Peat properties: composition and color, deposits and origin of rock

Peat is known as a fertilizer and mineral of organic origin. It is mined and used in various fields of human activity. Consider what peat is, its properties, how it is formed, how it is mined, where the largest reserves are located. What types happens, how it is classified by characteristics. Where and for what purpose they are used.

What is peat

Peat is rotten or semi-rotten and compressed plant and animal remains mixed with mineral substances. The mineral is found in swamps; moisture and oxygen deficiency are necessary for its formation.The composition contains the remains of sphagnum mosses and other marsh vegetation. The remains are deposited on the surface of the swamps, then turn into peat, which is considered sedimentary rock.

The organic origin of the fossil allows it to be used as a fertilizer, fuel, material for thermal insulation in construction, for gas production and for other purposes.

Peat performs an important ecological function, accumulates photosynthesis products, accumulates atmospheric carbon, which it contains 50-60%.

Mineral deposits are located mainly in the Northern Hemisphere, in Russia, Canada, England, Scandinavian and other European countries.

Basic Features

Loose rock consists of incompletely decomposed plant residues, humus decay products and mineral particles.Fresh peat is moist and contains a lot of water. The mineral component determines the ash content of the material. The color, from yellow-brown to black-brown, depends on the quantitative content of humus, the more it is, the darker the mass.

Composition, conditions of formation, properties - according to these criteria, peat is divided into high, transitional and lowland. The largest reserves are represented by the riding type. In terms of acidity and nutrient content, lowland peat is superior to highland peat.

The density of a fossil depends on the composition of organics and minerals, the degree of decomposition, humidity, ash content. The mass is loosely bound, easily crumbles, porous, has low hardness, and weighs little when dry.

How is formed and mined

Plants and aquatic organisms that live in swamps, lakes and ponds with slow flowing water die and form biomass, which is partially processed by bacteria in conditions of high humidity and lack of oxygen. What comes out is layered and pressed.

The minerals are mined in swamps; more than 80% of the world's reserves are concentrated in the zone of its maximum accumulation. The extraction method is open, as the material is located on the surface or shallow underground. Peat is cut by machines, collected and pressed crumbs or cut into plates, dried and transported for further processing.

Types of peat and their characteristics

Peat is heterogeneous, it can be classified according to different criteria: the degree of decomposition, the nature of occurrence, the method of extraction, ash content.

According to the degree of humification

The degree of decomposition is determined by the time that was spent on the formation of peat, according to this indicator, slightly decomposed (up to 20% of a structureless mass consisting of organic matter and humus), medium (20-35%) and strongly decomposed (more than 35 %) material.The composition contains the remains of wood, roots, bark of shrubs and trees, fallen needles, herbaceous plants, sphagnum and hypnum mosses.

By occurrence

Divided into lowland, transitional and riding. Lowland is formed during the decomposition of vegetation that grows along riverbeds and ravines. The degree of decomposition reaches 40%, wet, rich in ash, contains 1% phosphorus, 3% nitrogen, sulfur and potassium (less than 2%), up to 60% carbon. Transitional - the same lowland peat, which has not yet completed its formation. The degree of decomposition is 25-35%.

Horse is formed by the decomposition of vegetation characteristic of the area, contains little calcium, ash elements and humus. Contains 60-70% moisture, decomposition rate - more than 20%.

By mining method

There are two main methods: milling and hydraulic. In the first case, the surface layer of deposits is removed by special machines, collected, packed or pressed into bricks. With the hydraulic method, the raw material is poured with water, the liquid mass is pumped out and dried.

In terms of ash content

Ash content - the ratio of the mass that remains from the calcination of peat to the total mass in dry form. The source of mineral elements are plants, dust, surface and ground moisture. According to the ash content, the direction of application of the material is determined, for what purposes it can be used. Peat is divided into low-ash (less than 5%), medium (5-10%) and high-ash (less than 50%).

Application areas

The lowland is used in agriculture as a fertilizer, the top one is used as a mulching material. It loosens the soil, makes it more airy, softer and lighter, supplies plants with nutrients, acid can be used to increase the acidity of alkaline soil.Used as a component of the substrate for flowers, seedlings and rooting cuttings, for making compost.

Sphagnum slightly decomposed peat is used as bedding for animals, as a filter for waste water purification, as it absorbs liquid and gases well. It is also used as a heat and sound insulating material in construction.

Briquettes for heating, coke for metallurgical plants are made from peat raw materials. The pharmaceutical industry receives from it alcohol, acids, wax, drugs, activated carbon.

Peat is considered one of the main minerals. It is mined in many countries, used as a raw material for the production of products for use in various fields of activity.