lay it out in flat strips for drying, all
in one operation. These machines, it is
claimed, can prepare the peat fuel at cost
open to this fuel at the low price now pos
sible.
Peat is nothing more than decomposed or
partly decomposed vegetable matter occur
ring where still, but not stagnant, water has
been in the past. The peat occurs also I'M
derneath still, standing water. The depth Of
the peat deposits will range from five to nine
ty feet, that nearest the top being lighter and
less decomposed than the lower layers.
In it's natural state peat contains as high
as so per cent of moisture and the prob
| lem of making the substance commercially
! valuable as fuel is to eliminate as much as
| possible of this moisture. Artificial heat has
| been used successfully, the peat being put
! through a kind of baking process, but this
| is too expensive to make the finished product
an economical fuel. Chemicals have been
used successfully, but this also makes the
| fuel cost too much money when it is ready
| for use. Out of the necessity for a cheap but
| excellent method Of preparing peat for fuel
the Garnett system was developed,
| The Garnett machine runs over the peat
| deposit, lifting a continuous broad slice of
peat into itself as it moves forward. This
| peat is macerated and mixed with water until
the combination has about the consistency
| of tar thick paint. This mixture is dis
! charged by the machine in ribbons three or
| four inches thick, with Just enough consist