Fig. 5.Fig. 5.—EXTER'S DRYING OVEN.
Fig. 5.—EXTER'S DRYING OVEN.
In 1856, Exter, of Bavaria, carried into operation on an extensive scale, a plan of preparing peat-fuel in some respects not unlike the last mentioned method. Exter's works, belonging to the Bavarian Government, are on the Haspelmoor, situated between Augsburg and Munich. According to Ruehlmann, who examined them at thecommand of the Hanoverian Government in 1857, the method is as follows:—1. The bog is laid dry by drains and the surface is cleared of bushes, roots, and grass-turf, down to good peat. 2. The peat is broken up superficially to the depth of about one inch, by a gang of three plows, propelled by a portable steam engine. 3. The peat is further pulverized by a harrow, drawn by a yoke of oxen. 4. In two or three days after harrowing, the peat is turned by an implement like our cultivator, this process being repeated at suitable intervals. 5. The fine and air-dry peat is gathered together by scrapers, and loaded into wagons; then drawn by rope connected with the engine, to the press or magazine. 6. If needful, the peat, thus collected, is further pulverized by passing it through toothed rollers. 7. The fine peat is now introduced into a complicated drying oven, see figures 5 and 6. It falls through the openingT, and is moved bymeans of the spirals along the horizontal floorsO,O, falling from one to another until it emerges atQ. The floors,O,O, are made by wide and thin iron chambers, through which passes waste steam from an engine. The oven is heated further by hot air, which circulates through the canalsK,K. The peat occupies about one hour in its passage through the oven and falls fromQ, into the press, having a temperature of from 120° to 140°Fahrenheit. The press employed at Staltach is essentially the same as that now used at the Kolbermoor, and figured on p. 125. It is a powerful eccentric of simple construction, and turns out continuously 40 finished peats per minute. These occupy about one-fourth the space of the peat before pressing, the cubic foot weighing about 72 lbs. The peats are 7 inches long, 3 inches wide, and one half to three quarters of an inch thick, each weighing three quarters of a pound. Three presses furnish annually 180,000 cwt. of condensed peat, which is used exclusively for firing locomotives. Its specific gravity is 1.14, and its quality as fuel is excellent. Ruehlmann estimated its cost, at Haspelmoor in 1857, at 8-½ Kreuzers, or a little more than 6 cents per cwt., and calculated that by adopting certain obvious improvements, and substituting steam power for the labor of men and cattle, the cost might be reduced to 6-½ Kreuzers, or a little more than 4 cents per cwt.
Fig. 6.Fig. 6.—EXTER'S DRYING OVEN.
Fig. 6.—EXTER'S DRYING OVEN.
Exter's method has been adopted with some modifications at Kolbermoor, near Munich, in Bavaria, at Miskolz, in Hungary, and also at the Neustadt Smelting Works, in Hanover. At the latter place, however, it appears to have been abandoned for the reasons that it could be applied only to the better kinds of peat; and the expense was there so great, that the finished article could not compete with other fuel in the Hanoverian markets.
Details of the mechanical arrangements at present employed on the Kolbermoor, are as follows: After the bogis drained, and the surface cleared of dwarf pines, etc., and suitably leveled, the peat is plowed by steam. This is accomplished in a way which the annexed cut serves to illustrate. The plot to be plowed, is traversed through the middle by the railwayx,y. A locomotivea, sets in motion an endless wire-rope, which moves upon large horizontal pulleyso,o, stationed at either border of the land. Four gang plowsb,b, are attached to the rope, and as the latter is set in motion, they break up the strip of peat they pass over, completely. The locomotive and the pulleys are then moved back, and the process is repeated until the whole field has been plowed. The plows are square frames, carrying six to eight shares and as many coulters.
Fig. 7Fig. 7
Fig. 7
The press employed at Kolbermoor, is shown in figs. 8 and 9. The hot peat falls into the hopper,b,c. The plungerd, worked in the cavitye, by an eccentric, allows the latter to fill with peat as it is withdrawn, and by its advance compresses it into a block. The blocksm, once formed, by their friction in the channele, oppose enough resistance to the peat to effect its compression. In order to regulate this resistance according to the varying quality of thepeat, the piece of metalg, which hangs on a pivot ato, is depressed or raised, by the screwi, so as to contract or enlarge the channel. At each stroke of the plunger a block is formed, and when the channeleis once filled, the peats fall continuously from its extremity. Their dimensions are 7 inches long, 3-½ wide, and 1-½ thick.
Fig. 8.Fig. 8.—EXTER'S PEAT PRESS.
