How peat is mined: methods of development, deposits in Russia and the world

Peat is used as an organic fuel, natural and inexpensive fertilizer for plant nutrition, as a heat-insulating material and for other purposes. Let's consider how the process of formation of deposits takes place, how and where peat is mined, in what areas of human activity it is used. How it is stored and transported, where are the peat deposits in Russia and in the world.

The process of formation of deposits

Peat is a fossil formed from the remains of vegetation that decomposed in marsh conditions. In swamps, there is a gradual and constant deposition of partially decomposed organic matter, which slowly turns into peat deposited on the surface.

The development of fossil raw materials is carried out in peat bogs, which are located in river valleys and watersheds. Swamp vegetation depends on the terrain and the concentration of mineral s alts that enter the swamps with precipitation and from groundwater. Peat from raised bogs is formed from sphagnum mosses, cloudberries, cotton grass, heather, from lowland bogs - from sedges, mosses, alders and birches.

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The vegetation of peat bogs forms the type of mineral: upland, lowland and transitional. The composition is determined by chemical compounds (they dissolve well in water), as well as the presence of humic and fulvic acids, lignin, cellulose, bitumen. Silicon, iron, aluminum, calcium predominate among the chemical elements. The composition of the ash residue includes copper, manganese and other valuable trace elements, which are then used by plants for their nutrition.

How and where peat is mined

Mine is being mined in a variety of ways. Industrial development of peat deposits begins with the drainage of swamps. Water is drained through dug channels. The most common mining method is milling. A special technique grinds the layer into fine crumbs. The resulting mass is dried by stirring it. After drying, they are raked into heaps, collected and sent for processing. The mass is granulated or pressed into pieces.

The second option for mining is the excavation method or lumpy. Raw materials with this method are mined in the form of pieces, and not crushed mass. How mining is carried out: the disk of a peat extraction machine is immersed in the layer to a depth of 0.5 m. The disk raises the cut pieces to the surface. Inside the machine, the mass is compressed and pushed out. The pieces are dried and sent for recycling.

Another way, almost never used, is carved. Raw materials are mined manually, cutting it with shovels. The bricks are dried and also recycled.

Where is it used?

The main use of peat is agriculture. The material is used as an organic fertilizer for all types of open ground crops, it is also used in greenhouses. Used as a substrate for growing seedlings, it is added to soil mixtures.

This material is porous, light, well passes air and moisture, contains mineral elements, humic substances. It loosens the substrate, creates good conditions for the formation of roots, allows plants to grow intensively and be he althy. High-moor peat of a neutral reaction is used as a fertilizer. Sour can be sprinkled under crops that prefer an acidic soil reaction.

Peat raw materials are used as mulching and insulating material for covering plants, which protects the earth from drying out and freezing. Peat raw materials are used to prepare molded and pressed products for growing seedlings and flowers.

Worms are bred in a peat substrate and used to make compost. It is laid on the fields to improve the condition of the soil, loosening and softening the soil.

Besides agriculture, peat is used in animal husbandry as a bedding material. For the construction industry, heat-insulating plates and blocks are made from it. They retain heat well in winter, protect against noise penetration.

Peat is used in the chemical industry to produce cellulose, bitumen, paraffins, humic acids, ammonia, tar, phenols and other materials. It is used in metallurgy, medicine, filters are made from it for wastewater treatment, waterproofing structures, trapping carbon dioxide and toxic compounds from the air. Peat remains one of the important minerals for the energy industry and is used as fuel in power plants.

Storage and transportation

For long-term storage, peat is laid out in open areas. The thickness and size of the peat layers are small, this is done so that the peat does not heat up and does not ignite spontaneously. It is not allowed to store peat, the temperature of which exceeds 40 ° C, in the mass there are impurities of semi-coke, lump peat with an admixture of wood, dry grass. Peat is transported in all-metal gondola cars.

Deposits in Russia and worldwide

In the Northern Hemisphere, the zone of peat deposits extends in the north from Western Siberia to the Atlantic Ocean. In North America, mineral deposits are located in the northeastern part of the continent. 80% of all peat reserves are located in the Northern Hemisphere, Canada is the first in terms of extraction, Russia is the second.

In the Southern Hemisphere, peat is mined on the islands of Southeast Asia. In terms of the volume of extracted raw materials, the southern deposits are inferior to the northern ones.

Peat, created in swampy areas, is important for many industries: agriculture, metallurgical, chemical industries. It is a natural raw material for fertilizers, production of building materials.