IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PREPARATION OF PEAT FOR FUEL, AND IN MACHINERY THEREFOR
Year: 1873

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by William Robert Lake at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the .
23rd September 1873.-A communication from abroad by William
Scudder Tisdale, of the City and State of New York, United States
of America, Gentleman.
I, WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., .
Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PREPARATION OF
PEAT FOR FUEL, AND IN MACHINERY THEREFOR," a communication, to be as.
follows:-
The said Invention relates, first, to an improved mode or process of
preparing peat for use, as fuel in stoves, grates, and steam boiler
furnaces, and also for blast furnaces and metallurgical purposes.
According to the said Invention the peat is dried very rapidly and
economically, and the blocks or cakes into which it is formed are
rendered very hard and tenacious, so that they will not be liable to
waste by abrasion while being transported from place to place; and the
peat may be brought by this process to such a condition of hardness and
tenacity that it will readily bear the burden or force of a blast furnace.

page_text: and at the same time when used for making iron will serve as a suitable
vehicle for the introduction of fluxes and substances for removing
impurities from the iron and improving the quality of the same.
This part of the said Invention consists in mixing with the wet peat
as it comes from the bog, and immediately before it is fed into a
cutting and compressing machine, a suitable proportion of pulverized
unslaked lime or its chemical equivalent. By this treatment the excess
of water contained in the peat entering into chemical combination with
the lime is rapidly absorbed, the peat is rendered comparatively dry, and
the cakes or blocks into which it is formed will harden quickly, and
possess a solidity and tenacity almost equal to that of coal.
necessary
The peat is
When the peat is to be used in the manufacture of iron, a larger
proportion of lime is used than when the peat is used for ordinary
purposes, and the excess of lime over and above what is
for
absorbing the water contained therein will serve as a flux.
also made the vehicle for the introduction of silicon, black oxide of
manganese, and similar substances for improving the quality of iron by
removing impurities therefrom. These substances are introduced into
the wet peat in suitable proportions before it is passed through the
machine, and for this latter purpose I employ more especially a form of
silicon recently discovered in the United States, which is now known by
the name of "silicon steel ore."
"
The said Invention relates, secondly, to machinery whereby the peat is
comminuted and compressed into a homogenous mass, and condensed in
such a manner that it is brought into a convenient condition for
transportation, and into a suitable condition for use as fuel. For this
purpose I employ a peculiar combination of devices by means of which
the crude peat is thoroughly comminuted or masticated and reduced to
a homogeneous mass, the fibrous matter therein being cut up and
dissevered while passing through the machine, and mixed with the
portions which are more fully decomposed, and the whole mass is ejected
from the machine in a compressed state.
This cutting, mixing, and compressing of the peat is accomplished by
a series of feed knives set spirally on a vertical shaft that passes up
through the hopper into which the crude peat is fed; a spiral web or
endless screw secured upon a horizontal shaft which passes longitudinally
through the main body of the machine, and a series of discharge knives

page_text: which operate upon the peat immediately before leaving the machine.
These discharge knives are secured to the shaft which carries the endless
screw, and are set spirally thereupon.
For more thoroughly pulping and mixing the peat I employ a device
consisting of two or more curved arms, made of steel or other flexible
and elastic material, which is secured upon the aforesaid horizontal
shaft, the spiral web being made in two sections, between which this
device is located. These arms are made thinner toward their outer
ends, which press against the inner surface of the body of the machine
as they revolve with the shaft, so that each of them forms a spring
blade.
In connection with the said improved machine I use a peculiar
compound or arrangement of gear wheels or levers for transmitting
motion to the same from the steam engine or other motor used. This
mechanism may be used or not according to the circumstances of the
case, and the degree of velocity which it may be desirable to impart to
the machine. The said gear wheels or levers are arranged upon one
shaft, by the use of which motion may be multiplied with but a slight
loss from friction, and the expenditure of driving power may be greatly
economized.