IMPROVED MEANS FOR COMPRESSING PEAT
Year: 1884

page_text: I ALEXANDER MCLEAN of Canterbury Wharf Belvedere Road in the County
of Surrey Coment Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of my invention
for IMPROVED MEANS FOR COMPRESSING PEAT to be as follows:-
Many attempts have been made to express the moisture from peat but hitherto
with only slight success for reasons which are well known.
Now the object of the present invention is to provide means by which the
expelling of the moisture may be effected with facility.
In carrying out my invention I uso metal boxes or cases which may be per-
forated with numerous small holes. These boxes or cases I place in a suitable
press. The boxes or cases are lined with felt, pads of hair, or other similar and
suitable material. I thus form as it were a mould in felt or similar material in
which the peat is placed to be pressed into blocks.
The felt or other lining will perunit of the water contained in the peat passing
off freely while the peat will be retained and by suflicient pressure being employed
the whole of the water may be expressed leaving the peat perfectly dry.
NEWTON & SON,
Agents for the Applicant.

page_text: CONTEMID
I ALEXANDER MOLEAN of Canterbury Wharf, Belvedere Road, in the County
of Surrey, Cement Manufacturer do hereby declare the nature of my invention
for IMPROVED MEANS FOR COMPRESSING PEAT and in what manner the saine is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement
The object of this invention is to provide means by the use of which tho
expulsion of the water when compressing peat may be effected with facility.
Peat is usually compressed into rectangular blocks in metal moulds in a suitablo
press but there being practically no separate outlet for the water it passes away
over the edge of the mould or clsewhere carring with it much of the solid and
valuable matters contained in the peat, thus entailing considerable loss of material.
In carrying out my invention I employ porous moulds which will permit of the
water running off freely but will retain all the solid and valuable matters.
These porous moulds I form by perforating the walls and bottom of the ordinary
metal moulds with fine holes and lining these perforated moulds with felt, pads of
hair or other similar and suitable material; or instead of the above arrangement,
I may employ a solid metal frame, open below, and consisting, for example, of four
bars, shaped in cross section, held together by a chase of similar section but
invested. This frame I fix onto the table or other convenient part of the press
with a sheet of felt or other suitable hairy material between it and the table.
The felt or other hairy material will provide a number of fine channels or tubes
by which the water, contained in the peat being compressed, may readily run
away, while the solid and valuable parts of the peat will be prevented from passing
off with the water. The felt or other hairy material may be used continuously as
it will be practically incompressible.
If desired I may use between the peat and the felt a piece of coarse textile fabric
to prevent the hairs of the felt becoming incorporated in the material under com-
pression and thus rendering it difficult to separate the block from the felt without
the partial destruction of the felt.
The textile fabric will readily peel off the block when taken out of the mould.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
Invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is
As means for compressing peat the porous moulds constructed substantially as
above described.