Fig. 8.—EXTER'S PEAT PRESS.
Several presses are worked by the same engine at the Kolbermoor, each of which turns out daily 200 to 300 cwt. of peats, which, in 1863, were sold at 24 Kreuzers (16 cents), per cwt.
Fig. 9.Fig. 9.—EXTER'S PEAT PRESS.
Fig. 9.—EXTER'S PEAT PRESS.
C. Hodgson has patented in Great Britain a compressing-ram similar to Exter's, and works were put up at Derrylea, in Ireland, some years ago, in which Exter's process of manufacturing peat fuel appears to have been adopted.
Elsberg's Process.
Dr. Louis Elsberg, of New York City, has invented a modification of Exter's method, which appears to be ofgreat importance. His experimental machine, which is in operation near Belleville, N. J., consists of a cylindrical pug-mill, in which the peat, air-dried as in Exter's method, is further broken, and at the same time is subjected to a current of steam admitted through a pipe and jacket surrounding the cylinder. The steamed peat is then condensed by a pair of presses similar to that just described, which are fed directly from the mill. In this way the complicated drying oven of Exter is dispensed with. Elsberg & Co. are still engaged in perfecting their arrangements. Some samples of their making are of very excellent quality, having a density of 1.2 to 1.3.
The pressing of air-dry peat only succeeds when it is made warm, and is, at the same time, moist. In Exter's original process the peat is considerably dried in the ovens, but on leaving them, is so moist as to bedew the hand that is immersed in it. It is, in fact, steamed by the vaporization of its own water. In Elsberg's process, the air-dry peat is not further desiccated, but is made moist and warm by the admission of hot steam. The latter method is the more ready and doubtless the more economical of the two. Whether the former gives a dryer product or not, the author cannot decide. Elsberg's peat occurs in cylindrical cakes 2 inches broad, and one inch in thickness. The cakes are somewhat cracked upon the edges, as if by contraction, in drying. When wet, the surface of the cakes swells up, and exfoliates as far as the water has penetrated. In the fire, a similar breaking away of the surface takes place, and when coked, the coal is but moderately coherent.
The reasons why steamed peat admits of solidification by pressure, are simply that the air, ordinarily adhering to the fibres and particles, is removed, and the fibres themselves become softened and more plastic, so that pressure brings them into intimate contact. The idea that the heatdevelops bituminous matters, or fuses the resins which exist in peat, and that these cement the particles, does not harmonize with the fact that the peat, thus condensed, flakes to pieces by a short immersion in water.
The great advantage of Exter's and Elsberg's method consists in avoiding what most of the others require, viz.: the expensive transportation and handling of fresh peat, which contains 80 to 90per cent.of water, and the rapid removal of this excess of water before the manufacture. In the other methods the surplus water must be slowly removed during or after condensation.
Again, enough peat may be air-dried and stored during summer weather, to supply a machine with work during the whole year.
Its disadvantages are, that it requires a large outlay of capital and great expenditure of mechanical force. Its product is, moreover, not adapted for coking.
B.—Condensation without Pressure.
The methods of condensing peat, that remain to be described, are based upon radically different principles from those already noticed. In these, little or no pressure is employed in the operations; but advantage is taken of the important fact that when wet or moist peat is ground, cut or in any way reduced to a pulpy or pasty consistence, with destruction of the elastic fibres, it will, on drying, shrink together to a coherent mass, that may acquire a density and toughness much greater than it is possible to obtain by any amount of mere pressure.
The various processes that remain to notice are essentially reducible to two types, of which the French method, invented by Challeton, and the German, invented it appears by Weber, are the original representatives. The former method is only applicable to earthy,well-decomposed peat, containing little fibre. The latter was originally applied to fibrous moss-peat, but has since been adapted to all kinds. Other inventors, English, German, and American, have modified these methods in their details, or in the construction of the requisite machinery, rendering them more perfect in their execution and perhaps more profitable in their results; but, as regards the essential principles of production, or the quality of product, no advance appears to have been made beyond the original inventors.
a.Condensation of Earthy Peat.
Challeton's Methodconsists essentially in destroying the fibres, and reducing the peat by cutting and grinding with water to a pulp; then slowly removing the liquid, until the peat dries away to a hard coherent mass. It provides also for the purification of the peat from earthy matters. It is, in many respects, an imitation of the old Dutch and Irish mode of making "hand peat" (Baggertorf), and is very like the paper manufacture in its operations. Challeton's Works, situated near Paris, at Mennecy, near Montanges, were visited in 1856 by a Commission of the Agricultural Society of Holstein, consisting of Drs. Meyn and Luetkens, and also by Dr. Ruehlmann, in the interest of the Hanoverian Government. From their account[22]the following statements are derived.
