PEAT: Is a carbonized vegetable matter saturated with water, So which can be used as an fuel when dried.
INTRODUCTION:
Peat can also be said as turf.
Soils that contain mostly peat are known as a histosol.
It is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter that is unique to natural areas called peat lands or mires. That is it is more or less decomposition of plants that are under water and this forms mostly in north hemispheres because of high temperature.
Thus such formation of peat in water is called as wet lands, and the lands are named as peat lands.
The peat lands are meant to be dangerous for Environment because they will be absorbing more amount of Co2 that is carbon dioxide released naturally. Peat is formed mostly formed in wetlands and will be occupying a large amount of area.
Because of the distinctive ecological conditions of peat wetlands, they provide habitat for a distinctive fauna and flora. For example, Whooping Cranes nest in North American peat lands, while Siberian Cranes nest in the West Siberian peat land. Such habitats also have many species of wild orchids and carnivorous plants. It takes centuries for a peat bog to recover from disturbance.
Recent survey says that the world’s largest peat bog, located in Western Siberia and the size of France and Germany combined, is thawing for the first time in 11,000 years. As the permafrost melts, it could release billions of tons of methane gas into the atmosphere. The world’s peat lands are thought to contain 180 to 455 billion metric tons of sequestered carbon, and they release into the atmosphere 20 to 45 million metric tons of methane annually.
DESCREPTION:
Peat is harvested as one of the most important source produced from fossil fuels.
Peat is a solid matter that which is created by some organic materials of water and sterile, acidic conditions of bogs and fens.
Peat is the first step of formation of other fossil fuels such as coal, particularly low grade coal called lignite. It also help full in recovering the environment.
This has the capacity for restoring the past environment by changing the climate and increasing the plant vegetation. And also it purifies the soil and improves the soil ability.
Peat can produce higher amount of Co2 (carbon dioxide) than compared with production of coal and natural gas. According to the survey approximately it produces 106g/MJ of Co2, coal of 94.6 g Co2/MJ and 56.1g/MJ of natural gas.
A term called peat fires which is responsible for human health disaster. This term includes firing pest land and the smoke abstracted from it will be mixed in the environment and leads to the effects on human health.
This peat fire when accomplished at any of peat lands and will spread all over the area and will never end for weeks, months and even for years. This may create some disaster of loss of peat.
This peat is mostly extracted nearly about 175 countries, among which such are Germany, Europe, United States, West Siberian, New Zealand, Kerguelen, Falkland Island, Indonesia, ETC., and is said as the peat lands cover 60% of all over the world’s wet lands. Around 7% of the total peat lands area is exploited as agriculture and forestry.
TYPES OF PEATS:
Fabrics peats: These are the least decomposed.
Hemic peats: Here are partially decomposed.
Sapric peats: these are the greatly decomposed.
USES OF PEATS:
Up on drying peats are used as fuels.
It has acquired an special industries which produces fuel through it.
Peats can also be used for cooking and domestic heating.
Peats have acquired important use age in some countries such as Scotland, England, Ireland, Finland and in Russia. This countries develops peat lands for their industrial usage and for their infrastructure of improving environmental activities.
Agriculture use of peat for farmers and gardener’s plays an dramatic role in improving the soil and make good productions of other fields and is responsible for clearing the insects, pest from the fields and keeps the crop neat and clean. It can be said as an fertilizer for fields and crop. It helps as an organic fertilizer in agriculture and with its humus behavior it can substrate in horticulture.
It also purify the water and filters it so as to make it aqua cleaned. And this is help full fish pounds food material, their infrastructure etc. This will again leads for peat formations.
It even perfoms a good role in Balneotheraphy, that which is help full in curing some particular diseases by taking bath using these peat. This can also be said as one of the ayurvadhic medicine.
It generates energy and create raw, bedding, peat textiles, building insulation, filter and absorbent materials.
Plants that which are wild in nature grows in mires and peat lands as food, raw materials, medicine and all these are used for industrial products.
CONCLUSION:
Peat is such a material which is formed in wetlands and is made up of fossil fuels of decomposed vegetation’s such as plants. These are in some cases help full to environment and in some cases spoils environment. There are equal number of advantages and disadvantages.
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