Peat amount

Synthetic Fuel. Solvent extraction has many appHcations in synthetic fuel technology such as the extraction of the Athabasca tar sands (qv) and Irish peat using / -pentane [109-66-0] (238) and a process for treating coal (qv) using a solvent under hydrogen (qv) (239). In the latter case, coal reacts with a minimum amount of hydrogen so that the solvent extracts valuable feedstock components before the soHd residue is burned. Solvent extraction is used in coal Hquefaction processes (240) and synthetic fuel refining (see Coal conversion processes Fuels, synthetic). 

Peat Waxes. Peat waxes are much like montan waxes in that they contain three main components a wax fraction, a resin fraction, and an asphalt fraction. The amount of asphalt in the total yield is influenced strongly by the solvent used in the extraction. Montan waxes contain ca 50 wt % more of the wax fraction than peat waxes, and correspondingly lower percentages of the resin and asphalt fractions. The wax fraction in peat wax is chemically similar to that of the wax fraction in montan wax. 

Whole grains means grains of cereals from which no part has been intentionally removed. The unique taste characteristics and smokey flavor of Scotch is developed from peat used in the whisky production process. The character and amount of peat used in malting the barley have a critical affect on the flavor intensity of the final product. The aroma of the burning peat is absorbed by the barley malt and is carried through the distillation process. 

It is estimated that approximately 0.9 to 2.1 m of reasonably compacted plant material was required to form 0.3 m of bituminous coal. Uifferent ranks of coal require different amounts of time. It has been estimated that the time required for deposition of peat sufficient to provide 0.3 m of the various ranks of coal was lignite, 160 years bituminous coal, 260 years and anthracite, 490 years. Another estimate indicates that a 2.4 m bed of Pittsburgh Seam (bituminous) coal required about 2,100 years for the deposition of necessaiy peat, while an anthracite bed with a thickness of 9.1 m required about 15,000 years. 

Interrelated with change in particle size and changes in type and kind of soil minerals present, organic matter is formed and accumulates as an integral part of the soil. Organic-matter content varies from practically none in sands to almost 100%, as exemplified by peat formations. The amount of organic matter present thus reflects the interaction of all environmental... 

Peat, Schluchterer and Stacey6 later obtained a small amount (0.23%) of methyl 2,3,4,6-tetramethyl-n-glucoside from the hydrolytic products of a methylated L. dextranicum dextran, in addition to 90% methyl 2,3,4-trimethyl-D-glucosides, and on the basis of these results, postulated a minimum chain length of 550 units for this dextran. An appreciable amount of methyl dimethyl-D-glucosides was obtained, but these may not indicate side chain linkages since a mixture of dimethyl isomers was present, and the dextran was not fully methylated (only 44.5% methoxyl rather than 45.6%). 

B-chains until they are acted on by R-enzyme, when maltose or malto-triose will be produced from the residual A-chain, and linear dextrins from the B-chains. The amount of maltose or maltotriose liberated on treating the /3-limit dextrin with R-enzyme will be a measure of the number of A-chains in the molecule, and from these data, the ratio of A B chains in the molecule can be calculated.220 Peat concluded that multiple branching is an intrinsic part of the amylopectin structure, as the observed yield of these sugars was greater than expected for a singly-branched structure. It should be noted that glycogen has been shown by similar enzymic methods to possess a truly random structure.221... 

The ash of peat forming plant species contains a predominant amount of silicon. This element is particularly abundant in the Sphagnum, where its content achieves 36% by ash weight. Iron and aluminum are the next abundant. The first is accumulated during the peat formation process. The accumulation of calcium and potash is more pronounced than sodium, and the sulfur content is also remarkable. A large amount of mechanically admixed mineral particles (40-80% by ash weight) is found in mosses. This is due to the deposition of fine dispersed mineral material from snowmelting waters and atmosphere dust deposition (Table 1). 

A high amount of various nutrients and trace metals is retained in peat and dead plant residues and thus temporarily eliminated from the biogeochemical cycles and pollutants exposure to human and ecosystem health. The period of this elimination depends on the solubility of these metals. It has been shown (Dobrovolsky, 1994) that... 

Electrodialysis of the soluble forms of iron has revealed the predominance of electroneutral forms. A similar distribution has been shown for carbon. The hypothesis that the organic iron-containing complexes are responsible for water-soluble forms of iron in polar peat ecosystems seems logical. Amongst the soluble zinc forms, the percentage of electroneutral forms is somewhat lower that that of charged forms, with the anions present in a larger amount in the upper peat layer. 

However, only the smallest part of soluble metals is involved in the biological cycle. Most of these are either lost to water runoff, or retained in the peat organic matter. The latter is the source of gradual remobilization but the whole mineralization may last up to 50 years or even more. The total accumulated retained amount of macro-or trace metals in organic matter of peat is tens and hundreds of time higher than the concentration of annually released soluble forms, which are available for plants. 

The other output from watershed and slope landscapes positions is related to the surface and subsurface runoff of trace metals. The ecosystems of waterlogged glacial valleys, geochemically subordinate to the above mentioned landscape, can receive with surface runoff an additional amount of various chemical species. This results in 3 1-fold increase of plant productivity in comparison with elevated landscapes and in corresponding increase of all biogeochemical fluxes of elements, which are shown in Table 6. For instance, the accumulation of trace metals in dead peat organic matter of waterlogged valley was assessed as the follows Fe, n x 101 kg/ha, Mn, 1-2 kg/ha, Zn, 0.1-0.3 kg/ha, Cu, Pb, Ni, n x 10-2 kg/ha. 

Litter peat is the surface peat removed from the bog before cutting of fuel peat. As fuel peat production increases, so the amount surface peat removed also grows. Around 1 million m3 of surface peat is lifted every year in Finland, and the figure is expected to rise to 2-3 million m3 a year by the 1990 (1). Surface peat is used mainly for horticultural purposes. 

The absorption capacity of the litter determines the amount used, and also affects the functioning of hydraulic manure presses. The absorption capacity of litter depends on its initial moisture content. In the laboratory tests, peat had a much greater absorption capacity than other litters. 

This study revealed no obstacles to the use of peat as cowshed Utter. The quality of the milk and the health of the animals are affected more by the general standards of hygiene than the type of Utter used. The advandages derived from using peat depend greatly on the qualiity of the peat. The absorption capacity of diy peat is best exploited in cowsheds were all the urine is absorbed by the Utter. In this case, the amount of peat required is far less than that of either straw or sawdust. In cowsheds with a urine well, the use of peat as Utter permits some reduction in the size of the well. 

Fig. 16.30 Gas chromatograms of kerosene recovered from sand, sandy loam and peat after volatilization at 5 and 27 °C for 30 and 7 days, respectively R denotes remaining kerosene (% of initial amount). Reprinted from Jarsjo J, Destouni G, Yaron B (1994) Retention and volatilization of kerosene laboratory experiments on glacial and postglacial soils. J Contam Hydrol 17 167-185. Copyright 1994 with permission of Elsevier...

In soils and other geoenvironments, water soluble humic compounds are also candidates for complexation and release of Fe from Fe oxides and thereby may provide Fe for plants. For example, compared to the control, water extractable humics from peat (1.7 mmol C/L) doubled the amount of Fe extracted from a freshly prepared 2-line ferrihydrite over 24 hr (Cesco et al. 2000). 

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