The peat at Mennecy comes from the decay of grasses, is black, well decomposed, and occasionally intermingled with shells and sand. The moor is traversed by canals, which serve for the transport of the excavated peat in boats. The peat, when brought to the manufactory, is emptied into a cistern, which, by communicating with the adjacent canal, maintains a constant level of water. Fromthis cistern the peat is carried up by a chain of buckets and emptied into a hopper, where it is caught by toothed cylinders in rapid revolution, and cut or torn to pieces. Thence it passes into a chamber where the fine parts are separated from unbroken roots and fibres by revolving brushes, which force the former through small holes in the walls of the chamber, while the latter are swept out through a larger passage. The pulverized peat finally falls into a cistern, in which it is agitated by revolving arms. A stream of water constantly enters this vessel from beneath, while a chain of buckets as rapidly carries off the peat pulp. All sand, shells, and other heavy matters, remain at the bottom of this cistern.
The peat pulp, thus purified, flows through wooden troughs into a series of basins, in which the peat is formed and dried. These basins are made upon the ground by putting up a square frame (of boards on edge,) about one foot deep, and placing at the bottom old matting or a layer of flags or reeds. Each basin is about a rod square, and 800 of them are employed. They are filled with the peat pulp to the top. In a few days the water either filters away into the ground, or evaporates, so that a soft stratum of peat, about 3 inches in thickness, remains. Before it begins to crack from drying, it is divided into blocks, by pressing into it a light trellis-like framework, having thin partitions that serve to indent the peat in lines corresponding to the intended divisions. On further drying, the mass separates into blocks at the lines thus impressed, and in a few days, they are ready to remove and arrange for further desiccation.
The finished peats from Challeton's works, as well as those made by the same method near Neuchatel, Switzerland, by the Messrs. Roy, were of excellent quality, and in the opinion of the Commission from Holstein, themethod is admirably adapted for the purification and concentration of the heavy kinds of peat.
In Holstein, a French company constructed, and in 1857 worked successfully a portable machine for preparing peat on this plan, but were shortly restrained by legal proceedings. Of their later operations we have no information.
No data are at hand regarding the cost of producing fuel by Challeton's machinery. It is believed, however, that his own works were unremunerative, and several manufactories on his pattern, erected in Germany, have likewise proved unprofitable. The principle is, however, a good one, though his machinery is only applicable to earthy or pitchy, and not to very fibrous peat. It has been elsewhere applied with satisfactory results.
Simplified machineryfor applying Challeton's method is in operation at Langenberg, near Stettin, in Prussia.[23]The moss-meadows along the river Oder, near which Langenberg is situated, are but a foot or so higher at the surface than the medium level of this river, and are subject to frequent and sudden inundations, so that draining and partial drying of the peat are out of the question. The character of the peat is unadapted to cutting by hand, since portions of it are pitchy and crumble too easily to form good sods; and others, usually the lower layers, at a depth of seven feet or more, are made up to a considerable extent of quite firm reeds and flags, having the consistence of half decayed straw. The earthy peat is manufactured after Challeton's method. It is raised with a steam dredger of 20 horse power, and emptied into flat boats, seven in number, which are drawn to the works by an endless rope operated by horse power. The works themselves are situated on a small sand hill in the middle of the moor, and communicate by canal with the dredger and with the dryingground. A chain of buckets, working in a frame 45 feet long, attached by a horizontal hinge to the top of the machine house, reaches over the dock where the boats haul up, into the rear end of the latter; and, as the buckets begin to raise the peat, the boat itself is moved under the frame towards the house, until, with a man's assistance, its entire load is taken up. The contents of one boat are six square yards, with a depth of one foot, and a boat is emptied in 20 minutes time. Forty to forty-four boatloads are thus passed into the pulverizing machine daily, by two chains of buckets.
The peat-mud falls from the buckets into a large wooden trough, which branches into two channels, conducting to two large tubs standing side by side. These tubs are 10 feet in diameter and 2 feet deep, and are made of 2-inch plank. Within each tub is placed concentrically a cylindrical sieve, or colander, 8 feet in diameter and 2 feet high, made of 3/8 round iron, and it is within this that the peat is emptied. The peat is stirred and forced through the meshes of the sieve by four arms of a shaft that revolves 20 times per minute, the arms carrying at their extremities stiff vertical brooms, which rub the inside of the sieve.
