Peat Briquette

a relatively firm piece of peat of standard shape. Peat briquettes are obtained from milled peat by mechanical processing (pulverizing and sifting), drying the sifted product in dryers, and pressing the resulting material in double-mold peat presses under a pressure of 800–1,200 kg-force/cm². There are two standard sizes: 180 × 70 × 25 mm and 150 × 66 × 40 mm. Peat briquettes have a relative moisture content of up to 16 percent, an ash content up to 15 percent, a heat of combustion of 3,800–4,000 Calories per kg, and a bending strength not less than 30 kg-force/cm². As of 1974, the USSR annually produced about 4.9 million tons of peat briquettes at special plants that have an output of 30,000–125,000 tons. Peat briquettes are used as fuel in furnaces for comfort heating systems, in fireplaces, and in boiler units for communal buildings, such as schools and similar institutions.