In these four tubs the peat is pulverized under addition of water; the fine parts pass the sieves, while the latter retain the coarse fibres, roots, etc. The peat-mud flows from the tubs into mills, made like a flour mill, but the "stones" constructed of hard wood. The "stones" have a diameter of 8 feet 6 inches; the lower is 8 inches; the upper 21 inches thick. The pressure of the upper "stone" is regulated by adjusting the level of the discharging channel, so that the "stone" may be more or less buoyed, or even fully floated by the water with which it is surrounded.
The peat-substance, which is thus finely ground, gathers from the four mills into a common reservoir whence it is lifted by a centrifugal pump into a trough, which distributes it over the drying ground.
The drying ground consists of the surface formed by grading the sand hill, on which the works are built, and includes about 30 English acres. This is divided into small plots, each of which is enclosed on three sides with a wall of earth, and on the fourth side by boards set on edge. Each plot is surrounded by a ditch to carry off water, and by means of portable troughs, the peat is let on from the main channel. The peat-slime is run into these beds to the depth of 20 to 22 inches, an acre being covered daily. After 4 to 8 days, according to the weather, the peat has lost so much water, which, rapidly soaks off through the sand, that its surface begins to crack. It is then thoroughly trodden by men, shod with boards 5 inches by 10 inches, and after 6 to 8 days more, it is cut with sharp spades into sods. The peats are dried in the usual manner.
The works at Langenberg yielded, in 1863, as the result of the operations of 60 days of 12 hours each, 125,000 cwt. of marketable peat. It is chiefly employed for metallurgical purposes, and sells at 3-1/3 Silver-groschen, or nearly 8 cents per cwt. The specific gravity of the peat ranges from 0.73 to 0.90.
Roberts' Process.
In this country attempts have been made to apply Challeton's method. In 1865, Mr. S. Roberts, of Pekin, N. Y., erected machinery at that place, which was described in the "Buffalo Express," of Nov. 17, 1865, as follows:—
"In outward form, the machine was like a small frame house on wheels, supposing the smoke-stack to be achimney. The engine and boiler are of locomotive style; the engine being of thirteen horse power. The principal features of the machine are a revolving elevator and a conveyer. The elevator is seventy-five feet long, and runs from the top of the machine to the ground, where the peat is dug up, placed on the elevator, carried to the top of the machine, and dropped into a revolving wheel that cuts it up; separates from it all the coarse particles, bits of sticks, stones, etc.; and throws them to one side. The peat is next dropped into a box below, where water is passed in, sufficient to bring it to the consistency of mortar. By means of a slide under the control of the engineer, it is next sent to the rear of the machine, where the conveyer, one hundred feet long, takes it, and carries it within two rods of the end; at which point the peat begins to drop through to the ground to the depth of about four or five inches. When sufficient has passed through to cover the ground to the end of the conveyer,—two rods,—the conveyer is swung around about two feet, and the same process gone through, as fast as the ground under the elevator, for the distance of two rods in length and two feet in width gets covered, the elevator being moved. At each swing of the elevator, the peat just spread is cut into blocks (soft ones, however) by knives attached to the elevator. It generally takes from three to four weeks before it is ready for use. It has to lie a week before it is touched, after the knives pass through it; when it is turned over, and allowed to lie another week. It has then to be taken up, and put in a shed, and within a week or ten days can be used, although it is better to let it remain a little longer time. The machine can spread the peat over eighteen square rods of ground—taking out one square rod of peat—without being moved. After the eighteen rods are covered, the machine is moved two rods ahead, enabling it to again spread a semicircularspace of some thirty-two feet in width by eighteen rods in length. The same power, which drives the engine, moves the machine. It is estimated by Mr. Roberts, that, by the use of this machine, from twenty to thirty tons of peat can be turned out in a day."
Mr. Roberts informs us that he is making (April 1866,) some modifications of his machinery. He employs a revolving digger to take up the peat from the bed, and carry it to the machine. At the time of going to press, we do not learn whether he regards his experiments as leading to a satisfactory conclusion, or otherwise.
Siemens' method.
Siemens, Professor of Technology, in the Agricultural Academy, at Hohenheim, successfully applied the following mode of preparing peat for the Beet Sugar Manufactory at Bœblingen, near Hohenheim, in the year 1857. Much of the peat there is simply cut and dried in the usual manner. There is great waste, however, in this process, owing to the frequent occurrence of shells and clay, which destroy the coherence of the peat. Besides, a large quantity of material accumulates in the colder months, from the ditches which are then dug, that cannot be worked in the usual manner at that time of the year. It was to economize this otherwise useless material that the following process was devised, after a failure to employ Challeton's method with profit.
In the first place, the peat was dumped into a boarded cistern, where it was soaked and worked with water, until it could be raised by a chain of buckets into the pulverizer.
The pulverization of the peat was next effected by passing it through a machine invented by Siemens, for pulping potatoes and beets. This machine, (the same we supposeas that described and figured in Otto's Landwirthschaftliche Gewerbe), perfectly breaks up and grates the peat to a fine pulp, delivers it in the consistency of mortar into the moulds, made of wooden frames, with divisions to form the peats. The peat-paste is plastered by hand into these moulds, which are immediately emptied to fill again, while the blocks are carried away to the drying ground where they are cured in the ordinary style without cover.
In this simple manner 8 men were able to make 10,000 peats daily, which, on drying, were considerably denser and harder than the cut peat.
The peat thus prepared, cost about one-third more than the cut peat. Siemens reckoned, this greater cost would be covered by its better heating effect, and its ability to withstand transportation without waste by crumbling.
b.Condensation of fibrous peat.
Weber's method.
At Staltach, in Southern Bavaria, Weber has established an extensive peat works, of which Vogel has given a circumstantial account.[24]The peat at Staltach is very light and fibrous, but remarkably free from mineral matters, containing less than 2per cent.of ash in the perfectly dry substance. The moor is large, (475 acres), and the peat is from 12 to 20 feet in depth. The preparation consists in converting the fresh peat into pulp or paste, forming it into moulds and drying it; at first by exposure to the air at ordinary temperature, and finally, by artificial heat, in a drying house constructed for the purpose.
The peat is cut out by a gang of men, in large masses, cleared of coarse roots and sticks, and pushed on tramwagons to the works, which, are situated lower than the surface of the bog. Arrived at the works, the peat is carried upon an inclined endless apron, up to a platform 10 feet high, where a workman pushes it into the pulverizing mill, the construction of which is seen from the accompanying cut. The vertical shaftbis armed with sickle-shaped knives,d, which revolve between and cut contrary to similar knivesc, fixed to the interior of the vessel. The latter is made of iron, is 3-½ feet high, 2 feet across at top and 1-½ feet wide at the bottom. From the base of the machine atg, the perfectly pulverized or minced peat issues as a stiff paste. If the peat is dry, a little water is added. Vogel found the fresh peat to contain 90per cent., of water, the pulp 92per cent.Weber's machine, operated by an engine of 10 horse power, working usually to half its capacity only, reduced 400 cubic feet of peat per hour, to the proper consistency for moulding.
Fig. 10.Fig. 10.—WEBER'S PEAT MILL.
Fig. 10.—WEBER'S PEAT MILL.
Three modes of forming the paste into blocks have been practiced. One was in imitation of that employed with mud-peat. The paste was carried by railway to sheds,where it was filled by hand into moulds 17 inches by 7-¼ by 5-¼ inches, and put upon frames to dry. These sheds occupied together 52,000 square feet, and contained at once 200,000 peats. The peats remained here 8 to 14 days or more, according to the weather, when they were either removed to the drying house, or piled in large stacks to dry slowly out-of-doors. The sheds could be filled and emptied at least 12 times each season, and since they protected from light frosts, the season began in April and lasted until November.
The second mode of forming the peat was to run off the pulp into large and deep pits, excavated in the ground, and provided with drains for carrying off water. The water soaked away into the soil, and in a few weeks of good weather, the peat was stiff enough to cut out into blocks by the spade, having lost 20 to 25per cent.of its water, and 15per cent.of its bulk. The blocks were removed to the drying sheds, and set upon edge in the spaces left by the shrinking of the peats made by the other method. The working of the peat for the pits could go on, except in the coldest weather, as a slight covering usually sufficed to protect them from frost.
Both of these methods have been given up as too expensive, and are replaced, at present, by the following:
In the third method the peat-mass falls from the mill into a hopper, which directs it between the rollsA Bof fig. 11, (see next page). The rollAhas a series of boxes on its peripherym m, with movable bottoms which serve as moulds. The peat is carried into these boxes by the rollsc c. The iron projectionsn nof the large rollB, which work cog-like into the boxes, compress the peat gently and, at last, the eccentric p acting upon the pinz, forces up the movable bottom of the box and throws out the peat-block upon an endless band of cloth, which carries it to the drying place.
The peats which are dried at first under cover and therefore slowly, shrink more evenly and to a greater extent than those which are allowed to dry rapidly. The latter become cracked upon the surface and have cavities internally, which the former do not. This fact is of great importance for the density of the peat, for its usefulness in producing intense heat, and its power to withstand carriage.
Fig. 11Fig. 11—WEBER'S PEAT MOULDING MACHINE.
Fig. 11—WEBER'S PEAT MOULDING MACHINE.
Thecomplete dryingis, on the other hand, by this method, a much slower process, since the dense, fissureless exterior of the peats hinders the escape of water from within. It requires, in fact, several months of ordinary drying for the removal of the greater share of the water, and at the expiration of this time they are still often moist in the interior.
Artificial drying is therefore employed to produce the most compact, driest, and best fuel.
Weber'sDrying houseis 120 feet long and 46 feet wide. Four large flues traverse the whole length of it, and are heated with the pine roots and stumps which abound in the moor. These flues are enclosed in brick-work, leaving a narrow space for the passage of air from without, which is heated by the flues, and is discharged at various openings in the brick-work into the house itself, where the peat is arranged on frames. The warm air being light, ascends through the peat, charges itself with moisture, thereby becomes heavier and falls to the floor, whence it is drawn off by flues of sheet zinc that pass up through the roof. This house holds at once 300,000 peats, which are heated to 130° to 145° F., and require 10 to 14 days for drying.
The effect of the hot air upon the peat is, in the first place, to soften and cause it to swell; it, however, shortly begins to shrink again and dries away to masses of great solidity. It becomes almost horny in its character, can be broken only by a heavy blow, and endures the roughest handling without detriment. Its quality as fuel is correspondingly excellent.
The effects of the mechanical treatment and drying on the Staltach peat, are seen from the subjoined figures:
Specific Gravity.Lbs. per Cubic Foot.Per cent. of Water.Peat, raised and dried in usual way,0.241518 to 20Machine-worked and hot-dried0.653512
Vogel estimates the cost of peat made by Weber's method at 5 Kreuzers per (Bavarian) hundred weight, while that of ordinary peat is 13-½ Kreuzers. Schrœder, in his comparison of machine-wrought and ordinary peat, demonstrates that the latter can be produced much cheaper than was customary in Bavaria, in 1859, by a better system of labor.
Weber's method was adopted with some improvements in an extensive works built in 1860, by the Government of Baden, at Willaringen, for the purpose of raising as much fuel as possible, during the course of a lease that expired with the year 1865.
Fig. 12.Fig. 12.—GEYSSER'S PEAT MACHINE.
Fig. 12.—GEYSSER'S PEAT MACHINE.
Gysser's method.[25]—Rudolph Gysser, of Freiburg, who was charged with the erection of the works at Willaringen just alluded to, invented a portable hand-machine onthe general plan of Weber, but with important improvements; and likewise omitted and varied some details of the manufacture, bringing it within the reach of parties of small means.
In the accompanying cuts, (figs. 12, 13, and 14), are given an elevation of Gysser's machine, together with a bird's-eye view and vertical section of the interior mechanism.
Fig. 13.Fig. 13. Fig. 14.
Fig. 13. Fig. 14.
Fig. 15.Fig. 15.
Fig. 15.
It consists of a cast iron funnelc d iof the elevation, (fig. 12), having above a sheet iron hoppera bto receive the peat, and within a series of six knives fastened in a spiral, and curving outwards and downwards, (figs. 13 and 14); another series of three similar knives is affixed to a vertical shaft, which is geared to a crank and turned by a man standing on the platformj k; these revolving knives curve upwards and cut between and in a direction contrary to the fixed knives; below the knives, and affixed to the shaft a spiral plate of iron and a scraperm, (fig. 13), serve to force the peat, which has been at once minced and carried downwards by the knives, as a somewhat compressed mass through the lateral opening at the bottom of the funnel, whence it issues as a continuous hollowcylinder like drain-tile, having a diameter of four inches. The iron conei, held in the axis of the opening by the thin and sharp-edged supportg h, forms the bore of the tube of peat as it issues. Two men operate the machine; one turning the crank, which, by suitable gearing, works the shaft, and the other digging and throwing in the peat. The mass, as it issues from the machine, is received by two boys alternately, who hold below the opening a semi-cylindrical tin-plate shovel, (fig. 15), of the width and length of the required peats, and break or rather wipe them off, when they reach the length of 14 inches.
Fig. 16.Fig. 16.
Fig. 16.
The formed peats are dried in light, cheap and portable houses, Fig. 17, each of which consists of six rectangular frames supported one above another, and covered by a light roof. The frames, Fig. 16, have square posts at each corner like a bedstead, and are made by nailing light strips to these posts. The tops of these posts are obtusely beveled to an edge, and at the bottom they are notched to correspond. The direction of the edges and of the notches in two diagonally opposite posts, is at right angles to that of the other two. By this construction the frames, being of the same size, when placed above each other, fit together by the edges and notches of their posts into a structure that cannot be readily overturned. The upper frame has a light shingled roof, which completes the house. Each frame has transverse slats, cast in plaster of Paris, 20 in number, which support the peats. The latter being tubular, dry more readily, uniformly, and to a denser consistence than they could otherwise.
The machine being readily set up where the peat isexcavated, the labor of transporting the fresh and water-soaked material is greatly reduced. The drying-frames are built up into houses as fast as they are filled from the machine. They can be set up anywhere without difficulty, require no leveling of the ground, and, once filled, no labor in turning or stacking the peats is necessary; while the latter are insured against damage from rain. These advantages, Gysser claims, more than cover their cost.
Fig. 17.Fig. 17.
Fig. 17.
The daily production of a machine operated by two men with the assistance of one or two boys, is 2500 to 3000 peats, which, on drying, have 9-½ to 10 inches of length, and 2-½ in diameter, and weigh, on the average, one pound each.
c.—Condensation of peat of all kinds.—Weber's method with modified machinery.
Fig. 18.Fig. 18.—SCHLICKEYSEN'S PEAT MILL.
Fig. 18.—SCHLICKEYSEN'S PEAT MILL.
Schlickeysen's Machine.[26]—This machine has been in use in Germany since 1860, in the preparation of peat. It appears to have been originally constructed for the working and moulding of clay for making bricks. The principle of its operation is identical with that of Weber's process. The peat is finely pulverized, worked into a homogenous mass, and moulded into suitable forms. Like Gysser's machine, it forces the peat under some pressure through a nozzle, or, in the larger kinds through several nozzles, whence it issues in a continuous block or pipe that is cut off in proper lengths, either by hand or by mechanism It consists of a vertical cylinder, through the axis of which revolves a shaft, whereon are fastened the blades, whose edges cut and whose winding figure forces down the peat. The blades are arranged nearly, but not exactly, in a true spiral; the effect is therefore that they act unequallyupon the mass, and thus mix and divide it more perfectly. No blades or projections are affixed to the interior of the cylinder. Above, where the peat enters into a flaring hopper, is a scraper, that prevents adhesion to the sides and gives downward propulsion to the peat. The blades are, by this construction, very strong, and not liable to injury from small stones or roots, and effectually reduce the toughest and most compact peat.
Furthermore, addition of water is not only unnecessary in any case, but the peat may be advantageously air-dried to a considerable extent before it enters the machine. Wet peat is, indeed, worked with less expenditure of power; but the moulded peats are then so soft as to require much care in the handling, and must be spread out in single courses, as they will not bear to be placed one upon another. Peat, that is somewhat dry, though requiring more power to work, leaves the machine in blocks that can be piled up on edge and upon each other, six or eight high, without difficulty, and require, of course, less time for curing.
The cut, (fig. 18), represents one of Schlickeysen's portable peat-mills, with elevator for feeding, from which an idea of the pulverizing arrangements may be gathered.
In Livonia, near Pernan, according to Leo, two of Schlickeysen's machines, No. 6, were put in operation upon a purely fibrous peat. They were driven by an engine of 12 horse-power. The peat was plowed, once harrowed, then carted directly to the hopper of the machine. These two machines, with 26 men and 4 horses, produced daily 60,000 peats = 7500 cubic feet. 100 cubic feet of these peats were equal in heating effect to 130 cubic feet of fir-wood, and cost but two-thirds as much. The peats were extremely hard, and dried in a few days sufficiently for use. In 1864, five large Schlickeysen machines were in operation at one establishment at St. Miskolz, in Hungary.
The smaller sizes of Schlickeysen's machine are easily-portable, and adapted for horse or hand-power.
Leavitt's Peat-condensing and Moulding Mill.[27]—In this country, Mr. T. H. Leavitt, of Boston, has patented machinery, which is in operation at East Lexington, Mass., at the works of the Boston Peat Company. The process is essentially identical with that of Weber, the hot-drying omitted. The fresh peat is pulverized or cut fine, moulded into blocks, and dried on light frames in the open air. The results claimed by Mr. Leavitt, indicate, that his machine is very efficacious.
It consists, principally, of a strong box or cistern, three feet in diameter, and six feet high, the exterior of which, with its gearing, is shown in figure 19. The mill is adapted to be driven by a four horse-power engine.
"The upper portion of the box is divided by a series of horizontal partitions, the upper ones being open latticework, and the lower ones perforated with numerous holes. The upright shaft, which rotates in the centre of the box, carries a series of arms or blades, extending alternately on opposite sides, and as these revolve, they cut the peat, and force it through the openings in the diaphragms. The lower portion of the box, in place of complete partitions, has a series of corrugated shelves extending alternately from opposite sides, and the peat is pressed and scraped from these by a series of arms adapted to the work. By this series of severe operations the air-bubbles are expelled from the peat, and it is reduced to a homogeneous paste. When it arrives at the bottom of the box, it is still further compressed by the converging sides of the hopper, and it is received in light moulds which are carried on an endless belt." Mr. Leavitt has patented theuse of powdered peat for the purpose of preventing the prepared peat from adhering to the moulds.
Fig. 19.Fig. 19.—LEAVITT'S PEAT MILL.
Fig. 19.—LEAVITT'S PEAT MILL.
This mill, it is asserted, will condense 40 tons of crude peat daily, which, at Lexington, is estimated to yield 10 to 14 tons of dry merchantable fuel. The cost of producing the latter is asserted to be less than $2.00 per ton; while its present value, in Boston, is $10 per ton. It requires seven men, three boys, and two horses to dig, cart, mill, and spread the peat. The machine costs $600,the needful buildings, engine, etc., from $2000 to $3000. The samples of peat, manufactured by this machine, are of excellent quality. The drying in the open air is said to proceed with great rapidity, eight or ten days being ordinarily sufficient in the summer season. The dry peat, at Lexington, occupies one-fourth the bulk, and has one-fourth to one-third the weight of the raw material; the latter, as we gather, being by no means saturated with water, but well drained, and considerably dry, before milling.
Ashcroft & Betteley's Machinery.
The American Peat Company, of Boston, are the owners of five patents, taken out by Messrs. Ashcroft & Betteley, for peat machinery. They claim to "make fuel equal to the best English Cannel coal," and really do make a very good peat, though with a rather complicated apparatus. The following statement is derived from the circular issued by the company. The machinery consists of the following parts:—
First.—Triturating Machine—36 inches diameter, 4 feet 6 inches high, with arms both on the inside of this cylinder and on the upright revolving shaft. In the bottom of the cylinder or tub a large slide gate is fitted to work with a lever, so that the peat may be discharged, at pleasure, into the Combing Machine, which is placed directly under this Triturator.
Second.—Combing Machine—Semi-circular vessel 6 feet long and 3 feet 6 inches in diameter. Inside, a shaft is placed, which is provided with fingers, placed one inch apart; the fingers to be 20 inches long, so as to reach within 2 inches of the bottom and sides of this vessel. Another shaft, of the same size and dimensions, is placed at an angle of 45°, 26 inches from the first shaft, with arms of the same dimensions placed upon this shaft, withthe same spaces, and so placed that this set of arms pass between the first set, both shafts revolving in the same direction; the second shaft mentioned being driven at double the speed of the first. At the bottom of this Combing Machine is to be fixed a gate, to be operated by a lever, to deliver, at pleasure, the cleansed peat into the Manipulator or Kneading Machine.
Third.—Manipulator.—A Tube of iron 7 feet long and 16 inches diameter, fitted with a shaft, with flanges upon it, to gain 6 inches in each revolution.
Fourth.—Conveyor.—This Conveyor, to be made with two endless chains and buckets of iron, with a driving shaft. The hopper, to receive the peat when first taken from the bog, to be placed below the surface of the ground, so that the top edge of the hopper may be level with the surface, that the peat may be dumped from the car by which it is taken from the bog, and carried to the hopper without hand labor; and this conveyor to be so arranged that the peat will be delivered into the Triturator without hand labor.
Fifth.—Conveyor.—Another conveyor, precisely like the one above described, is to be placed so as to convey the peat from the Manipulator into the Tank without hand labor.
Sixth.—Tank.—A tank 35 feet high and 15 feet in diameter; the bottom of this tank is made sloping towards the sides, at an angle of 65°, and is covered with sole tile or drain tile, and the entire inside of this tank is also ribbed with these tile; the ends of these pipes of tile being left open, so that the water which percolates through the pores of the tile, by the pressure of the column of peat, will pass out at the bottom, through the false floor of the tank into the drain, and the solid peat is retained in the tank. A worm is fixed in the bottom of this tank, which is driven by machinery, which forces out the peatin the form of brick, which are cut to any length, and stacked up in sheds, for fuel, after it is fully dried by the air.